Elizabeth DeRuff is an Agricultural Chaplain, businesswoman, and farmer who makes her home in Marin County. She is a pioneer in exploring the intersection of food, land, and faith. Currently, Elizabeth is focused on propagating drought tolerant, biodiverse varieties of landrace wheat, which are stone-milled and available for sale from Honoré Farm and Mill to support the non-profit educational work of Honoré. She also directs a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that provides flour to individuals and public schools. In this capacity, she is focused on transforming our food and farm systems through the lens of growing wheat and offering hands-on education. Under her leadership Honoré recently completed a grant from the USDA to create whole grain curriculum in California public schools, teaching children where their bread comes from and why whole grains will improve their health. She also writes, teaches, farms and consults. Her research, and recipes, are available online at Honoremill.org. She has a BS in economics from the University of Southern California, an Master’s in Divinity from The Episcopal Divinity School of the Pacific, and a certificate in bread baking from the San Francisco Baking Institute and recently baked the "perfect" whole wheat sourdough loaf in her home oven.
Margaret Kinnaman
Maggie brings extensive experience in education, governance and facilities management. For 30 years she served at the University of Maryland, Baltimore as Director for Business Administration in the Facilities Management department. For 25 years she was active in APPA, the association for college and university facilities officers. She is a recognized leader serving as APPA’s International President as well as receiving APPA’s highest award, APPA Fellow. Of special note, she is the only woman to have ever received this award. She has an undergraduate degree in Business Management and an Executive Masters in General Administration from the University of Maryland College Park. Today she works as a consultant, is the Co-Chair of the Center for Facilities Research and as the Editor-in-Chief of the digital Body of Knowledge for the profession.
Adam Willner
Adam Willner is an entrepreneur, restaurateur and consultant who founded the ZAO Noodle Bar chain. He has expertise in fund raising, business, restaurant operations and design, marketing, and concept creation. Adam has served as a trustee on the boards of Marin Country Day School and Marin Academy and the Homestead Valley Community Center. He is passionate about local and sustainable agriculture, good food, education and community. Mr. Willner has a BA from Wesleyan University.
Charles H. Simpkinson, (1938-2020)
In Memoriam
Dr. Simpkinson was one of the founding board members of Honoré Farm and Mill. He passed away Easter Monday, April 13, 2020, due to Covid-related complications. He was 85 years old. We miss him every day.
Charles was a lifelong mentor to Honoré founder, Elizabeth DeRuff. At Yale Divinity School he studied under Richard Niebuhr, scholar of theological ethics. He also spent time with the preeminent theologian and philosopher, Paul Tillach. Charles associated one encounter with Tillach as forever transforming his spirituality.
As a visionary, non-profit founder, and one of the most gifted and enjoyable dialogue partners he inspired and nurtured the startup years of Honoré. He founded The Psychotherapy Networker, Inc., and was the Publisher of the Common Boundary magazine – a quarterly journal focused on the intersection of psychotherapy, spirituality, and creativity. He was also a practicing clinical psychologist for 30 years in Bethesda, Maryland. Holding a faculty appointment at the Johns Hopkins Medical School in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Dr. Simpkinson was the author of numerous articles and books on the topics of spirituality and psychotherapy.
Team-Staff of Life
Allie Webster - Operations Manager
Allie was born and raised in Marin County. She attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and moved to New York City post-college before returning to the Bay Area. Allie spent the majority of her career in digital media, spending 10 years at Pandora/SiriusXM in product management and operations. Allie lives with her husband and their 3 young children. She is excited to be part of an organization that drives meaningful impact, especially around educating children and schools about healthier foods and where it comes from. She enjoys traveling, baking, and spending time with family and friends.
Sam Gross - Farm to School Community Education and Outreach Manager
Sam Gross is a nature enthusiast and garden educator who loves forests, flowers, and classroom education! Originally from New York City, Sam moved out to California to work at a local farm, and quickly became involved in the world of garden education. At Honoré, Sam works to plan and implement wheat curriculum in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, where Sam also teaches as a daytime Garden Educator with the Growing Healthy Kids Program at Sun Terrace Elementary School in Concord. Sam’s background includes work in the legal field, which equips Sam with skills in project management, compliance, and recordkeeping. Sam's interests include taking long walks, biking around town, listening to audiobooks, and marveling at the amazing plant life in the Bay Area!
Michael Kohan - Grant Administrator
Michael is passionate about local food systems and creating the opportunity and community to inspire and build them. She comes from a seafood background with a Master's degree in fisheries, and currently working with community-supported fisheries that are engaging in the local seafood movement. A common thread between seafood and grain is the need to disrupt commodity food systems by celebrating the story behind food that values local provenance and artisanal processing. She is thrilled to celebrate the story of Honoré and the mission to connect communities to the land through enjoying local, whole grain products and education. Michael and her husband are raising 3 boys which keep them active hiking, fishing, running, and hunting in Alaska.
Allison Eckert - Operations Assistant
Allison is a certified nonprofit manager with over a decade of experience enhancing local food systems. She leverages her skills in program management, partnership development, and operations to empower sustainable food and conservation organizations, helping them amplify their impact and find joy in their work. In addition to her role with Honoré, Allison oversees food recovery programs at Petaluma Bounty and serves on the board of the Felidae Conservation Fund. She is also an active member of Slow Food Sonoma County and the UC Master Gardeners. During her downtime, Allison enjoys reading about ecology, practicing Spanish with friends, and beta testing new potluck recipes.
