Staff

Mark Tollefson  • Executive Director
Mark originates from Alberta Canada and comes from many generations of farmers. He has many passions and being the Executive Director for Fairview Gardens allows him to combine many of them.  He is a chef and owned his own restaurant, he has been a survival skills instructor at the largest survival school in the world.  He is the past Executive Director of another local non-profit – Wilderness Youth Project, he helped open an international high school in New Zealand, and built a sustainable agriculture organization in Belize. He is a husband, and father of two children.  Mark is a musician, poet, and loves home brewing.


Shawn McMahon  • Farm Manager
Shawn McMahon spent his formative years in the Bay Area, growing up in the small coastal town of Half Moon Bay, and later attending San Francisco State University for World History. He began his produce career in 2003 working at Irish Ridge Farms, South of Half Moon Bay. After moving to Goleta in 2006, Shawn worked as the Produce Manager at the Isla Vista Food Cooperative, and founded his own farm, Out of Step Farms, in 2009. He brings with him passion for all aspects of food and a diverse knowledge of organic farming, the produce industry, and cooking.


Salvador “Chava” Gomez-Ochoa  • Head Farmer
Chava is an expert in observation and has been farming at Fairview Gardens since 1987.  He has farmed all of his life. “I asked my father at 13 years if I could quit school to work on the farm. I have been working ever since.” He managed his first 4 acres at age 13 with a team of horses. When asked what others should know about farming, Chava commented, “It is important to grow something; everyone needs to grow something.”


Julie Beaumont  •  Marketing Manager
Julie Beaumont graduated from College de Maisonneuve, with a degree in business administration and an emphasis in marketing. She wishes that mankind would stop fighting with nature and learn to live with Mother Earth instead. She has a deep love and a special connection with the land and now, as a mother of two young children, Julie is eager to do everything in her power to heal the world for the future generations. She is happy to help you discover how bountiful and exciting our local produce can be.


Manuel Gomez-Ochoa •  Resident Farmer
Manuel Gomez Ochoa has been living and working with the land at Fairview Gardens for most of 23 years. Manuel grew up milking cows in the morning and evening, and helping to manage crops of wheat, oats, and corn for his father’s ranch in Jalisco, Mexico. Manuel loves the land at Fairview Gardens, and he enjoys working as part of the farm team to bring nourishing food to our community.


Cesar•  Resident Farmer








Sharon Tollefson  •  Education Director
Sharon is a native Californian and appreciates the sun, water and mountains that Santa Barbara has to offer. She is committed to making this world a better place for the generations to come and believes that growing food, nature connection and community are the paths to a positive future for our youth. She currently runs the educational programs at the farm. She is the mother of two beautiful children who love to eat plums, chase chickens and give farm tours.


Farm Crew  • Fairview Gardens’ crew is made up of men and women who work together start to finish to bring in our harvest and to market and sell our produce. Most of our farmers live on the farm year round. A few of our farmers have lived at Fairview for 20 or more years!


Julian Lindemuth  •  Farmer’s Market Staff
Julian loves his small hometown of Petaluma, California. He is a recent graduate of UCSB with a degree in Environmental Studies, Food and Sustainable Agriculture. He loves to watch food grow and be transformed in the kitchen. Say bonjour to Julian every weekend at the Santa Barbara downtown and Goleta farmers markets!


Monica Ford  •  Farmer’s Market Staff
Monica Ford believes there is nothing better in life than the smell of straight from the tree plums and freshly harvested basil leaves perfuming the air during a beautiful farm sunrise. She feels blessed to be part of a wonderful and fulfilling cause and gets nothing but joy out of watching happy customers walk away with all the yumminess that Fairview Gardens has to offer!

Michael Ableman  •  Founder

Michael Ableman is a farmer and founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture where he farmed from 1981-2001. He is the author and photographer of From the Good Earth (Abrams, 1993), On Good Land (Chronicle Books, 1998), and Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it. (Chronicle Books, 2005). Michael now farms on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia at Foxglove Farm. Visit Michael at Fields of Plenty

Board Members
Douglas Steigerwald, PhD • President
Perrin Pellegrin • Vice-President
Arjun Sarkar • Secretary
Ryan Drake • Treasurer
Adrianne Davis
Selma Rubin
Dayna Birkley

Advisory Board
Wendell Berry
Yvon Chouinard
Wes Jackson
Russell Petersen
Anthony Rodale
Alice Waters