Owner-operator of Dry Land Distillers, a successful craft distiller in Longmont, Colorado. CGC Board member since 2020. Nels taps into 25 years experience in organizational development and leadership consulting at a global consulting firm to help the CGC effectively manage operations and activities.

Hannah Rossman co-owns Blue Grouse Bread with her cousin, Ben, in Norwood CO. At the bakery they mill 100% of their own whole wheat flour from wheat berries sourced in various locations of Colorado. With the recent addition of a grant funded community mill and sifter behind the bakery, Blue Grouse hopes to help revitalize the grain economy of Wright's Mesa and beyond by linking local growers with local bakers. Hannah's background in bread began during her upbringing in northern Vermont where wood fired bread ovens and hearty sourdough loaves were a huge part of her community.  She opened Blue Grouse in 2016 hoping to bring a little bit of Vermont to the Western Slope.

Robbie Vitrano, ceo Innisfree. Regenerative agriculture, climate finance, media, and social entrepreneurship make up Robbie’s Venn diagram portfolio.

In addition to his board role with the Colorado Grain Chain, he is board chair of Mad Agriculture, an organization igniting the regenerative ag revolution through their work with farmers, markets, brands, media, and finance.  He is also the co-founder of Ecority, a clean energy finance and marketing platform helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and facilitate environmental justice in partnership with the $2T U.S. credit union sector. 
Along the way he has built and sold several consumer food brands designed to help reimagine the food system, address malnutrition, and support regenerative supply chains (Naked Pizza, Good Spread, and Dubai-based Locale).  He co-founded Trumpet, a brand design studio, and Idea Village, a non-profit social entrepreneurship hub in post-Katrina New Orleans that has become a global model of place-based innovation.  Both Naked Pizza and Trumpet, were named to Fast Company’s list of “World’s Most Innovative Companies.". 

Felicia Ohnmacht is the a co-founder and Director of Operations with Whiskey Sister Supply. Along with her sister, Stephanie, as grain advocates they work closely with farmers and distillers because they believe that what’s in the bottle and how it gets there matters. It all started with their family farm, ultimately saving it, and in the process her love of both industries grew. A few years ago, an opportunity arose for Felicia to manage the family farm. In this additional role, she now brings a very unique perspective to understand the challenges that face both industries and the best ways to bring them together. Don’t be surprised if you find her having deep conversations about grain terroir, farming successes/challenges, and being genuinely curious about all things distilling over a dram. 

Sarah co-owns Jones Farms Organics, a 4th and 5th generation family farm in the San Luis Valley, and the 1st Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) Farm in the state of Colorado. JFO grows multiple varieties of heirloom wheat and rye (Rouge de Bordeaux, Yecora Rojo, Sonora, Durum, Wrens Abruzzi, and Ryman Rye) and over 20 varieties of specialty potatoes. As the director of sales, marketing, and logistics, she has cultivated relationships with over 30 direct customers. Sarah was the vision behind the recently launched Rye Resurgence Project, which was awarded grant funding from the SLV Water Conservancy District to help farmers in the SLV reduce reliance on groundwater, improve soil health and maintain profitability through cultivating a market for local terroir driven rye. 

Joan has spent seven years working with grain: six years as a sourdough bread baker and one year as a miller. Four and a half of these were with Moxie Bread Co. in Boulder County, Colorado. As a baker, Joan always loved fermentation and the sourdough bread process, as a space of limitless creativity and deliciousness! As a miller, she was inspired to meet the passionate people all along the grain chain -- from the farmers to the food and drink makers. As an educator and artist, she's been rewarded by teaching bread classes and creating educational (and fun) grain resources for our community. These lives have informed one another and have left Joan with a great sense of hope for a more accessible, transparent, sustainable, and healthy grain system. Joan is also a founding member of the Andy Clark Foundation. 

Audrey has been involved in rural and urban food systems across the continent and is passionate about seeds, education, and supporting equitable local food systems, bridging the gap between nutrition and planetary health. In 2020, she received a Bachelor of Science in Global Resource Systems from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Audrey is grateful to have returned to the mountains of Colorado where she enjoys getting to learn and interact with our regional food system. In her free time she enjoys reading, spending time in nature, singing, practicing the violin, yoga, and time with friends and family. 

Lisa found her true passion in Colorado's craft beer industry after earning a Masters degree in Hydrogeology from the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Using Colorado grown grains was a very important (self-imposed) requirement for her and her husband/business partner, Brandon, when they opened Primitive Beer back in 2018. This brewery focuses on 100% spontaneously inoculated lambic-style beers using only Colorado grown and foraged ingredients. 

Carmen, who immigrated from Mexico as a teenager, brings her rich heritage, culture, and engineering expertise to everything she does. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona, she worked in the petroleum energy sector as a process engineer. Transitioning to academia, Carmen taught at institutions like UC Davis and Columbia University. In 2010, she joined CU Boulder as adjunct faculty, all while raising three children, making motherhood her priority. Carmen’s passion for blending her cultural roots with engineering led her to start a successful food business selling Mexican salsas and moles. She returned to CU Boulder to introduce innovative courses like the Design of Coffee, applying engineering to real-world food processes. In 2023, she launched a food engineering certificate program focusing on specialty foods like coffee and chocolate, highlighting the value added along the supply chain and reflecting her commitment to sustainability, education, and her cultural heritage. 

Laura’s relationship with Colorado grain began with her family’s multigenerational dry land farm on the Eastern Plains. Raised within the rhythms of seeding, harvest, and rest, reverence for the land and its stewards informs her work as a grain advocate today. She has gone on to serve as manager at Moxie Feed & Seed in Boulder, as well as stone miller & project manager with Meadowlark Community Mill in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region. 

Her role in the Colorado Grain Chain is to understand and respond to the needs of its members, developing systems which serve and fortify its growing network. With experience serving every part of the grain chain, she is proud to participate in establishing strong market channels which remain regionally focused and communal in / with nature. In addition to her grain advocacy, Laura has 14 years of experience working with flowers, both in fields and studios, and studies psycho-spirituality for women’s wellbeing. 

Jessica is the owner and head baker of Tumbleweed Bread, a whole grain bakery based in the San Luis Valley. After baking bread professionally in Portland, Oregon for 7 years and relocating back to her home in the SLV in 2017, she began baking out of her house under the Colorado Cottage Foods Act. Now, with her partner Jake, Tumbleweed Bread has expanded to wholesale production, serving ten cafes and markets in the region. The San Luis Valley's unique climate supports a wealth of local grains, and Tumbleweed is proud to be a whole grain bakery utilizing all parts of the grain. She is also the Operations Director and co-Founder of Tomorrow's Bread, a health equity and food security nonprofit that believes "no one should worry over tomorrow's bread. 

 Erica is the owner and head Dough Puncher for The Pig and the Plow: Farmstead Baked Goods in Fort Collins, Colorado. A longtime local food advocate, Erica started The Pig and the Plow Farm Directory in 2014 as a concierge service between local producers and consumers. In 2017 she launched the bakery under the Colorado Cottage Food Act as a way to support Northern Colorado producers in a more direct fashion by utilizing their products while continuing to educate the public on the availability and diversity of local food sources. Since 2017, the bakery has had many incarnations transitioning from a cottage bakery to a wholesale bakery and most recently a brick and mortar. Through baking, Erica’s mission is to promote organic, local and diverse grains and ingredients into rustic artisan treats with a global influence.