The PCFMA Staff
PCFMA's staff includes farmers' market managers, experienced marketing and promotions professionals, administrators, chefs, and others all dedicated to developing, sustaining and improving PCFMA's farmers' markets. The PCFMA staff is dedicated to ensuring that farmers' markets remain successful outlets for California's small family farms and fun family gatherings for the communities we serve. Click on the arrow next to a staff member's name to learn more about them.
Kelly McMahon, Market ManagerBorn and raised in Brentwood, California, Kelly grew up with three younger brothers, all of which are taller than him, on a ten acre ranch that has been slowly overflowing with thousands of chickens over the last ten years. He studied graphic illustration at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and currently attends Berkeley City College, where he now lives. Kelly loves creating, eating and exploring. Oh, and he loves California!!
John W. Silveira, DirectorJohn is the Director of the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association. He joined PCFMA as a Market Manager in 1992, became Operations Director two years later, and took on the position of Director in 1999.
Prior to joining PCFMA, John sold in farmers' markets for a farmer from Dinuba, worked as an air traffic controller, and served in the US Navy.
Nolan Adams, Market Manager
Gloria Baker, Regional ManagerGloria was raised in San Jose and spent a portion of my childhood in Mexico where she learned to read and write the language. She has been a resident of the East Bay for 20 years. She and her husband share a home with three children as well as three dogs. She spent the majority of her business career in retail where she held management positions.She joined PCFMA in June 2010. She is excited at the prospect of supporting local California family farmers. Some of her favorite activities are spending time with her family, kickboxing, and going on long hikes.
Cody Brooks, Market ManagerCody has been a resident of Antioch, CA his whole life. He’s a relative and employee of Delta Moon Soapworks since its inception, over 10 years ago. He’s worked, and managed in many different retail store for the past 8 years. He joined PCFMA in March 2012. In his spare time he likes to resurrect cars that are on their last legs.
James Cochran, Market ManagerJames Cochran has been with PCFMA since August of 2007. His experience with them has taken him to markets throughout the bay area. Prior to working with Pacific Coast, James was a Market Manager for Urban Village Farmers' Market Association at the Temescal and Old Oakland Farmers' Markets. While earning his undergraduate degree from Miami University (Ohio), James realized the importance of a healthy food system to the nation's overall health, safety, and sustainability. He hopes that, by improving the connections between small, rural farmers and urban customers, farmers' markets will continue to take those small steps toward a healthier, more sustainable food system. He encourages everyone to try to eat more seasonally, especially during the winter!
Thomas Dorn, Market ManagerThomas grew up in Antioch and attended Tracy High, joined the FFA and also took an Animal Husbandry course on ag animals. In the late 80's his family moved to Modesto and they lived off Kansas Ave near all the orchards. He attended college for short period at Delta College in Stockton and also attended Brookdale College in Lincroft New Jersey. He joined Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association in July of 2001.
Tony Garcia, Market ManagerTony Garcia was raised in the East Bay. He grew up in Brentwood and San Leandro. He’s traveled all over the United States performing music. Before starting with PCFMA he worked at local venues including Fox Theater, Bill Gram Civic Auditorium, Greek Theater, Zellerbach Hall, Concord Pavilion and Shoreline Amphitheatre. He’s involved in annual productions of local events such as Bay To Breakers, Nike Woman’s Marathon, Outside Lands Festival, Van’s Warped Tour, and Rockstar Mayhem Festival. He and his wife now live in Walnut Creek, and are expecting a baby boy at the end of April. He looks forward to moving close to the beach with his family and owning a performing arts theater, tattoo shop, music school, and a couple of English bulldogs.
Katie Gronsky, Community Outreach CoordinatorKatie Gronsky is from Santa Barbara and moved to Pleasant Hill, CA in 2011. She has a degree in Community Health from Western Washington University and is passionate about food, nutrition, and health. In 2011, Katie joined the PCFMA as a Community Outreach Coordinator and feels lucky to plan and implement nutrition outreach programs. In her free time she loves to go to farmers markets, hike, bike, watch movies, and drink tea.
Bill Harlow, Market ManagerBill graduated from a private college in Chicago, IL with a bachelor’s degree in electronic media. His cumulative farmers’ market manager experience will be 10 years in November 2011. He finds time to substitute grade school kids in San Jose when he is not managing markets. He is married, a dog lover and has been an avid San Francisco Giants fan since the late 70’s!
