Patrick Ortiz is Operations Director at San Luis Valley Great Outdoors and manages all operations, planning, and coordination of our SLV Great Outdoors Action Team (SLV GOATs), a locally based trail and restoration crew that works to build and maintain trail and recreation infrastructure in communities and public lands surrounding the San Luis Valley.

Prior to SLV GO!, Patrick has worked on and lead various types of trail projects for Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Southwest Conservation Corps in Salida, Saguaro National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, and City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks.

He is a native of Alamosa, CO and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Management; Physical Geography with a minor in Environmental Science from Adams State University.

In his current role, he also helps coordinate collaborative processes that work toward community improvement by promoting public land stewardship and increasing opportunities for outdoor recreation, trails, and healthy living.

Patrick enjoys exploring public lands throughout the West, fly fishing, mountain biking, snowboarding, and is learning to play the banjo.

Owner of Mudita Camel Dairy; a diverse vegetable farm, fiber, and camel dairy in Conejos County.

Meghan contributes to the team and brings thoughtful new ideas to the organization.

Ben Valdez is a Valley native who graduated from Johnson and Wales in 2013 and worked along the front range and Denver in various hotels and restaurants for 6 years. During this time he held many different roles throughout the hospitality and food industry.

His passion for healthy food and family have brought him back home to contribute to the community he was raised in. Currently he works on his family’s farm helping raise grass-fed lamb and cattle as well as cooking for patients at the Conejos County Hospital.

Moving forward he would like to help educate members of the community on healthy cooking and teach about the benefits of diverse diets. He is also interested in helping farmers connect with local consumers to form bonds within our local area and is excited to serve on the LFC board.

Liza is the founding director of the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition in rural southern Colorado. She has been a community organizer with a focus on social justice, wellness and prevention for many years.

Ms. Marron has a Master’s Degree in Community Counseling and a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish. Her skill set includes grant writing, government, visioning and strategic planning, non-profit management, finance, coalition building, economic development, education, fund raising, public speaking, and managing a budget.

Liza is an avid gardener, horsewoman and student of life.

Max grew up in Kansas City and Boulder, and has been playing in the San Luis Valley since he was a kid. With an undergraduate degree from Naropa University and dual graduate degrees from CU-Denver in Public Health and Urban/Regional Planning, he has worked on healthy community design and food system planning in Colorado, and humanitarian response in East Africa and the Middle East. Before all that, he spent years leading wilderness trips across the Rockies and abroad, and working as an EMT in a number of Denver and mountain hospitals.

He is skilled in writing, research methods, teambuilding, risk management, community organizing, bureaucracy navigation, and strategic planning.  

Max is an avid cook and fermenter, and can be found hiking, skiing, climbing and mountain biking in the Cochetopa Hills.

Daliah (she/her/ella) is a Colorado native with roots spreading from Northern New Mexico to Greeley, Colorado. Born in Denver, CO and living in Alamosa. She’s passionate about her cultural foods, finding new ways to honor the ingredients, learning how to grow, harvest, and preserve them, and connecting with the people in her community who are doing the same.

She’s been in social media and online marketing for over 13 years and is passionate about sharing tips and tools for others to utilize the power of the internet to support their community efforts.

When it comes to local foods, green chile, bolita beans, blue corn, purple potatoes, free-range, farm-fresh eggs, and organic grass-fed beef & bison are some of her faves.

I am a graduate of Adams State University. Afterwards, the San Luis Valley became home for me while I served as a Health Educator. For over a decade now I have traveled, worked in many places, earned a Master of Public Health Degree, become a Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. My goal has always been to return to the SLV to serve the people who won my heart and adopted me as one of their own.

I enjoy hiking, snowshoeing, and sleeping out under the night sky. I have listened online to KRZA Community Radio in the many places I have lived. I enjoy gardening and look forward to living in a place where I can start gardening again.

Jerald, born and raised in the San Luis Valley, is passionate about our local treasures, including Colorado potatoes and green chile. You can find him hiking in the San Juans or supporting a local mission that’s important to him, Tu Casa Domestic Violence Outreach and Prevention.

Nicholas Chambers is a Colorado native who earned a degree in Anthropology from University of Montana, and has been in the valley full time for 15 years.

With a back ground and training in Permaculture, Biodynamics, and Deep Organics, he and his family, as well as a host of international interns, have been running a small CSA mixed farm and homestead in Crestone for the last 10 years.

