Cris Coffin helps guide AFT’s federal and state policy engagement. She also directs the National Agricultural Land Network, which supports state and local governments, land trusts, agricultural service providers, planners, and conservation organizations and builds their capacity to advance farmland protection. Cris served for fourteen years as AFT’s New England director. She has held several positions in the U.S. Senate, including as professional staff on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and as chief of staff to Senator Herb Kohl. Cris farms part-time with her husband, running a small pastured poultry operation in western Massachusetts. She is an alumna of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.
Megan Faller manages the communication and outreach efforts for AFT’s national Farms for the Next Generation project, supports the Farmland Information Center outreach, and contributes to AFT’s projects in New England. Before joining AFT, she was the farm manager for Alaska Pacific University where she managed a five-acre vegetable operation; organized and publicized the university farmers market, educational gatherings, and music festivals; and preserved 78 acres of farmland. Prior to that she farmed in New York’s Hudson Valley, eastern Massachusetts, and Argentina. Megan holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in modern dance and a Master of Arts focused on food system change through collective creativity.
Brooks Lamb is the Land Protection and Access Specialist at AFT. He focuses on farmland protection, land access, heirs’ property, and related issues. He works on various scales — from national to local — and puts special emphasis on efforts in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. He earned his master’s degree at Yale School of the Environment, where his research focused on understanding small and midsized farmers’ environmental stewardship in the face of adversity. Brooks grew up on a small farm in rural Tennessee. His family and the farm have helped him cultivate a strong work ethic, an understanding of hope, and a commitment to community.
Corey Thomas (he/him) is the CoP Coordinator on this LAPI project as well as Program Coordinator for AFT’s Farms for a New Generation. Corey has spent the last 8 years working for a variety of farms including vegetable farms, diversified livestock operations, and fish hatcheries. He has spent the last few years in community programming and educational engagement through community gardens, afterschool programs, garden construction, and educational workshops. He has a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s in curriculum and instruction with a concentration and certification in K-12 agriculture education.