Mario Hernandez, Program Coordinator for Cookin' the MarketMario just returned to the Bay Area after opening a small café in New York City. After two years of east coast weather and slim produce picking’s, he is super excited about the California sun and the great farmer’s market s available here. He spends he’s free time foraging the Oakland hills for mushrooms and wild edibles and recovering from poison oak.
Maureen Hovda, Administrative ManagerMaureen Hovda is a single mother of three. She was a full-time mom and worked part time as a bookkeeper at Longs from 1992 to 2010. She joined PCFMA Feb 2010 as an Administrative Manager.
Ron Jackson, Market ManagerRon first joined PCFMA in 2000 as the Assistant Manager of the Jack London Square Farmers' Market. In 2009 he decided to join PCFMA full-time and now manages markets in both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
Pat Lane, Public RelationsPat is well-known and much-loved fixture in the Pleasanton community after years of work for the Pleasanton Downtown Association. She now fills her Saturdays holding court at the Information Booth at the Pleasanton Farmers' Market.
Shawn Lipetzky, Market ManagerShawn hails from Minneapolis Minnesota. He moved to California seven plus years ago to hang out with his sister and brother in-law. He received his associates degree in general studies from Monterey Community College. He and his wife moved to the Bay Area in 2008. In 2010 he was hired by PCFMA as a Market Manager. He says the best part of the job is befriending and learning from the producers.
Kelly McMahon, Market Manager
Jennifer McVea, Market ManagerA long-time San Francisco resident, Jennifer has a passion for all things food - from sustainable agriculture and food justice to bake sales and themed potlucks. She has volunteered at urban gardens and permaculture sites in the city, helping to grow fresh food for residents in need.
Moises Mena, Market ManagerMoses was born and raised in South San Jose where he graduated from the school of hard knocks. He spent his early 20’s in and out of college and working for various retail chains. In 2008 Moses moved to Lafayette, Louisiana with his best pal Bailey (yellow lab), in an attempt to continue his education, but instead went to work for a large oil field company. Four years later he’s back in full effect and proud to be working in a positive light as a farmers market manager!
Debra J. Morris, Promotions CoordinatorDebra hails from Pasadena, CA and moved to the Bay Area in 1999. She has a degree in Arts and Education, worked for many years as a museum registrar, owned her own graphics business, and now promotes farmers' markets at PCFMA by creating printed materials for the markets, provides e-newsletters for each market, and writes newspaper articles for local papers. Also an avid gardener, she received her Master Gardener certification for Contra Costa County in 2006 and helps provide Master Gardener volunteers for the farmers' markets.
Allen J. Moy, Assistant DirectorAllen J. Moy is Assistant Director of PCFMA with responsibilities in the areas of human resources, program coordination and administration. Allen joined PCFMA in 2003, bringing over 15 years of experience in nonprofit organizations
Allen is a native of San Antonio, Texas. He holds a Master's in Urban Administration and a Bachelor's in Communications and Political Science, both from Trinity University in San Antonio. Allen also has a Certificate in Human Resource Manager from California State University, Hayward (now Cal State East Bay). Allen currently resides in Concord, California.
Allen is President of the California Small Farm Conference - a nonprofit organization that hosts educational conferences for California's small farmers and a member of the Board of Directors of Family Builders by Adoption - an Oakland, California-based foster care and adoption agency.
Tom Nichol, Market ManagerBorn in Stanton, VA, his family migrated to Central Florida, in the early 1960’s, pre-Disney when the area was a major citrus producing region. He attended The University of Florida, earning a liberal arts degree. After his college days, he embarked on a series of adventures leading to a phone interview with PCFMA in 1994. He was asked, "how soon can you get here?" ...so two weeks later he was off to California to become a market manager. Since then he's managed a wide range of markets in the Bay area, and have seen many changes in the Association and markets in general. Throughout this time he's enjoyed interacting with a diverse group of producers who are devoted to providing fresh food to the communities that support Farmers' Markets.
Anne O'Leary, Market ManagerAnne, who manages markets in the South Bay, has spent many years working with Bay Area non-profits and county programs devoted to helping people who are experiencing hunger and homelessness. At Pacific Coast, Anne particularly appreciates PCFMA’s efforts to promote EBT use at the markets, and has worked with Cooking Matters to bring nutrition and cooking classes to health centers and transitional housing sites. When not working, Anne spends her time tending to the too many roses she has planted in her garden.
