|| Jeremy Roth || Co-Director,
Administrative Coordinator,
Director of Youth Education
Jeremy first became involved with the organization as an intern in 2000. He was hired on to the staff in 2003 as an instructor and progressed into an administrative role over the following years. Jeremy brings to the table his prior experience in small business operations, management, facilitation, graphic design, and video production. Together with his wife Rachel, he developed the KIDS Program and curriculum. Jeremy currently sits on Aprovecho’s steering committee as a co-director.
|| Rosemary Kirincic ||
Outreach Coordinator,
Sustainable Living Skills and 100-Mile diet Co-Director
After her time as an activist on the streets of New York City attending NYU for a photography degree, Rosemary Kirincic came to Aprovecho in 2006 to attend the Sustainable Living Skills program. Soon after Rosie became a co-directer and steering committee member of Aprovecho as well as outreach coordinator for the Sustainable Living Skills program. During her time at Aprovecho she has organized school groups and events as well as taught bread baking, soap-making, wine making and consensus building among other things. She lives and works at Aprovecho with her partner Chris Foraker and their daughter Raven. Rosie loves local foods and her greater community of Cottage Grove.
|| Abel Kloster ||
Adult Program Co-Director, Land Steward
A fourth generation Oregon native, Abel is well acquainted with the forests, fields, and people of the Pacific Northwest where he has farmed, tended land, and indulged in the culture for many years. Abel has been Aprovecho’s Land Steward since 2006. He is a part-time director and teacher of the Adult Education programs. Together with his wife Tao Orion, he directs the Ethnoecology and Agricultural Traditions project. Abel has a B.S. degree in Land Stewardship for Sustainable Communities from Humboldt State University.
|| Tao Orion ||
Adult Program Co-Director, Land Steward
Tao grew up in Santa Cruz, CA and graduated from UC Santa Cruz majoring in Environmental Studies with a focus on Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture. She participated in the 2001 Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at the UC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. She was inspired to learn more about integrated systems and completed a Permaculture Design Course at Crystal Waters Ecovillage in Australia in 2002. After managing two organic farms in New Mexico and the garden at Aprovecho, she is currently helping create and maintain the perennial landscape and water harvesting system, as well as helping to coordinate the adult education programs and serving on the steering committee. She loves hiking, hot springs, swimming in wild waters, food preparation a la Nourishing Traditions, and planting perennial polycultures.
|| Christopher Ryan Foraker ||
Coordinator, Natural Building Department
Chris comes from a family of bricklayers, teachers, microbiologists, and baptist preachers. He is none of these in particular. In 2004 Chris graduated from Montana State University with honors achieving a B.S. in Ecology and Evolution. During this time he also began his studies of woodcraft, constructing log furniture, track homes, and his own simple summer dwelling. Looking for an alternative life tract more in line with his values, Chris first came to Aprovecho in 2005 as a Forester’s Assistant. Since then his focus has switched to the Natural Building Department where he coordinates the Natural Building Apprenticeship and the Sustainable Shelter Workshop Series. Chris is also a member of the Steering Committee.
|| Mike Hatfield ||
Appropriate Technology
Consultant / Instructor
Mike was born in Roseburg Oregon. He received a BS from Willamette University in 1992. In 1997 he attended the Sustainable Living Skills Internship at Aprovecho. There he discovered the world of Appropriate Technology and found his life work. Since then he has been building improved cook stoves and conducting trainings in many resource deprived parts of the world. At home he is the international projects coordinator for the Aprovecho Research Center and teaches classes at Aprovecho on a wide range of appropriate technology subjects, including improved cook and heating stoves, composting toilets, solar and wood heated hot water systems, small scale hydroelectricity, bio diesel production and vegetable oil conversions….to name a few.
|| Matthew Hall ||
Forestry Consultant / Instructor
Matthew James Hall was born in England in 1957. He started full time work in the forest in 1974 at the age of 16. In 1981 he graduated from Newton Rigg, Cumbria College of Agriculture and Forestry with a National Diploma in Forestry. After working in conventional forestry and urban forestry Matthew moved to Aprovecho in 1991 in search of a more ethical and sustainable life, becoming the forestry instructor and Forest Manager. Since then he has specialized in managing the forests of small landowners including selective thinning in cooperation with a horse logger, on-site milling of logs into building lumber, creation of stewardship plans, hazardous-tree removal, tree planting and non-native weed removal. Matthew currently works full time as the Crew Leader for Kennedy Alternative High School’s Conservation Corps performing environmental restoration projects with crews of at-risk youth. He is part of Aprovecho’s adjunct faculty.
