Market Team

Rori Weston

Executive Director + Market Manager

Rori is honored + grateful to be apart of the market in this capacity. Her infinite love + appreciation for homegrown food + farming made this position a perfect fit. Rori has a background in Hospitality + Tourism Management, farming and has been apart of the Grand Rapids food scene for years. She loves building relationships with the vendors and enjoys working closely with community partners to help create a fruitful food system for all. She has a lot of respect for the market’s history and is looking towards a bright future for FSFM in years to come!

When not managing a 97-year-old market, Rori loves waking up before the sun and having slow mornings by sipping tea, reading + writing. She enjoys spending lots of time in her tiny kitchen cooking + preserving foods. She + her Gentleman Suitor love spending time outdoors, traveling + cooking big brunches on Sunday

Emily Gilson

Photography, Design + Marketing Strategist

Emily loves immersing herself in the local food community + creating connections with farmers and food creators. She puts her creative energy to use, photographing the beautiful produce and capturing love + laughter between vendors and customers. Behind the scenes, she moderates our social media + creates graphic designs to help us communicate visually. She designed this website with the goal of embodying the magic of the market. She's a strong advocate for the healing power of food and believes eating from local sources is beneficial for health and happiness.

Outside of the Market, Emily finds joy in exploring new places, hiking aimlessly, cooking good food, and spending quality time with her wife + adorable dog. Her true passions lie in creative expression, fostering + creating connections with humans and animals, and spending lots of time with Mother Nature. She is a huge supporter of Michigan artists + the LGBTQ community and you will likely see her out on the town, helping raise awareness of important social issues or out dancing the night away with a big smile on her face.

Dana Eardley

Assistant Market Manager

As the Assistant Market Manager, Dana supports vendors, customers, and daily operations while exploring ways that the market can expand its reach and continue to serve as an anchor for our local food system. Everyone deserves the right to healthy food and Dana is proud that our market plays a role in promoting food access for our community. Dana is constantly in awe of the passion, creativity, and care that our growers and vendors employ to bring us delicious, local food.

In her spare time, Dana enjoys growing, cooking, and celebrating food and can frequently be found swimming in Lake Michigan.

Board of Directors

Michele Giordano | President

I am an attorney and business owner who has a passion for local food and local community. My perfect Saturday always begins with a trip to the farmers market and I am eager to share that experience with everyone around me. I joined the FSFM Board because I wanted to be a part of not only sustaining, but also growing this cherished piece of Grand Rapids history.

Jill Myer | Secretary

Jill Myer, is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health Education, and graduate studies in Education and Counseling. She is the Public Health Program Supervisor of the Obesity Initiative for the Kent County Health Department. Jill serves as the departments’ lead on chronic disease prevention and reduction through Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change initiatives. Jill has over 25 years’ experience leading community- based collaborative programs focused on creating healthy eating and active living communities.

Chad Kirkpatrick | Vice President/Human Resources

I grew up farming in rural Ohio and have spent 16 years of my professional life around food. I have an inherent passion for creating an experience around the food that we eat each and every day and a desire to know it’s origin. Supporting our local farmers and making local, fresh food available to the Grand Rapids community is key in combining my heritage and passions.

Kim Sanwald | Vendor

Worked 36 years in management. Have been a vendor at FSFM for 11 years. Consider myself to be a farmer, foodie and advocate for social justice and equality.

Margaret Sudekum

I have shopped regularly at the Fulton Street Farmers Market since 1977. I believe in local farmers markets and I believe that FSFM is a vital part of our Grand Rapids community. I am a semi-retired veterinarian and I am also on the Board of Directors for the Western Michigan Veterinary Medical Association.

Matt Clark

Matt recently relocated with his family to Grand Rapids after spending eight years in Nashville. He holds a Master's degree in Nonprofit Leadership and has worked with nonprofit software companies as well as locally and internationally focused missions. In his spare time you may find him cooking, baking, or homebrewing after a trip to FSFM, cheering on the Cubs and Bayern München, or exploring the trails, beaches, and bike paths in West Michigan.

Ryan McNamara

My love of Food started as a teenager working various jobs in restaurants. I then enrolled in Culinary School and began apprenticing in Canada and Chicago, working at top-tier restaurants that value ingredients and simplicity. With years of experience in Kitchens, I am hoping to learn more about Western Michigans Food systems while Giving back to the Market and our Community. My favorite thing to make is still a loaf of Sourdough.

Andrew Steiner

Andrew is a Grand Rapids native and a graduate of Calvin College. A writer and communications professional, he has worked in the nonprofit sector most of his professional career, including a five-year stint at Feeding America West Michigan, an organization dedicated to increasing access to healthy food. Andrew spent four seasons as a farm hand at Ham Family Farm, a longtime Fulton Street Farmers Market vendor. He believes in the value of the market as a means of supporting West Michigan farmers, feeding our neighbors, and bringing the community together.

Vendor Committee

Boo's Pantry |Annie Heynen

How long have you been in business? 10 years
How long have you been at FSFM? Since 2009
What do you offer at the Market? Holistically Grown Vegetables and Free Range Chicken and duck eggs
Fun fact about you or your farm/business? I’m Boo! My mom called me Boo. I always wanted to have a store that carried all the special items you would find in your Pantry. The Farmers Market is the perfect place to hang my sign.

I love to create, to grow what we eat and share all the bounty with friends, family and new friends I meet each week.

Brickyard Farms | Val Lane + Kim Sanwald

How long have you been in business? 19 years
How long have you been at FSFM? 19 years
What do you offer at the Market? No-Spray Produce & Soap Products
Fun fact about you or your farm/business? We are known as the Garlic Ladies

We love the market and our incredible customers!!

Grand Shire Farm | Connie Hanson + Tiffany Andrews

How long have you been in business? 21 years
How long have you been at FSFM? 15 years
What do you offer at the Market? Herbs, Specialty Container Gardens, Heirloom Tomato plants, Soups mixes, Bread mixes, herbal blends.
Fun fact about you or your farm/business? We offer educational programs at the farm

Nyblads Orchards | Nels + Luanne Nyblad

How long have you been in business? Our family has been farming for over 100 year!
How long have you been at FSFM? 20 years
What do you offer at the Market? Asparagus + fruit
Fun fact about you or your farm/business? We have 30 unique plum varieties in production

S&S Lamb | Sharon + Pierre Schierbeek

How long have you been in business? Farming: A lifetime.....Marketing since 2006
How long have you been at FSFM? 13 years
What do you offer at the Market? Farm grown meats and eggs.
Fun fact about you or your farm/business? The best part of being on a multi-generational farm is that you know it by "heart". Each barn, each piece of property, each stone pile, each water run.....and the memories from childhood to now are impressed upon you. Adam remembers me taking all the kids to the creek and collecting frog eggs in early spring. I remember going with my grandmother to do the same thing! Probably the most fun we have is that we can incorporate other animals into our lives other than sheep, beef cattle, hogs, and chickens. We have llama's, ducks, and recently acquired horses. The learning never stops!

Visser Farms | Case Visser

How long have you been in business? 1903
How long have you been at FSFM? Since 1945
What do you offer at the Market? Produce
Fun fact about you or your farm/business? Family owned and operated

We love FSFM!