Mia Yancich - Farmers’ Market Educator
Mia’s passions lie in urban planning, technology, and the environment. She recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in Information Science and a minor in Art & Design. After spending the summer following her graduation working on a farm in Japan, Mia continues her involvement in promoting sustainable agriculture through her role as a Farmers Market Educator on the Honoré team. Mia also serves as a full-time Fellow for Silicon Valley Clean Energy developing education initiatives for carbon-free energy sources in the Bay Area, and she occasionally volunteers on farms in Contra Costa County. Her career goals are to blend her experiences and passions to help urban communities achieve healthy and just environmental outcomes.
Advisors
Nicole Forrest
Nicole Forrest is a placemaker dedicated to the creation of beloved, enduring, and adaptable communities. Through her real estate investment and development company, White Forrest, she specializes in research and innovation, complex deal structures, public-private ventures, and strategic partnerships. Bringing new ideas to the built environment for the last twenty years, she has led both commercial and residential projects ranging from very affordable to ultraluxury. Her work spans both coasts including Washington DC, New York City, Boston, and Southern California. She frequently contributes her expertise to nonprofit and civic boards in the fields of urban planning, museum expansion, and architecture. She maintains a fierce commitment to sustainability, livability, and beauty. Nicole holds a degree in political economy from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard University.
Jackie Li
Jackie Li is a tech and startup operator with experience launching and scaling new businesses. She studied at Harvard Business School and prior to beginning her MBA, Jackie was at Indigo Ag, an agriculture technology company based in Boston. At Indigo, Jackie helped launch Indigo Transport, a technology-enabled agriculture transportation platform carriers to growers across the U.S. She also worked on Indigo’s partnership with Anheuser-Busch to deliver sustainably-grown rice, which resulted in over two billion gallons of water savings, decreased nitrogen application of 250,000 pounds, and a 26.6% reduction in methane emissions.
Doug Lipton
With a doctorate in soil chemistry from UC Berkley, Doug proudly describes himself as a “ Doctor of Dirt.” Doug did post-doctoral work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, where he focused on contamination issues in Central Valley wetlands. With the formation of Lipton Environmental Group, he directs one of the largest wetland restoration projects of its kind in the country, recycling sediment dredged from shipping channels to restore wetlands habitat for fish & wildlife. With his wife’s impeccable eye and his knowledge of the soil, Cindy and Doug created HomeFarm in 1994 where they farm 15 acres of arable gardens for the bees, the humans and the soil. With the opening of Healdsburg SHED in 2013, Cindy and Doug created a modern Grange Hall honoring our agrarian past and supporting the local community of farmers and producers. For decades Doug has been a champion of “Keeping the Culture in agriCulture.”
Cindy Daniel
Cindy is first and foremost an artist who creates and curates not just exquisite material objects, but also soul-satisfying experiences. Cindy and Doug were pioneers in the local food movement of the 1970’s where they co-founded a food coop in Colorado. Today, whether its teaching the ancient art of Hoshigaki/ Hachiya persimmon preserving or creating an intentional space for making and sharing soba noodles, Cindy understands that the way in which we treat our food and the earth, has the capacity to change the way we feel about ourselves, each other and the world. Her unique vision burst forth in the creation of Healdsburg SHED which she co-founded with Doug in 2013. As a part of a growing community of sustainable farmers, wine producers, and environmentalists in Northern California, SHED was a place that embodied the best the region has to offer. Cindy continues to find inspiration in the words of Wendell Berry: “An agrarian mind begins with the love of the fields and ramifies in good farming, good cooking, and good eating.”
Steve Lyon
Steve leads the breeding and field research portion of the Washington State University’s Bread Lab. For the past 29 years, Steve has worked to develop wheat varieties for WSU. In 2013 he earned one of the highest honors in his profession by having a new grain named in his honor – ‘Lyon’ barley, and on May 15, 2017 was named “Washingtonian of the Day” by Gov. Jay Inslee for developing western Washington’s first original wheat variety. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Nutrition ’79 and Master of Science degree in Crop Science ’02 from WSU. Steve generously donated the initial seed stock of Hourani and Karun to Honoré and is the first person we contact whenever we have a perplexing question about wheat.
Lydia Ruffin
Lydia is a professional singer/song-writer and activist. Her acoustic American roots music band, Mayor Taylor, produced decades of original music in the St. Louis music scene. She was the founding artistic director for Art & Soul Café in St. Louis, a monthly gathering focusing on integrating the arts and spirituality through interactive experiences among artists of all disciplines and an enquiring community. Lydia is a birdwatcher, photographer, and healthy food enthusiast. She believes building community and working toward the common good as essential to our future together; and sees the mission of Honoré Farm and Mill as an integral part of this work. Lydia regularly contributes her musical talent at Honoré events such as harvest and planting days.
John DeRuff
John is a management consultant based in Washington, D.c. Graduating in 2021 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a minor in sustainability, he brings extensive website and digital content development experience. Working alongside us, he has also built websites for individuals, non-profits, and university organizations. Full-time, he works as a project manager for a DC-based Federal consultancy. John has been with Honoré since our beginnings and continues to provide valuable insight into all things digital.
Spencer Woodard
Spencer Woodard is a northern California native but his independent travel and professional work with landscape / ecological design and masterplanning firm Island Planning Corporation (IPC) has taken him around the world countless times and consisted of a malleable integration of horticulture, design, research, botany, and logistics. Spencer spends his free time with his wife Katerina and two daughters at home in Sebastopol CA, where he is continuously propagating, expanding and managing an extensive and diverse collection of edible, medicinal, useful and ethnobotanically significant tree and perennial species.
Spencer is interested in the history of human relationships with plants and landscapes and how the ever-changing state of these relationships has affected the ways in which people interact with and influence larger ecological systems.
No matter when or where you meet Spencer he is likely to have a handful of seeds in his pocket that he’s collected or, if it's late autumn, maybe some Sorbus domestica in the back of his truck ready to share. He is ever-curious and a stunning dialogue partner.