Market Team

Dana
Executive Director

As a fifth year veteran at FSFM, Dana is proud to work for an organization that centers its mission on supporting farmers and increasing food access. Prior to the market, Dana worked with GVSU's Sustainable Agriculture Project, Access' Farm to Pantry Program, Local First's Eat Local Campaign, and was given the immense privilege of interning at D-Town Farms with the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. Dana is grateful to serve in a role that allows her to bring these experiences to the table to support our community. The Market is a place where people can come together across their differences to celebrate, connect, and learn. Dana looks forward to continuing to steward a vision for the market where all belong.

Day-to-day, you can find Dana supporting our team and our vendors, stewarding our organizations fiscal health, building partnerships, promoting food assistance programs, and visioning how we can further our organizations mission.

In her spare time, Dana enjoys bringing people together over a homemade meal, exploring local parks, and can frequently be found swimming in Lake Michigan.

Ron
Market Manager

Entering his second year at the Market, Ron enjoys interacting with vendors and customers alike in his position. Being in a role where he could support local farmers and food businesses while increasing accessibility to healthy food has been his dream job since studying Sustainable Food Systems at GVSU. Ron has extensive experience in the local food system, including working on organic farms, the YMCA Veggie Van, Nourish Organic Market, and Nutcase Vegan Meats.

A Grand Rapids native, Ron grew up hearing stories from his grandmother about attending the Market when she was child. As we celebrate the Centennial of the Market, he feels it is a great time to review the history of the Market while also looking toward the future. Ron sees the Market as a place for the community to come together over one of the things we all have in common: food! Regular customers and long-time vendors know, shopping at the Market is more than a transactional experience, it is a way of life. The interactions that happen here enrich and give life to the community and deepen our connection to this place we all share.

Day-to-day, you can find Ron processing applications and onboarding new vendors, helping customers access food assistance programming, collecting stall fees, and maintaining the Market grounds.
When he’s not at the Market Ron can be found biking around the city, drawing, or taking care of his plants.

MacKenzie
Communications & Development Manager

As she heads into her third year, MacKenzie loves sharing the dynamic story of the market through her creative role. She is a Grand Rapids native and is inspired by the vibrant colors, fresh smells and friendly smiles to capture her favorite thing about the market -- community. Passionate about the many ways we are all connected, MacKenzie conveys the message that supporting local vendors at our market has an impact beyond leading a healthy lifestyle; It is taking action towards creating a just food system. She is delighted to work at our historic market and share our dedication to providing food access to Grand Rapids and supporting local businesses.

Day-to-day, you can find MacKenzie photographing the Market, running social media and external communications, connecting with vendors to promote their businesses, designing and creating marketing content, developing funding opportunities, and carrying out any creative projects for the Market.

In her free time, MacKenzie enjoys spending time at local coffee shops, trying out new recipes at home and exploring Michigan's unique landscape.

Val
Market Master Gardener

Val has been a visitor to the Market for over 30 years. She became more involved when the Extension Office of Michigan State University staffed a Smart Gardening Booth with Master Gardeners in 2018. Her interest extended to planting a pollinator garden on the west side of the Market Head House in 2019. Once the pollinator garden was established, Val moved on to begin weeding and planting the landscape beds in the parking lot. By utilizing low maintenance, drought tolerant, and some native plants in these gardens, she is setting them up to be easy to maintain and flourish for years to come.

The beauty of the flowers and butterflies is her way of feeding our sense of sight and smell, as the markets produce and food products feed our bodies.

Tessa
Farmers Market Food Navigator

Tessa is the Nutrition in Action Assistant Director at the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids and has been a longtime supporter of the Market. Through a partnership with the Michigan Fitness Foundation, the YMCA brings the Food Navigator program to FSFM! Tessa leads this program as the Market's very own Food Navigator. She spends her time providing nutrition resources, helping shoppers with purchasing, storing and preparing their market goodies, and supporting lasting improvements towards making shopping at the Market easy and accessible to all. Through the The Farmers Market Food Navigator program Tessa is able to address barriers that shoppers using food assistance at farmers markets might face, like building confidence in talking with vendors, selecting produce, and using new foods. You can find her among the vendors on Wednesday's or Friday's from June through September.

While she is not working, at the YMCA or FSFM, it is very likely that you can find her purchasing Market goodies of her own. She also enjoys time spent with her children camping, hiking, and exploring the great outdoors, as well as whipping up delicious Market inspired meals at home.

Vendor Committee

Cellar Door Preserves
Daddy's Dough Cookies
Full Hollow Farm
Mycophile's Garden
Nyblads Orchards
Strick Farm
Visser Farms

Board of Directors

Michele Giordano | President
Kim Sanwald | Vice President
Chad Kirkpatrick | Secretary
Jill Myer | Treasurer
Steve Krogman | City Liaison
Mark Cleveland
Margaret Sudekum
Ryan McNamara
Calvin Wiersma
Jennifer Bongiorno
Destiny Swanson
Briana Trudell

DanaExecutive Director

RonMarket Manager

MacKenzie Communications & Development Manager

Val Market Master Gardener

TessaFarmers Market Food Navigator