Board of Directors

Joe Dickson is an accomplished leader with over 25 years of leadership in organic, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture. As the Founder and Principal of Lot 49 Advisors, Joe partners with retailers, NGOs, brands, and agricultural producers to create strategies that drive sustainability and meaningful certifications in food and farming. His vast experience includes two decades at Whole Foods Market, where he spearheaded the company’s commitment to transparency, integrity and sustainability as the Global Director of Quality Standards.

Joe is also a Senior Associate at Wolf & Associates, a key consultancy in the organic sector, and is Co-Founder and former Head of Standards at Merryfield, a product education and consumer rewards platform for natural and organic brands. Joe currently serves on the boards of Carnation Farms and Pennsylvania Certified Organic, and has served as a board member of The Non-GMO Project, the USDA National Organic Standards Board, the Texas Department of Agriculture Organic Industry Advisory Board and The Organic Center. A graduate of Vassar College, Joe spent many years raising goats and chickens on a regenerative ranch in Texas before relocating to the Green Mountains of Southern Vermont.

MOMs Organic Market, Gaithersburg, MD

Lisa has worked at MOM’s for the past 20 years and has been a driving force behind the growth of this independent chain of organic grocery stores. Her expertise includes organizational strategy, major initiative implementation and change management, employee engagement & development, category management, and merchandising & pricing strategies. Lisa has also had the unique opportunity to spearhead and implement various environmental initiatives, helping MOM’s drive its mission. Lisa earned her BS from the University of Vermont in Environmental Studies & Political Science, and her MBA from Johns Hopkins University. Outside of work Lisa enjoys teaching Tai Chi and traveling.

Bill Kitsch is Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer at Ephrata National Bank.

Bill is the senior leader responsible to promote the bank’s organic growth and meet its strategic goals and initiatives. Bill has been lending to farmers and agricultural businesses for 20 years. Bill is passionate about delivering value to his clients through the consistency of advice, integrity, and empathy. Bill works to find the new economic model which will increase the sustainability of Pennsylvania farmers. Challenges facing our farmers require critical-thinking skills, vision casting, and the conviction to challenge the current business model. He believes the viability of our community depends on the success of agriculture.

In addition, Bill serves on the board of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, an agricultural non-profit. PASA works to build a more economically-just, environmentally-regenerative, and community-focused food system through education and research that directly supports farmers.

As a project executive with Temple’s Fox MC, Bill coaches MBA students through practical research and strategic development projects. These projects have been completed on behalf of non-profits, CDFIs, economic development corporations, urban farms, and notably the PA Department of Agriculture. The report “A Look at the Economic Impact and Future Trends” was released at the 2018 PA Farm Show and helped shape the strategic vision for agriculture set by Governor Wolf.

Bill holds a B.S. in Agricultural Business from Delaware Valley University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Millersville University.

Bill Lives in Mohnton, PA with his wife and three children.

Independent Consultant, Leyden, MA

Katherine DiMatteo is an independent consultant, previously managing partner at Wolf, DiMatteo + Associates. Formerly the Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association from 1990 to 2006, she was instrumental in shaping the outcome of the U.S. National Organic Program standards and the U.N. Codex Guidelines for organically produced foods. She currently serves on the Fairtrade America Board of Directors. Katherine was a founding member of the Climate Collaborative and now serves on its management board. Previously she served as the president of IFOAM-Organics International Board of Directors and was a founding member of The Organic Center’s Board of Directors.

Penn State University, University Park, PA

Betty Harper is an assistant vice provost for assessment in the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research at Penn State University. She supports faculty, program coordinators, and administrators across Penn State to develop and execute plans to assess student learning. Immediately prior to accepting this position December 2018, Betty served as PCO’s executive assistant, where she gained an understanding of PCO’s mission, organizational structure, and strategic goals, as well as working directly in support of its Board of Directors. Although Betty recently accepted an invitation to return to Penn State, where she previously worked for 19 years, her commitment to PCO, its staff and members, and its vision remains and she would very much like to continue to contribute to the pursuit of that vision.

Gwendolyn Wyard has been actively working in the organic industry for over 28 years. She is a Founding Partner and Manager of Strengthening Organic Systems (SOS), an advisory firm dedicated to organic supply chain integrity and fraud prevention. Prior to SOS, Wyard served for more than a dozen years as the Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Affairs for the Organic Trade Association (OTA) where she worked on the development of policy strategy through regulatory engagement in the interest of OTA's mission and its members. In her early career, Wyard was an organic inspector for farming and handling operations across the United States and served as Oregon Tilth’s Technical Specialist in organic policy and technical review of materials for use in organic products. Wyard holds an advanced degree in Fermentation Science with a minor in Chemistry. She served on the OMRI Board of Directors for 12 years and was the North American representative on the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Advisory Board.

Jaclyn Bowen, MPH, MS, is a food safety expert and the executive director of Clean Label Project, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing truth and transparency to consumer product labeling. Using science, data, and benchmarking, Clean Label Project tests and ranks the quality and purity of popular food and consumer products, awarding its coveted evidence-based Purity Award.

Jaclyn co-authored the largest peer-reviewed study on lead and cadmium in baby food, published in Science of the Total Environment, and presented Clean Label Project’s groundbreaking research on cannabis product contamination at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria.

With a career spanning roles at NSF International, a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, Jaclyn has expertise in organic, gluten-free, non-GMO labeling, food safety, and label claim compliance. Her passion lies in using testing and certification to drive consumer movements that spark industry and regulatory reform.

Outside of work, Jaclyn spends time with her three-year-old son and exploring life on her family’s new 22-acre farm in Northern Michigan.

Chris Anderson is a lifelong organic foods activist, passionate about sustainable and organic agriculture. his passion began at a young age, as he and his family sat around the dinner table discussing the daily challenges of operating America’s first veritically integrated organic farm, Walnut Acres. The family rapidly grew their business from a small family farm into an iconic nationwide organic food brand which ultimately influenced the creation of US policy and the creation of the National Organic Program standards.

Chris’ work in the organic industry continues today serving as the President with Sustainable Strategies. The firm provides advisory services for farms and businesses seeking organic certification, market access and strategic growth plans. He is adept at developing successful growth strategies that are responsive to an ever-changing marketplace. He specializes in creating new brand concepts, building engaging consumer environments, and fostering strategic partnerships and alliances across multiple industries including consumer products and retail, restaurants, real estate, government and the public sector.

Additionally, Chris advises world governments and trade associations on how best to navigate global organic standards to expand international organic trade. He has participated in the GAP analysis and strategic planning for each of the current organic equivalency agreements in which the US is engaged including those with the EU and Canada and ongoing work with Chile, Mexico and Australia.

Chris also serves on the Board of Directors at the Walnut Acres Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to educate a new generation of farmers and consumers about the benefits of organic food and to preserve his family’s legacy in the organic movement.

Outside of work, Chris and his family are passionate eaters and travelers currently on a quest to see all 7 Wonders of the World and experience local foods from every corner of the globe.