Meet The Team

Barbara is trained as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and understands the importance of healthy eating to good health. She encourages others to buy in-season and local for the best taste and “for the health of it”. She lives with her husband Chris on lower Thom’s Creek, where they share their 20 acre property with 3 hens, 4 geese and 25 ducks. You might know them as Runner Duck Ranch.

Tanja and her family heeded the call of the mountains, relocating to Modoc County in 2017. Her days are divided between Momming, spearheading Modoc Harvest initiatives, and leading the charge as Executive Director of Advancing Modoc, a collaborative endeavor which aims to cultivate, educate, and anchor Modoc residents, fostering a flourishing community. For Tanja, it’s more than a job—it’s a harmonious fusion of her core beliefs and passions: advocating for social equity, prioritizing holistic wellness, and fostering cooperative efforts to fortify rural infrastructure. Embracing the ethos of “radically rural,” she’s committed to propelling her beloved community forward.

Abbey Kingdon is the Savory Global Network Coordinator for the Savory Institute. She is also the owner and operator of UVE, a Savory Network Hub serving the West Coast and the Intermountain West and is headquartered in Fort Bidwell, California.

She spent time in South Africa living with families on holistically-managed cattle farms after graduating magna cum laude from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in animal science and a focus in communications and ethnic studies. She learned how powerful and transformational Holistic Management is in Africa. She attended graduate school at the University of Nevada, Reno, and received a master’s degree with honors in interactive journalism.

Abbey grew up on a commercial cattle ranch in Indian Valley in Plumas County where her family has lived for seven generations. Her mission in life is to build a beautiful world for her daughter, Maezy, and son Sam, which is why she became involved in creating a thriving local food system.

Living in the rural community of Surprise Valley, California, and being involved in a global organization is Abbey's dream come true. She also serves on the Surprise Valley Education Foundation board and is the board president of Think Regeneration, a national organization offering leadership programs for regenerative farmers. She enjoys doing yoga, gardening, and hiking with her family. She loves endurance running and often runs the beautiful mountain trails of Modoc County. Her favorite run is from Fort Bidwell past Lily Lake to Highway 395 in Oregon.

A native of Virginia, Laurie Pearce is a professional land surveyor licensed in Nevada, specializing in water rights, historic research, and GIS mapping. She has lived in Modoc County since 1997 and has worked as a social worker, program manager, special education teacher, and Modoc Harvest Executive Director before undertaking her newest career shift. Laurie is passionate about land and environmental justice issues and applying her experience and skills to telling the story of the land and its people. She loves growing food, running, exploring, and hiking and has three children and three grandchildren. Laurie also serves on the Modoc County Local Agency Formation Commission and the board of Surprise Valley Culture and Arts.

Liz Wolfin is originally from San Jose, California, and has called the Intermountain area home for the past 12 years. Balancing a busy life as a mother of five and a dedicated wife, Liz is also pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies with an emphasis on Native American Studies at California State University, East Bay (CSUEB). She currently serves as the Apprentice Tribal Workforce Development Specialist at the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment.

Liz is passionate about fostering equity and cultural empowerment, bridging her academic studies with her professional role. Her work explores the connections between ethnic studies, tribal workforce development, and food sovereignty, advocating for sustainable practices that honor Indigenous traditions and promote community resilience. Liz draws on Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge, passed down through generations since time immemorial, to inform her efforts. She is particularly interested in the intersections of health, wellness, and food sovereignty, and how these efforts can enhance community well-being.

Through education, workforce empowerment, and initiatives that support cultural and environmental sustainability, Liz hopes to uplift not only tribal communities but the broader community as well.