Ben Palazzolo, Market ManagerBen recently moved to the Bay Area from San Luis Obispo. While living there he worked at an independent health food store, managed a salsa dance club, and earned a B.S. from Cal Poly State University. He loves to dance, cook, eat and socialize.
Tomas Pascual, Market ManagerTomas was born in Central America and immigrated to the California at the age of 17. He is the first generation to receive a higher education and to graduate from the university level. In 2007 he received his Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration from Sacramento State University; and in 2008 he received a Translation and Interpretation Certificate in English and Spanish at The National Hispanic University in San Jose, CA. The major focus of the translation program was medical and legal terms. One of Tomas' many activities during his free time is playing soccer. He also enjoys playing his guitar and passing time with his friends.
Jason Post, Promotions CoordinatorJason recently moved to the Bay Area from Hawaii, where he earned a BA in Art from the University of Hawaii. While a student he organized art exhibitions and events for the university, including the first annual ArtMania. After graduation he used his skills to exhibit in and organize independent art events around the Honolulu area. On his off time he likes to play guitar and take his Australian Shepherd on adventures to either the local dog park or a long hike. He used to love going to the beach, for spear fishing and surfing, but finds the Bay Area water to be way too cold without a good wetsuit.
Sameer Poudyal, Market ManagerSameer hails from Kathmandu, Nepal - a land of farmers. Here in the US, he went to Winona State University in Minnesota for computer science in 2003. Sameer enjoys helping farmers and his previous experience as a vendor in different farmers market helped him as Market Manager.
Greg Pursley, Regional ManagerBorn and raised in San Francisco, Greg has been a competitor in Alpine Skiing, Sailing & Fencing. He earned degrees in Architecture and Engineering as well as acquiring a Building Inspectors Certification in Construction. While in college he competed in the NCAA in Fencing and at one time was nationally ranked. He has owned and operated his own Fencing Academy for over 25 years, and has had many of his students get their national ranking as well. Over the years he has held many different jobs in a wide range of fields. He has been a painter, carpenter and has worked on contract with the Government as Lead Designer on jets. He and his wife Virginia have lived in Martinez for the last 16 years where they have raised their 4 children.
Stefan J. Robinson, Marketing & Promotions ManagerRaised in Washington State, Stefan Robinson graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising. He then joined PCFMA as a Promotions Coordinator in 2005 and in 2009 took the role as the Marketing & Promotions Manager. In that role he oversees the development and execution of marketing and advertising strategies for all of PCFMA's farmers' markets. In Stefan’s free time, he enjoys cooking with fresh ingredients from the farmers’ markets, listening to music, working with his hands, and spending time with family and friends. He is a little league football coach extraordinaire, an avid snowboarder, a world traveler, and deathly afraid of sharks.
Laura Salcido, Community Outreach CoordinatorLaura is a life-long resident of San Jose, and continues to advocate for it everywhere she goes. She first began learning about program development working at UC Santa Cruz while she was a student there. She learned about the interesting issues at the intersection of agriculture, society, and the environment as a Farmers’ Market Manager, and then as a Farm to School Coordinator for the South Bay.
Vince Scalise, Market Operations ManagerVince Scalise is a well-known fixture at Bay Area farmers' markets. After selling in farmers' markets for Tri-Weber Farms for several years, Vince joined PCFMA in 1994, starting as a Market Manager and rising to the position of Senior Market Manager where he was instrumental in the opening of new farmers' markets, while helping to sustain and promote existing markets. As PCFMA has grown, Vince has provided training and supervision for an ever-growing group of Market Managers. He was recently promoted to Market Operations Manager.
He has played Santa at the Concord Farmers' Market, has given lectures at WIC offices and Master Gardener meetings, and is a Board member of the California Federation of Certified Farmers' Markets.
He is a great community activist, dividing his time among several fundraising events and charities like Breast Cancer Awareness, AIDS Awareness, and holiday toy drives. He was married in October 2008 and lives in Concord where he has two sweet little puppies to take care of as well.
Matthew Sylvester, Market ManagerMatthew was born and raised in Oakland and received his B.A in Global and International Studies from UCSB. He is passionate about urban farming and gardening, and is currently raising 9 chickens as well as a diverse garden. While new to PCFMA he is familiar with farmers markets having sold produce at various farms in California and Hawaii. An avid traveler and volunteer, Matthew is a well-rounded individual who is happy to be working for an association that helps bridge the gap between healthy produce and consumers.
