Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Community Members,

We’re writing to let you know that after 17 years of leadership, Executive Director Aimee Retzler and Sierra Harvest have mutually parted ways.

Aimee reminisced, “What started out as one school lunch with my son in 2007, turned into a community movement that has exceeded all of my dreams and expectations. Thanks to our hundreds of volunteers, donors and dozens of incredible community partners, Sierra Harvest has made its mark in the state of CA providing education to thousands of students and hundreds of farmers and improving access to fresh, local food for our entire community. I will miss leading Sierra Harvest and feel deeply satisfied in leaving a legacy that has given the next generation of children a deeper connection to their natural world and improved access to foods that will fuel their growing bodies and minds.”

Seventeen years ago, Sierra Harvest’s beginnings were created when Aimee started Western Nevada County’s Farm to School program galvanizing the community to create hands-on nutrition education experiences for children in a garden setting. Shortly thereafter, she became President of a community coalition named Live Healthy Nevada County. Simultaneously, a pioneering group of farmers including Leo Chapman, Tim Van Wagner, Maisie Ganz, and Vince Booth started what would be known as Living Lands Agrarian Network to provide training and a support network for aspiring young farmers. Aimee hired Malaika Bishop as the first Farm to School Director and they both joined forces in 2013 to become Co-Directors of Sierra Harvest, which was a merger of the above-named organizations.

Sierra Harvest made exceptional progress under their leadership and their work defined what Sierra Harvest is known for today including Farm to School, Farm Institute, Gold Country Gleaning, and the Nevada County Food Policy Council. The last three years as the Executive Director, Aimee focused her energy on making sure kids get to enjoy the freshest foods possible throughout their school day. She has led the vision of Foothills Fresh, a scratch-cooked school meal program that will provide fresh, local food grown by regional farmers to every child in Western Nevada County. She applauds the enormous progress that schools are making every day to launch salad bars, remodel their school kitchens and continue to work towards the long-term vision of having a culinary center serving all Western Nevada County students.

Aimee shared, “I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have served our beautiful community in this way and will cherish the deep friendships I have made being part of Sierra Harvest. I hope to use my expertise to continue this work at the state level serving millions of children and collaborating with educators and farmers across CA.”

Tiana Rockwell, Sierra Harvest’s President of the Board of Directors, said, “On behalf of the Sierra Harvest board, we wish Aimee well in her future endeavors. There is no question that Aimee has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort to ensuring school food is transformed for the better in Nevada County. We remain grateful for her passion and dedication. Sierra Harvest looks forward to a new chapter as we continue to support and expand services for farmers and ranchers and serve our mission to bring fresh local food to the communities we serve.”

Sierra Harvest will communicate in the near future on the Board’s process of selecting new leadership for the organization. During this time, Eli Bacon and Sarah McDavid are Acting Co-Directors of Sierra Harvest.

Sincerely,
Sierra Harvest