Bob Bernstein
Managing Director

Bob Bernstein, an experienced community-based development practitioner, has been connecting individuals and groups with land and affordable housing for the past 37 years. Over this period, Bob has worked with cooperatives, community land trusts, individuals and multi-party initiatives to develop and implement traditional and non-traditional legal and financing mechanisms for affordable land and housing. After founding Land For Good in 2002 and directing its efforts for the past 10 years, Bob recently established Northeast Farm Access, LLC. This new company’s purpose is to bring together farmers who are ready and able to work the land with investors seeking to support their efforts with sound farm investments. Bob and his family farm in southern New Hampshire.
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Jacob Meyer
Attorney

Jacob Meyer brings a background in law and policy to the challenge of identifying and encouraging professional, consumer, charitable investment that honors sustainable agriculture as the root of social and economic health. He has 12 years of experience in legal and public policy research, writing and analysis, applying clarity and precision to complex business, social and legal issues. Jacob is a graduate of Columbia Law School and is admitted to practice law in New York State.
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Claudia Ford
Project Management, Community Development

Claudia Ford brings a depth of combined project vision and global management experience that informs the community development, sustainable agriculture and farmer/investor/land relationship success of NEFA’s farm initiatives. Claudia brings to NEFA her commitment to making farmland available to diverse populations and has had a career spanning three decades and all continents. Some of Claudia’s clients include: The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation and Angel Network, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, The World Bank, and The Global Fund.
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Jonathan W. Jaffe
Advisor, Farm Credit East (SVP)

Jonathan W. Jaffe, Vice President and Farm Business Consultant/Farm Tax Specialist at Farm Credit East, is on retainer for all NEFA projects to provide project underwriting. For the past 28 years Jon has worked for Farm Credit as a loan officer, appraiser, tax specialist, business consultant and provider of critical program oversight and planning. Jon grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York and operated his own dairy farm for several years.
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Karen Fitzgerald
Landscape Architect

Karen Fitzgerald has 25 years of experience in superior farm design and planning, integrating her knowledge of agriculture, design and policy for farm inception and expansion.  Her experience includes international, as well as local, site planning and design. She has implemented projects as diverse as a small farm-based eco village in New Hampshire to a large urban design reconstruction project in San Francisco California. Karen’s work has been focused on community involvement through consensus-building, and is grounded in the principles of creating healthy, livable places.
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Casey Coyle and Kahlil Lozoraitis
Branding and Design

Casey Coyle is an accomplished art director and designer; Kahlil Lozoraitis is a branding expert. Based in New York City, Casey and Kahlil are a dynamic team who have worked with many Fortune 500 beauty, food and beverage companies to bring new products to the market. Their broad experience in design and branding translates brilliantly to the development of NEFA’s farmers’ products and NEFA’s own business strategy.
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Laura Hartz
Director of Operations

Laura Hartz is an avid organizer of concepts and content. At NEFA she manages projects and oversees the day-to-day completion of various tasks. She is an expert in sustainable agriculture by virtue of her MS in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from Tufts University and experience as a consultant and project manager at Downstream Strategies. Her previous clients and funders include: Organic Valley Dairy Cooperative, West Virginia Farm to Table, Tygart Valley Growers Association, Contract Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias, Blue Moon Fund, Central Appalachia Network, Center for Economic Options, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She is based out of Wiscasset, ME.

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Rachel Kelly
Copake Agricultural Center Coordinator

Rachel Kelly is no stranger to organic farming, nor to the town of Copake, where she was raised at Camphill Village, an intentional community centered on a 600-acre organic/biodynamic farm, whose residents include adults with developmental disabilities. She has since lived on a dairy farm producing cheese; a lamb, beef and pork farm; and a community-based dairy and CSA. Rachel spent 16 years in Key West, Florida, where she worked in construction and historic restoration; real estate; hospitality/service, and owned the legendary Lazy Way Lane drive-thru art gallery. Since returning to Copake seven years ago with her family, she has worked at Turtle Tree Biodynamic Seed Initiative; provided elder and end-of-life care; and cooked organic food for children at the Hawthorne Valley Farm Visiting Students Program.