SOUTH DEERFIELD — Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) has welcomed three new board members.
Myra Marcellin, vice president and senior loan officer at Farm Credit East, Tessa White-Diemand of Diemand Farm in Wendell, and Elizabeth Wroblicka, environmental consultant at Conservation Works LLC, were voted in during the agency’s annual meeting held virtually at the end of May. According to a CISA press release, they will each serve three-year terms.
The South Deerfield nonprofit strengthens farms and engages the community to build the local food economy. Its board is made up of farmers and community members who represent a range of business and community ties.
According to the release, the three new board members have expertise in a variety of topics related to CISA’s work, including firsthand farming experience, land conservation and farm financing.
Marcellin participates in the music ministry at her church, and she served on the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Club Family Center until mid-2019. She served in the agricultural community in various capacities as well, including on the Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom board of directors. She is currently a regular trustee to the Eastern States Exposition representing Massachusetts.
White-Diemand returned to her family farm in 2017 after working in social work for many years. She is the third generation to work Diemand Farm raising grass-fed beef cattle, broiler chickens, cage-free laying hens and pasture-raised turkeys. The farm also has a small commercial kitchen.
The release states White-Diemand brings a “fresh viewpoint,” and her organizational skills are a great asset.
Wroblicka has dedicated her 25-plus-year career to protecting natural resources, including many farms and forests throughout the Pioneer Valley. Currently, as part of a team of environmental consultants at Conservation Works LLC, she specializes in land conservation transactions and helping landowners figure out the best way to protect their land. She has served as chief of wildlife lands for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, as a staff member at several land trusts and as an attorney in private practice.