Chong Thao, Market ManagerChong was born in Thailand and moved to California in 1991. Je joined PCFMA in 2009 as market manager. He enjoys working in the field with staff, farmers, and consumers. Prior to joining PCFMA, he worked at his family farm, sold produce at the farmers' markets, and attended CSU Fresno. His passions are modifying sports cars, computers, music, football, basketball, vollyball, and movies.
Max Timms, Market Operations AssistantOriginally from Macomb, Illinois which is located in the heart of the corn belt, Max is a former boy scout and private pilot. After graduating from the University of Illinois in Radio-Television, he moved to California and worked for Longs Drug Stores for 25 years, starting in the stores in San Diego. Later he made training films and ran promotional advertising at Longs general office in Walnut Creek. He has enjoyed working at PCFMA since 2005.
Kelly Toomey, Market ManagerHigh Flying Kelly comes to us as a native from the Bay Area. This little tumbler has lived everywhere as far east as Antioch and as far west as San Francisco. Now currently residing in Martinez, he is a newbie to the Pacific Coast family and enjoys all the fruitiness that it has to offer. He is an ex-flying trapeze artist with the circus who’s background is fifteen years as a competitive gymnast. His foodie knowledge comes with his restaurant experience where he’s worked his way up from being a server to being in charge of his own restaurant with a staff of 50 people. He’s excited about being part of the San Mateo Saturday market which is the largest market in the PCFMA organization, and he loves all delectable produce that California has to offer.
Ramiro Tovar, Market ManagerRamiro is a Market Manager working at farmers' markets in Santa Clara County.
Sarah Trent, Promotions CoordinatorSarah grew up in cold Minnesota, studied journalism in snowy Maine, and has finally settled in Oakland, where her vegetable garden is miraculously productive all year round! When she’s not in the garden or tending her chickens, Sarah is busy fixing up her 1945 East Oakland bungalow, coaching youth lacrosse, hiking in the hills, or planning her next globetrotting adventure.
Jorge Vega, Market ManagerJorge was born in Mexico and raised in Brentwood where he attended Liberty High and was part of the wrestling powerhouse. He enjoys most outdoor activites (hiking, kayaking, camping, rockclimbing, and sports), but what he enjoy most is playing his guitar and collaborating musically with friends.
Keith Wall, Market ManagerAs a long time staff member of two well represented bay area farmers’ market producers, Keith has been involved in farmers’ market culture for several years as both an agricultural and non-agricultural employee. His love of farmers’ markets extends back into his education at UCSC where he studied Agroecology in the field of Environmental Studies. Through his degree, Keith has had experience working on several Central Coast farms including the UCSC experimental farm and garden which houses a strong CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program which feeds upwards of 250 families each season. As well, Keith has studied the social impacts that farmers’ markets can have on local communities and the powerful linkages that tend to follow the establishment of localized commerce. For his BA exit requirement, Keith wrote a term paper evaluating three of the major linkages between market producers and their benefits and drawbacks. Now that Keith has moved back to his native bay area and is working for PCFMA, he hopes to utilize his experience within the farmers’ market, the farm, and the classroom to better facilitate the connection between local producers and local consumers.
Luke Walton, Market ManagerLuke was born and raised in Ohio, where he worked at Country Pines Christmas Tree Farm and received a B.S. in Sociology/Anthropology from Denison University. While in college, Luke became passionately involved in The Homestead, a student-run, sustainable living community that focused on organic agriculture, sustainable building, environmental activism, and good times. Since graduating, Luke has worked as a kitchen manager for a Bistro, as an outdoor science school instructor in SoCal and Point Reyes, as a property manager for a 1200-acre retreat in Mendocino County, and as a farmer/market seller on organic farms in Washington, Hawaii, Santa Cruz, and Los Altos Hills. When you can find him, Luke can be found banging chains on the best disc golf courses California has to offer (De La!!), cooking huge meals for friends from fresh, California produce (homegrown when possible), soaking in a steamy, secluded hot spring, or grooving to some good live music at a local venue. Luke loves farming and loves California!
Greg Zeroun, Market ManagerGreg grew up in San Jose, graduating from Santa Teresa High School. He loves farmers' markets so much you can often find him selling oranges for a farmer in farmers' markets in San Mateo on his days off.


