Toby McPartland  (toby (at) fairviewgardens.org)
Farm Manager

Toby first found his love for farming while working with the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa. For two and a half years he lived in a small village of peanut farmers and taught them how to start tree nurseries while introducing different techniques for incorporating the trees into their fields. There, he was exposed to a simple way of living and a connection to the earth that really touched him and he have been involved with educational farming ever since. Toby most recently farmed at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Cruz, which reinforced the importance of education alongside production agriculture.

Mark Tollefson (mark (at) fairviewgardens.org)
Executive Director

Mark originates from Alberta Canada and comes from 5 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. 

Melissa Gomez (melissa (at) fairviewgardens.org)
Marketing Manager

Melissa was born in Colombia, raised in Miami, and has traveled the world in search of the perfect farm to call home.

She has worked at 5 farms, but never as a farmer. Instead, she worked as a backpacking instructor, cook, farmer's market staff, and outdoor educator. When she finished her Master's Degree from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, she wanted to get back on a farm. This time she landed at Fairview Gardens.

Melissa manages the farm stand, CSA logistics, and wholesale orders. This role will give her the opportunity to combine her love of organic food and community building with her dedication to farmland conservation. She is absolutely thrilled about this position, and looks forward to canning and cooking classes, potlucks, and eating more farm-fresh food with friends

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 four 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."

Cesar Madrigal
Farmer

Cesar has been working at Fairview Gardens for fifteen years. He began here as a young farm worker weeding and cleaning. He is now the irrigation manager. Cesar knows the fields intimately and works the land with pride. While picking a peach is a chore for some, it is a purely romantic experience for Cesar. You can see his love of this place in his eyes as he works.

Erik Stenberg (erik@fairviewgardens.org)
Farner's Market Coordinator

Farmers Market Staff

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 been lived at Fairview for 20 or more years!

Board Members

Adrianne Davis
President

Arjun Sarkar

Vice President

Adam Green

Selma Rubin

Doug Steigerwald

Advisory Board

Wendell Berry
David Brower (1912-2000)
Yvon Chouinard
Wes Jackson
Russell Petersen
Anthony Rodale
Alice Waters

Michael Ableman
Founder

info@michaelableman.com

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 www.fieldsofplenty.com/