Interested in joining us at Foodscapes?
Please reach out to info@mainefoodscapes.org to get involved.

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Meet the 2023 Foodscapes Team

Our Board of Directors 

Ali Mediate (she/they)
Founder/ Director & Board Member

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!

Katie Yates (she/her)
Board President

Katie Yates is originally from Upstate New York, and relocated to Maine in 2018. She is currently a Community Relations Manager at Central Maine Power. Previously, she worked for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the National Park Service. She earned a Master of Science from Slippery Rock University in 2022. She is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Litchfield Maine Conservation Commission and is a committee member for Maine’s Wildlife Habitat Education Program.  

In her spare time, Katie enjoys baking, spending time outside, and writing. She is an avid gardener and slow-living enthusiast, currently raising nine egg-laying chickens and learning how to preserve the food she grows. She is a firm believer that being outdoors and close to your food source are not only critical for good mental health, but they are the cornerstones of sustainability. ​

Lee Klarman (he/him)
Board Vice President

Lee loves being outside.  His passions include kayaking the Saco River, camping in the White Mountains, and growing garlic.  He received an undergraduate degree in Community and Justice Studies with a Minor in Sculpture from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina and a Master’s Degree in Policy, Planning, and Management with a concentration in Non-Profit Management from the University of Southern Maine.  In his free time, he has been employed doing Restorative Justice in the court system of North Carolina, Youth Development with Boys & Girls Club, and building strong & equitable communities with United Way.  

Sarah Warren (she/her)
Board Treasurer

Sarah was raised in Southern Maine with a passion for the outdoors and an affinity for natural spaces. She graduated from Lesley University with a degree in Global Studies and a received a minor in Spanish via a year at La Universitat de Barcelona. Through her time in Boston and abroad, she came to appreciate the importance of local solutions to global problems. This principal, along with her aptitude for technology, systems thinking, and nonprofit data management led her to her role as Director of Technology & Data for United Way of Southern Maine. Like many at the onset of the pandemic, she started her first garden & made a home for her first batch of chickens, furthering her interest in being in close relationship with food sources. She currently sits on the Freeport Shellfish Conservation Commission and believes that we must ensure responsible stewardship of natural resources to benefit all living beings.

Margaret Patkus (she/they)
Board Secretary

Margaret grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and graduated from St. Olaf College in 2019. Throughout her college years in Minnesota, she immersed herself in learning about environmental justice, global food security, and local food systems. Margaret has held a number of roles at various nonprofit organizations, including Education Intern at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Community Engagement Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator at Keystone Community Services (St. Paul, MN), and Conference Program Assistant with the Institute on Science for Global Policy. She has also worked in food retail in both co-op grocery store and on-farm market settings. Margaret believes strongly in the power of access to green space and nutritious, culturally fulfilling food and can often be found practicing yoga, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Abby Snell (she/her)
Board Member & Foodscapes Educator

Abby Snell has been a baker in and around the Portland area since her graduation from the culinary program at SMCC in 2007. For the last 8 years she's been running the kitchen at Snell Family Farm providing the farm stand with baked goods, pickles, jams and jellies. She has recently returned to USM in the Food Studies program where she is pursuing her interest in public service and advocacy through food security and local food systems. She has a passion for gardening, local food and spending time outdoors with her dog and horse and is looking forward to her involvement in the year ahead contributing her food experiences and interests as a new board member at Maine Foodscapes.

Peter Mason (he/him)
Board Member
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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.

Scott Mazer (he/him)
Board Member & Foodscapes Educator 

Scott Mazer is a local chef and entrepreneur. Born and raised in New England, he has been gardening since he was a child, helping his mother with her flower and vegetable gardens. Scott brings to Maine Foodscapes over a decade of experience and passion working with food. Scott has an affection for the culinary culture of New England: he helped open the Monadnock food co-op, and managed B's Tacos food truck, which used freshly grown ingredients from the owner’s garden. Since moving to Portland he has become an integral part of the award winning catering team at Bird & Co. Scott is also a wild food enthusiast, and has dedicated much of the last six years to the art of foraging wild mushrooms. He has led several foraging walks, sharing his love and knowledge of wild food with others. Scott also has helped facilitate canning workshops, and was proud to cook for the first annual Foodscapes Gala. Scott is excited to be a part of the Foodscapes family!

Alyssa Schoppee (she/her)
Board Member

​Alyssa grew up in Maine and spent countless hours as a kid helping out (or eating inventory, depending on who you ask) in her grandparents' berry fields and market stand. She then spent almost a decade in Boston. First attending Northeastern University to study Sustainable Development and Food Systems, and then working in volunteer management and development at a women's shelter in the city. Alyssa recently moved back to Maine and settled in Brunswick where she works as the Development Director for a food security nonprofit. In her spare time, Alyssa likes to hike and kayak with her dog Watson, ski, grow veggies, try new recipes, and practice yoga. Alyssa joined the Foodscapes board in 2023 and is excited to lend a hand to our fundraising efforts.  

Christian Breau (he/him)
Board Member

​Christian is a lifelong Mainer.  He grew up in Lewiston and moved to Auburn with his wife shortly after they married - they have two sons. In 2021, they moved to their camp in Winthrop to be closer to the lake. Christian has worked in the IT field since 1999, but it wasn't until he joined RoundTable Technology in 2012 that his eyes were opened to the vast world of nonprofits and their incredible missions. While he has been helping nonprofit organizations with their IT for more than a decade, he wants to get more involved and use his skills to give back to the community.

Our Key Volunteers

Linsey MacDougall, Foodscapes Gardener Mentor
(she/her)

Linsey made the move to Maine in 2017 in order to be closer to her family living in the Augusta area. She is currently the Development & Programs Manager with the Maine Justice Foundation. Previously, Linsey has worked for Visit Portland, the Maine Mariners, Skinner Auctioneers and Broadway in Boston in business development, marketing, and corporate partnerships roles. She holds a BA from Franklin Pierce University and a BS from Boston University as well as several certifications in hospitality & tourism, destination management and grant writing. Linsey has previously served on the board of Maine Foodscapes and as Board President for 2022. She also serves as a Board Advisor for the Maine Sports Commission where she is a member of the Maine Girls and Women in Sports Committee.

Linsey grew up as the daughter of a gardener and has been gardening herself now for over 20 years. She has a deep personal commitment to sustainable local food systems, food security, and food equity. Linsey lives in Portland with her husband and 3 rescue cats. She currently maintains 17 raised garden beds (and counting) in her small backyard where she grows and preserves a significant portion of their own food.