Staff
Thomas (T.J.) grew up and worked on the family farm in Kansas. For five years he also worked on a farm with a large diversity of vegetable, berry, and fruit crops. After graduating from the University of Kansas with an English Literature degree, T.J. worked on a large market farm until joining Colorado Farm to Table in 2014.
T.J. was drawn to Colorado Farm to Table's unique farming and hunger relief mission, and was impressed with the professionalism, passion, and vision displayed by the founder. After working full-time with Mr. Madone as the assistant farm manager, gaining experience with high-altitude farming and learning about the unique challenges inherent to nonprofit farming, in 2021 Thomas stepped up as Colorado Farm to Table's farm manager.
As the second farmer in Colorado Farm to Table’s 25-year history, Thomas is thrilled to advance the mission of this farm into the future.
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Farm Manager and Director
Thomas J. McDaniel
Executive Director
Laurie Kari
Laurie joined the organization as Executive Director in January 2023. Her position will include administration, fundraising, grant seeking, grant writing and grant management, budget management and strategic planning. She is very dedicated to the CFTT farming and food distribution mission and is very excited to serve the Colorado community with the farm. She will serve alongside Thomas McDaniel, the CFTT Farm Director.
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Laurie’s previous nonprofit experience will bring value to her new role. She and her late husband moved to Alaska in 1985, where she founded Family Promise Mat-Su family homeless shelter in 2002. She served as Executive Director of the nonprofit affiliate in Alaska for 11 years. Her talents there included grant writing, fundraising, program and volunteer coordinating, strategic planning, budgeting and administration.
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In 2019 she moved to Buena Vista, Colorado to care for her mother and continued her grant writing and volunteering with area nonprofits.
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Laurie grew up in Wisconsin and attended the University of Minnesota. She earned a Bachelor of Science in 1983. She moved to Alaska in 1985 where she worked as a Veterinary Technician for 6 years and took masters level classes at the University of Alaska.
Laurie has two children and enjoys dog agility training.
Board of Directors
Allison Groom
Board President
Allison brings experience from a health not-for-profit background. As a market research consultant with the American Heart Association, she has explored motivations and challenges to living a healthy life. Nutrition security is key to optimal heart and brain health. The Colorado Farm to Table’s mission of providing fresh produce at no cost to families in need can have a life-changing impact on well-being.
Allison is a recent and enthusiastic newcomer to Colorado. Born and raised in Texas, with a brief detour in Caracas, Venezuela, she feels blessed to be a part of this community. She graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, with B.S. in journalism. She earned her M.A. in advertising from The University of Texas at Austin. Her career has focused on market research in the advertising, health, and non-profit sectors. She enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, traveling, and discovering new experiences with her husband, Brad, and children, Meredith and Ryan.
MP Mueller
Secretary
MP Mueller's career of 35-plus years spans advertising, marketing, writing, and nonprofit roles. A graduate of the University of Denver, MP started and ran Austin ad agency Door Number 3 for two decades, before selling it in 2015. She now offers advertising and marketing services through her collaborative group, Due West Co. MP was a featured blogger for nearly three years for the New York Times, scribing Branded for the Times’ You’re the Boss business section.
Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, she lived in Austin most of her adult life and loved being a part of the vibrant non-profit community there. Her past board service includes the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the New Milestones Foundation (mental health), and I Live Here I Give Here (increasing philanthropy in Austin and branding/launching of their annual giving day, Amplify Austin). She has volunteered with nonprofits serving immigrants, breast cancer patients and survivors, political races, and solving food scarcity. She is an active board member of Foster Angels of Central Texas and Colorado Farm
to Table.
In earlier roles, MP was a standup comedian and worked for a US Senator in Washington, D.C. On the home front, MP has two fully launched children and splits her time between Buena Vista, Colorado, and her farm in Johnson City, Texas.
Patric Hardin
Treasurer
Check back for Patric's bio soon.
Doug Weddell
Director
Doug has lived in Colorado for over 45 years. He graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law and commenced his legal career with the District Attorney’s Office in Colorado Springs. He opened his firm in 1983 specializing in workers compensation, personal injury and social security disability. He continues to practice in Colorado Springs.
Doug is an active member of Broadmoor Community Church which supports food services for the underserved in Colorado Springs, including Westside cares and Care and Share. His church regularly has food drives and operates a food pantry. When contacted, he was interested in supporting the mission of Colorado Farm to Table.
Doug resides in Colorado Springs but has a mountain home near Chalk Creek. He enjoys skiing, biking and hiking.
Sam Hagopian
Director
Sam Hagopian brings a wealth of expertise and a genuine passion for global horticulture. As a grower and strategic planner for one of the world’s largest flower production facilities, he has introduced over 50 new plant cultivars and species to the global market. During his graduate studies, Sam collaborated with CSU Extension to lead public outreach initiatives focused on horticulture, agriculture, gardening, and natural resources. He is deeply inspired by Colorado Farm to Table’s mission, seeing it as an ideal way to educate communities and enhance the well-being of Colorado residents through the power of plants.
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In 2019, Sam moved to Howard, where he designed and built his own home. He served as Director of Pure Greens in Smeltertown until 2024 and currently owns and operates a company specializing in industrial water filtration systems. In addition, he works as a Research Scientist in the Crop Physiology Laboratory at Utah State University.
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Sam holds a B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and B.A. in Psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder, and an M.S. in Horticulture from Colorado State University. Outside of work, Sam is often found with his dog, Willow. He’s also a passionate disc golfer and accomplished mountaineer, having summited all of Colorado’s 14ers and more than 250 of its 13ers.
Sara Brown McClain
Director
Sarah brings 20 years of experience in housing research, community planning, and nonprofit work to Colorado Farm to Table. As the founder of Western Spaces, she partners with communities across Colorado to address housing insecurity by identifying what’s needed—from policy to production—and how to make it happen through data, outreach, and education.
A longtime advocate for food access and environmental stewardship, she is passionate about building strong, resilient communities across Colorado. She previously taught at the University of Colorado and has led community engagement efforts throughout the Mountain West. Sarah lives in Salida with her family, and enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, time on the river, and cooking with local produce.
Azul Cohlmia
Director
Azul has spent a considerable amount of time in different areas primarily related to operations. The majority of his operational experience has been in healthcare and medical device manufacturing. Azul brings over 10 years of experience specifically in operational management and oversight. He has founded both non- and for-profit businesses and has worked to promote operational efficiency to maximize growth potential in various business sectors. Azul is Co-Founder/Director of Operations at Advanced Vein Centers and Operations Lead at RetMap Inc.
His non-profit experience has been focused on the development of sustainable business practices to promote revenue generation with a focus on supporting the charitable activities of the organization. While not a native Coloradan, Azul is an avid supporter of hunger initiatives and sustainability which align closely with the goals of CFTT.
In his free time, he enjoys traveling all around the world and exploring new and exciting cultures. Additionally, Azul enjoys gardening, hiking, generally being in nature and, most importantly, spending time with his wife and their three rambunctious dogs. Azul is originally from Chicago, Illinois and currently resides just outside the city.