STAFF

Miriam Therese MacGillis is the director of Genesis Farm, which she co-founded in 1980 with the sponsorship of her Dominican congregation in Caldwell, NJ. In 2005 she received the Thomas Berry Award. In 2007 Grist magazine named her one of the world’s top 15 green religious leaders. She lectures extensively and has conducted workshops in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Anne-Marie Conn has just completed a master’s degree in Culture and Spirituality based on the New Cosmology of Thomas Berry at Holy Names University in CA. On sabbatical in 2008 after 15 years in congregational leadership in the Society of the Sacred Heart (SSHC), she ran the market department at Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie. She joined Genesis Farm’s staff in early 2010, doing both administration and program coordination work.

Jim Weinrich, coordinator of buildings and land.

Joyce Weinrich, hospitality coordinator at Genesis Farm, has cared for the soul of her family and home for the past 30 years with joy and passion. She is writing a grade 6-college level curriculum and book on self-care and life skills for Transition times; topics include preparing food and caring for your home as ritual, and reducing your home’s carbon footprint.

Seanna Ashburn, in addition to doing administrative work on the staff, is Transition coordinator for the Farm and a certified trainer for the international Transition Network. She has facilitated small and large work groups in multiple contexts for two decades. With a Ph.D. in educational psychology and 30 years as an educator, she is committed to fostering collaboration for innovation that enhances the community of all life.

 
 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Honora Werner, OP, Chair
Caldwell, NJ

Honora Werner serves on the Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Dominic as Secretary General of the Congregation. She is an itinerant preacher, giving parish missions, days of prayer, and retreats as time permits. She has studied at the Farm and her doctoral work included a project about using the Universe Story and learnings from it as a lens for reading Scripture. She believes that at Genesis Farm people can learn ways to live more sustainably – a precious gift as we face the rises of climate change, peak oil and economic collapse.  She also believes that women religious have the opportunity to demonstrate sustainable living within the structures and traditions of their lives.

Beth Lambert, Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee
Califon, NJ
Beth Lambert is the chief executive officer of Herbalist & Alchemist, a Washington, NJ company that makes products from organically grown or ethically wild-crafted botanicals She is also president of Blueberry Health, a technology transfers partnership of NJ Blueberry growers, Rutgers University and Herbalist & Alchemist. In addition, she serves on the board of the American Herbal Products Association, chairing its education committee, and on the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association board. A graduate of Wellesley College (BA-Economics & Political Science), she holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and was formerly a managing director of the Investment Banking firm PaineWebber, an adjunct professor at Cook College at Rutgers University, and an organic farmer of medicinal herbs. She co-founded Permaculture Resources, a publishing company dedicated to conservation of the earth's resources and sustainable development; it was sold to Rodale Institute in 1997.

Kevin Maher, Secretary
Newton, NJ

Miriam T. MacGillis, OP, Director (ex-officio)
(See picture and bio above.)

Charles Semeraro
Wayne, NJ

Elsie Bernauer, OP
Clifton, NJ

Jeanne Goyette, OP
Verona, NJ

Jim Fiola
Branchville, NJ

Judith Rudolph, OP
Verona, NJ

Mary Agnes Sullivan, OP
Verona, NJ

Paul Nick
Piscataway, NJ
Director of software development for Maximus, Inc., Paul is the principal technical architect of a software package being used by the largest public school districts in the United States. He is also a grassroots organizer, activist, and rock climber. He serves on the board for the Amazon Dental Project, a grassroots organization partnering with indigenous communities in the Amazon region to provide culturally respectful and environmentally sustainable health and medical care. Paul was a regional co-coordinator of the New York City Metropolitan Area Awakening the Dreamer Pachamama Symposium Community and continues involvement as a Symposium trainer. He is also an organizer for Community Green, a local organization promoting green living. He is helping to bring the Transition movement to this region, promoting it as a new strategic focus within Community Green. Author of several guidebooks to rock climbing, Paul recently co-founded the Permaculture Network of New Jersey. Paul holds a BS in computer engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and an MBA from Rutgers University.

Ron Hornung
Blairstown, NJ

Suzanne Janis, OP
Verona, NJ

Tom Lynch, Chair, Development Committee
Crosswick, NJ

Veritas Picardi, OP
Caldwell, NJ
 

William Gold
Chair, Community-Supported Garden at Genesis Farm Board of Trustees
Blairstown, NJ