Board of Directors

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ben trained in biodynamic market gardening and farming in Germany and the UK. Together with his wife Valeska and raising five children, he spent 24 years in Camphill Communities, first in Botton Village in the UK, and then Triform Camphill Community near Hudson, New York. He managed Botton Farm and Triform Farm, and was part of the beginning of the Churchtown Dairy. His experience is mostly in raw milk dairy and mixed farming, always with a social therapeutic component. He served on the Board of Directors of Camphill Village USA and Triform Camphill Community, and was part of the administration of Triform, first as Director of Operations and then as President. Today he lives with his family in Chatham, New York, and works together with Jean-David Derreumaux growing and processing medicinal plants. He also keeps bees.

Coree began learning about biodynamics over thirty years ago on Jeff Poppen’s Long Hungry Creek Farm in northern middle Tennessee. She has worked on organic and biodynamic farms from Connecticut to Hawai’i and has spent the past twenty years at play in the Tennessee clay with her family, which includes her husband, two children, an ornery herd of dairy goats, and a variety of poultry. Coree continues to work with Jeff Poppen to organize the annual Southeast Regional Biodynamic Conference, which is a community-supported event renowned for its festive and welcoming atmosphere, high-quality food, and excellent range of presenters. Since ceasing their family CSA operation, she has shifted her professional focus to social and behavioral science research and is currently in the process of completing a master’s degree in public health. Coree is a life-long student of many branches of spiritual tradition and maintains a keen interest in the intersections of personal and planetary health and community and spiritual practice.

Carin Fortin — herb farmer, herbalist, teacher, and student of anthroposophy and biodynamics — co-founded and currently runs Blossom’s Farm in Aromas, California, where she also lives with her partner Delmar McComb. Blossom’s Farm grows and processes herbs from different traditions (Western, TCM, and Ayurveda) and offers skincare products and herbal extracts together with market garden fruits and vegetables. Carin serves as member of the circle of representatives of the AG Section at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, which consists of 70 people from 18 countries who practice biodynamic work in connection with anthroposophy and work on the planning of the annual international agriculture conference. Carin also serves on the council of the Agriculture Section North America and as a board member of Millefolium, a new Californian educational initiative centered in anthrosposophy and biodynamics. For many years Carin served as steering committe member and newsletter editor for BDANC (Biodynamic Association of Northern California) and as core group member of the Santa Cruz Monterey Bay Branch of the Anthroposophical Society. Carin grew up in Switzerland and moved to the United States 27 years ago.
 

Dorothy knows the importance and beauty of biodynamic farms for people, for the earth, and for the spirit and is committed to supporting biodynamics in all its manifestations. She is on the working board of Living Lands Trust, formerly Yggdrasil Land Foundation, which gives her insight into the challenges of rightful land ownership from many perspectives. Her personal challenge is to understand the potential of the various forms of money as they flow through projects and communities to foster love and initiative. Because of continually changing life tasks, she has acquired a wide range of random skills that sometimes come in handy in the most unexpected ways.

M Mueller lives in Zionville, North Carolina, and belongs to Against the Grain Farm on land formerly stewarded by the Tsalagi. There he supports the farm by advising and mentoring biodynamic activities. He keeps an eye on the farm’s homestead cow herd and assists in making the biodynamic preparations from their harvest; he collects manure and collaborates in biodynamic compost making; he helps the farmers carry out the biodynamic sprays as requested, and advises fellow workers on basic biodynamic farm tasks. M assists his wife, Georgie Donovan, in creating a half-acre pollinator sanctuary surrounding their grange home adjacent to the farm. While coincidentally supporting the farm’s IPM (Integrated Pest Management) goals, this work includes providing forage and habitat for hymenoptera of all kinds, monitoring their vitality in the farm community, and observing their role foraging alongside the homestead cow herd. Season permitting, Georgie and M host readings of Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Lectures and other Goethean scientific works, as desired by the community. They also provide part-time care for a co-farmworker’s infant. Most recently, M collaborated in Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary and the Josephine Porter Institute’s online presentation of the “Life Based in Love” series, 2023-25. This year, M hopes to continue participating in broader biodynamic and farm community- building based on the principles liberté, égalité, fraternité as elaborated by Rudolf Steiner.

Jae grew up across the Midwest and has been living and working in the Northeast since 2022. She holds a BA in International Development and Peace & Conflict Studies, where her academic journey sparked a deep interest in regenerative agriculture and experiential education as tools for peacebuilding. For over three years, Jae served as the Children’s Program Manager and Earth Stewards Camp Manager at Hawthorne Valley’s Place-Based Learning Center in Ghent, New York. She also completed her Waldorf teacher training at the Alkion Center. Currently, Jae works as a farm and wilderness educator at Kroka Expeditions in Marlow, New Hampshire. Jae views farm-based education as a powerful force for social change, offering children and teens opportunities to cultivate community, engage in self-discovery, and develop a lasting relationship to the natural world. She believes biodynamic farms are vibrant, living classrooms that teach us to honor the intricate connections that weave all life together. Jae is also a volunteer adaptive ski instructor, novice beekeeper, illustrator, cycling enthusiast, and unwavering optimist.