The Agriculture and Adirondack Harvest Program Advisory Committee is a group of individuals from across Essex County and the North Country who are charged with guiding the work of our agricultural programming. They do not set CCE policy, but they do bring their experiences and insights to the meetings in order to help us meet the needs of our constituents. The advisory committee members are appointed by CCE Essex and the general public is welcome to attend the meetings.
The Program Advisory Committee meets quarterly with the option to attend virtually or in person. CCE Essex staff typically prepare a short presentation followed by Q&A and community updates from the other members of the committee. We are often joined by specialists from various regional teams for brief presentations or announcements.
Meetings typically last 60-90 minutes and take place on Microsoft Teams or in the conference room of the Essex County Youth and Agriculture Building at the Fairgrounds in Westport, NY. We welcome volunteer involvement from throughout Essex County. Call or email the staff member contact below with ideas for programming and research, questions about the committee, and requests to join.
The Agriculture and Adirondack Harvest Program Advisory Committee is comprised of the following community members:
- Dillon Klepetar (Echo Farm & Farmstead Catering)
- Jori Wekin
- Mike Kuba (Crown Point Farm and Dairy)
- Robert Dumas (Paul Smith's)
- Flip Filippi - (CCE St Lawrence)
- Luke McNally (Burlington Electric Department, Forestry Division)
- Jacob Vennie-Vollrath (Moonstone Farm and Forest)
- Alice Halloran (Essex County SWCD)
- Jane Desotelle (Underwood Herbs)
- Roger Hastings (Shady Hill Sheep & Wool Farm)
- Teresa Whalen (Warrensburgh Beautification, Inc)
- Carl Bowen (Adirondack Health)
- Curtiss Hemm (Carriage House Cooking School)