Nicholas has also been an Adjunct Instructor with Santa Fe Community College’s Biofuels lab, and has given presentations and trainings on biomass energy around Colorado and New Mexico. His consulting firm, Living Arts Systems, offers solutions for individuals, communities, and municipalities in renewable food and energy systems.

Nicholas comes to the Valley Roots Food Hub and the SLV Coalition after 2 years with the Colorado start up SOURCE Local Foods serving Summit County, Chaffee County, and the San Luis Valley.

Nicholas is deeply passionate and excited to be a part of the evolving local food system that is happening both regionally and nationally.

Denver born but cast yonder to the prairies of Nebraska a westward wind bad ended JD’s sojourn in the Midwest and dropped him here in the Valley. Always ready for the spontaneous with a chunk of spunk, he’s the Red Hot Chili Pepp’r with plenty of spice. Locals living on Lane 5 N know him as the legend that sings solo karaoke on late night runs. When he’s not delivering deliciousness on 4 wheels, anyone can catch him tearing it up on two. He’s an avid cyclist with a thirst for dirt and the open road.

Al grew up in Marietta, GA. Upon graduating from Georgia Tech in 2015 with a B.S. in Science, Technology, and Culture, she took a one-way train ride on the Amtrak to Eugene, OR to seek adventure. There she did work-trade through World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming on a small homestead for 5 months. She quickly fell in love with the healing properties of being connected to the land, good nutritious food, the town, and ended up being all consumed by the vast and supportive local food system Eugene has to offer. She worked at a small family-run cafe, volunteered with Farm to School initiatives and School Garden Project.

Wanting more, her life took a small detour and she ended up in the San Luis Valley volunteering with Alpine Achievers Initiative for 2 years, primarily helping run an after school program in Crestone as well as bringing garden education to the South Conejos School District and Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley. Post-AmeriCorps, Al worked a seasonal position with the Valley Educational Gardens Initiative (VEGI), a program of La Puente before finding herself at the Valley Roots Food Hub as the Markets Manager.

Al is passionate about regenerative agriculture, reconnecting others to the food they eat, and nutrition access for all. In her free time, she loves hiking with her sidekick pup Elio, practicing yoga, sewing, reading, sharing her poems at Open Mic Nights and of course cooking in the kitchen.

Ally Jean graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Conservation Biology, where she learned to appreciate the delicate interconnectedness of ecosystems. She was a Fellow for the Sunrise Movement, a grassroots environmental justice movement that advocates for progressive policy changes.

She stumbled upon the Coalition as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2020, then stayed on as the SLVLFC Outreach Coordinator. The best part of her role has been providing a platform for local food stories to be shared.

In her role as Director of Business Development at the Valley Roots Food Hub, she works to build up the local food economy. She finds much joy in connecting new customers with the fresh, local ingredients available all-year-round at VRFH.

In her free time, she writes music and seeks out local hangouts.

Ryan Davis grew up in Atlanta, Georgia with baseball, Boy Scouts, and punk rock. His parents grew up on farms and he was always indirectly around their horses and cattle. Ryan has been around food and restaurants since he was 16. He worked with many different chefs and restaurants, and those experiences taught him how to recognize quality foods through taste and appearance. Ryan came out West to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains first as a teenager, and then returned to Crestone in San Luis Valley for meditation retreats. He then eventually moved to Crestone to experience the various Buddhist retreat centers. Ryan is now about to graduate from a traditional Tibetan medicine program which focuses on the interrelationships between plants, food, medicine, and the elemental processes of the seasons. 

Alex Disbrow grew up in Clearwater, Florida and graduated from the University of Colorado – Boulder in 2013 with a BA in English Literature. 

 After graduation, Alex lived in New York and California working in the art, music, and cannabis industries. Focused on independent communities and networks, Alex worked with Know-Wave Radio, Shea Stadium BK, Pehrspace, Moran Bondaroff Gallery, The Standard Hotel, Foggy Daze Delivery and Disbrow Family Farms. 

In 2017, Alex returned to Colorado. The next few years in Denver were spent in the DIY scene and working at Angelo’s CD’s and More. 

Alex’s desire to develop a more direct relationship with the Colorado food network and to continue working with independent communities led him to the San Luis Valley and Valley Roots Food Hub. 

In addition to his work with Valley Roots Food Hub, Alex grows cordyceps mushrooms, collects movies, and runs a record label and mail-order record club called BEERMONEYUSA.

Whoever controls the food controls the people. I want to keep farming and ranching in the hands of people I know. I also think one of the most radical acts we can perform these days is growing our own food and being self sufficient. So inspiring, encouraging and enabling those around me to grow food is important to me.