Deborah van Hoewyk, Treasurer
(she/her)

When Maine native Deborah Van Hoewyk returned home after retiring from the University of Michigan, she sought out a plot in the Bayside Neighborhood Association’s community garden in Portland – and she and her husband became the garden co-coordinators for the next eight years. Deborah also established and coordinates a family community garden to serve three affordable housing complexes in Bayside. In Michigan, she developed a summer garden program for special-needs students in the Ann Arbor-Detroit area; the program integrated academic skills with hands-on gardening. Also in Michigan, she served as a grant writer for a University of Michigan childhood obesity prevention program that included school gardening, nutrition education, and physical exercise. She and her husband now grow their own vegetables in West Bath, much to the delight of the local deer, porcupines, raccoons, birds, and squirrels.

Peter Mason, Vice President
(he/him)

Peter is a native New Englander and a 32-year resident of Maine, and raised two daughters here. He is almost at the end of a career in IT, primarily the utility industry, and recently downsized to Portland with his wife so they could get more involved in initiatives around food security and support of local growers and purveyors. As a long-time gardener, Peter can't think of a simpler and more effective way to empower a family than providing them with an opportunity to garden and is grateful to be assisting Maine Foodscapes in making that happen.

Ali Mediate, President 
(she/they)

After studying at the University of Southern Maine, Ali went on to receive a degree in Community Agriculture and Food Science from The Evergreen State College. She made her way back to Maine to serve as a FoodCorps Service Member at Healthy Acadia. She holds Master Gardener and Master Preserver Certificates through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. In 2018, she started Maine Foodscapes and the Foodscapes Garden Project (FGP), inspired by her AmeriCorps service at Garden-Raised Bounty (GRuB). Since her return to Maine, Ali has worked with the Cumberland County Food Security Council, the Portland Farmers Market (promoting EBT nutrition incentive programs like Farm Fresh Rewards and Maine Harvest Bucks), and the Maine Farm & Sea Cooperative (MFSC). She has a passion for helping raise awareness of the many benefits of strong local food systems. She spends her time trying to excite everyone she meets about growing their own food and reconnecting with the land that feeds us. She can be found reading a book or seed catalogue, riding her bicycle, or in the garden... preferably with bare feet and dirt under her fingernails!