We are farmers, researchers, policy experts, and communicators fighting for a fair, sustainable, and healthy food system.
Angela Huffman
Co-Founder, President & CEO
Angela Huffman is Co-Founder, President & CEO of Farm Action. She leads the organization’s strategy, public voice, and national advocacy to challenge corporate consolidation in the food system.
With more than 15 years in agriculture policy, Angela has helped drive federal action and market reforms that support family farmers. Her work focuses on making complex policy and market issues clear and compelling to policymakers, media, and the public.
Earlier in her career, Angela worked with universities, retailers, processors, distributors, restaurants, and farms to strengthen independent and regional food supply chains.
Her commentary appears in national and rural media. She has been profiled by The Washington Post and The Hill, and appeared on CNBC, NBC News, Fox News, BBC Newshour, NPR, and others.
Angela holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University. She raises registered Katahdin sheep on her family’s 200-year-old farm in Northwest Ohio, continuing a six-generation legacy.
Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer
Joe Maxwell is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Farm Action. His experience in farming, agricultural supply chains, law, and public service informs the organization’s policy development and campaign strategy.
Along with his brother, Steve, Joe raises hogs, sheep, and grain crops on their fourth generation farm. The pair manage a regional hog marketing group selling animal welfare certified pork into outlets including Chipotle. Working with the Ag of the Middle Project, Joe developed an economic model that allowed smaller livestock producers to compete with large meatpackers.
Joe held office in Missouri for 14 years, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, Senate, and as Lieutenant Governor. He is retired from the Army National Guard, where he served as a First Sergeant in the Field Artillery. He holds degrees in agricultural economics and law from the University of Missouri.
Joe has held key positions in both political and initiative petition campaigns. He has assisted Presidential, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives candidates in developing their antitrust, agriculture, and food policy positions.
Joe’s work has been profiled by The Hill, Huffington Post, Mother Jones, Politico, and The Nation. He has been cited by The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Newsweek, The New York Times, and the Washington Post, among others.
Sarah Carden
Research and Policy Director
Sarah Carden joined Farm Action to raise awareness and advocate for policies that meaningfully reform the nation’s food and agriculture system.
Sarah holds a B.A. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. She has been working on food system reforms for over a decade and brings expertise in local food systems and distribution networks, agriculture, non-profit development, and food entrepreneurship. Sarah has also worked as an organizer on two presidential campaigns and one congressional campaign.
Sarah lives with her husband and their two young children on their organic vegetable farm.
Lucy Sears
Communications Director
As Communications Director, Lucy leads Farm Action’s communications strategy guided by the organization’s mission to build a more fair and sustainable food system.
Lucy holds a B.A. in English Literature and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She brings nearly a decade of nonprofit experience, supporting digital communications, fundraising, and media relations for both regional and national organizations within the food and agricultural space. Lucy is passionate about using community-centered storytelling that strengthens public engagement and support for bringing about meaningful change.
Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Lucy now resides in Chicago with her partner and two cats, Bean and Bobby.
Caroline Nodus
Associate Director of Advocacy
Jessica Cusworth
Senior Communications Manager
As Communications Manager, Jessica focuses on furthering engagement with the organization’s work to create a fair and sustainable food and agriculture system.
Jessica holds a B.A. in Global Environmental Studies and an M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University. She brings a wide range of experience from her past work in land conservation, where she focused on wildlife habitat restoration, environmental monitoring, volunteer management, and engaging communities in land stewardship. She’s cultivated skills in digital communications, program development, and creative storytelling through her experience working in the nonprofit world.
Jessica spends her free time tending to her urban vegetable garden, cooking new recipes, and working on her photography skills.
Emma Nicolas
Communications Coordinator
As Communications Coordinator, Emma works to raise awareness and build community with Farm Action’s growing audience around the shared goal of reforming the food and agriculture system.
She holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri. She spent over five years in the journalism field and the last few years working on an organic vegetable farm in Michigan. As a storyteller and communicator, she draws the most inspiration from talking to farmers and sharing their stories.
Emma spends her free time in a garden, on a Lake Michigan beach, or at home with her loved ones.
Colleen Fulton
Outreach Coordinator
Angela Huffman
Board President
Angela Huffman is Co-Founder, President & CEO of Farm Action, where she leads national campaigns to confront corporate consolidation and build a fair, sustainable, and healthy food system. She has more than 15 years of experience in agriculture policy and market reform.
Angela holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University. She raises registered Katahdin sheep on her family’s multi-generation farm in Northwest Ohio.
Vice President
Anim Steel is a co-founder and past executive director of the Real Food Generation, which harnesses the power of youth and universities to build a fair and sustainable food system (programs include the Real Food Challenge, the Real Meals Campaign, and Uprooted & Rising).
Prior to Real Food Generation, Anim led national initiatives at The Food Project in Boston, consulted with Economic Development Assistance Consortium, and developed employment training programs at the Bowery Residents Committee.
Anim holds a B.A. in Astrophysics and History from Williams College and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
He is the recipient of a James Beard Leadership Award and received an Echoing Green award for social entrepreneurship. Born in Ghana, Anim grew up in West Africa and Washington, D.C.
Secretary and Treasurer
Joe Maxwell brings decades of experience in farming, agricultural supply chains, law, and public service. He raises hogs, sheep, and grain crops with his brother on their family’s fourth-generation farm and has helped develop market models that support independent livestock producers.
Joe served 14 years in statewide office in Missouri, including as Lieutenant Governor, and holds degrees in agricultural economics and law from the University of Missouri.
Webster Davis
Webster Davis owns Triple D Produce, located just west of Auxvasse, Missouri. He partners with local FFA groups to provide vegetable starts and inspire young people to pursue careers in food production. Webster has also mentored students through Lincoln University’s Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) program, hosted an intern, and served on planning committees for the Minority and Limited Resource Farmers and Ranchers Conferences.
A proud Ambassador for the Missouri AgrAbility Program, Webster helps farmers and ranchers return to their livelihoods after injury or illness.
A veteran, Webster enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 18 and went on to serve nearly 23 years in the Marine Corps Reserve and Missouri Army National Guard. He is a member of the Farmer Veteran Coalition and the founder and chairman of the Missouri NAACP Agriculture Committee, which works to raise awareness of agricultural issues and opportunities.
Webster serves as treasurer of his local union at the Callaway Nuclear Plant and secretary of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, where he helps ensure records and institutional knowledge are preserved for future generations.