Board of Directors

Maria Rodale

Maria Rodale is the author of Love Nature Magic, Scratch, and Organic Manifesto. She is also the former CEO and Chairman of Rodale Inc., publisher of books such as Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, Howard Schultz’s Onward, and classics like The South Beach Diet. Rodale also published the magazines Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, and Organic Gardening, among others. She has been involved as a supporter, board member, and co-chair of the Rodale Institute for over three decades. And has received awards for her lifetime of service and activism, including the National Audubon Rachel Carson Award, United Nations Population Fund’s Award for the Health and Dignity of Woman Everywhere, and The Auburn University International Quality of Life Award. She also has an honorary Doctorate Degree from Delaware Valley University. Maria is also the children’s book author Mrs. Peanuckle.

Roberta Lang

Roberta Lang is the former General Counsel and Global Vice President of Legal Affairs (ret.) for Whole Foods Market, Inc., a Fortune 300 company and the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods headquartered in Austin, Texas. She has been recognized five times as a Whole Foods Market “All*Star,” the Company’s highest honor. Roberta is a Board Member of Conscious Capitalism, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating the theory and practice of a more complex form of capitalism. She is a founding Board Member of the Whole Planet Foundation and she also sits on the National Council of Valparaiso University School of Law. She is passionate about and regularly consults with business leaders regarding Purpose, Mission, Culture and the fundamental principles of Conscious Capitalism.

Christa Barfield

James Beard Winner Christa Barfield is a healthcare professional turned farmer and lifelong Philadelphia resident. It was 10 years into her career in health care administration when her life led her to pursuing health and happiness in a more sustainable way. After a solo trip abroad in January 2018, she returned home inspired to connect with the land, plant life and social issues that heavily impact Black and brown communities and people’s perception of food. Her business is a reincarnation of her career in health care with a focus on regeneration and nutrition security. Now with 128 acres across three counties in Pennsylvania, she has built FarmerJawn with an equitable focus on Food as Medicine and she is leading conversations nationwide on how to take a Farm First approach to America’s relationship with food and health.

Christopher Ely

As Co-founder of Applegate, Chris has helped bring organic and antibiotic-free meat products to the market. Chris has been able to take his life experiences of growing up on a farm in New Jersey, along with working in his family’s specialty meat business and apply it to growing Applegate into the leading natural & organic deli and meat company in America today. After graduating from culinary school in England, returned to his family’s meat business. Chris worked closely with farms to assure they adhered to Applegate’s strict animal welfare standards. Chris is a member of Arcadian Organic Board of Directors, Board member of Shenandoah Valley Organic, PAACO Trained Auditor, former board member of the OTA and of OTA Livestock subcommittee, former board member of the American Association of Meat Processors.

John McGlinn II

John McGlinn is the founder and managing director of Archbrook Capital Management, a private investment firm based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. John focuses primarily on making asset allocation and investment decisions of Archbrook’s various partnerships.

John is the current chair of the board of Argus Event Staffing in Denver, Colorado, and serves as an advisor to several of Archbrook’s portfolio companies.

Outside of his corporate work, John has served in various capacities for philanthropic and educational institutions. Most recently, John served as the chair of the Board of Trustees for Malvern Preparatory School near his home in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

John received his Bachelor of Arts from the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina in 1995. He and his wife Melissa reside in Malvern, with their four children: Daniel, Tait, Johnny, and Kelly. They enjoy travel and time at their lake home in northern Pennsylvania.

Alison Grantham

Alison Grantham, PhD, is a scientist and business leader who founded and runs Grow Well Consulting, a firm dedicated to improving our food system. She brings a rigorous yet practical approach to her work with leading nonprofits, private sector businesses, and foundations to build a more just, regenerative, and resilient food future. Prior to launching Grow Well, she led Food Systems R&D and then Food Procurement at Blue Apron, an $800M revenue meal kit company; Penn State Extension’s beginning farmer training program; and research and policy at the Rodale Institute. Alison currently serves on the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee to advise the US Global Change Research Program, the body that oversees climate and other global change research across the 14 federal agencies. Alison lives in New Jersey where she and her spouse are raising 2 kids, 2 dogs, a giant garden, and way too many shiitake mushrooms.

Mark Koide

Following a 30 year career as an executive in a series of Fortune 500 and earlier stage companies, Mark Koide is currently CEO of Kommunity Ventures a small investment LLC and Founder of the Fund for Social Equity, a nonprofit committed to narrowing the racial wealth gap.  His corporate career was built around his ability to manage primarily health and nutrition oriented companies and brands. This includes tenures at the world’s largest food and beverage corporations – Mars, Kraft, Danone and Campbell Soup/Pepperidge Farm as well as in CEO and strategic consulting roles in smaller companies.  He serves as an advisor to the Rodale Institute, the US Asia Institute and the Marine Biological Laboratory of the University of Chicago.  An avid fly fisherman, competitive tennis player,  he and his wife Karen have three adult children.

Brian Lenhart

Brian Lenhart is a Vice President at American Express with a 20-year career covering advertising, product management, marketing, digital development, human resources, strategic consulting and partnerships and has served premium customers, small businesses and large corporations. Before joining American Express, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi on advertising campaigns for Procter & Gamble. He has proven to be deeply invested and involved in the Rodale Institute mission for nearly five years. Brian and his wife, Lisa, were some of the first Pennsylvania-based clients to engage with the Institute’s Organic Consultancy when they moved back to their family farm in 2019.

Sam Nana-Sinkam

Sam is the Founding Partner of Third Place, a firm investing in innovative opportunities to build sustainable farming systems. They just recently debuted their first project, Bloom Farm, a 60-acre environmental education center called & nature preserve in Berks County. The farm focuses on perennial tree crops, while also offering wellness, education & hospitality programs for the community. Prior to Third Place, Nana-Sinkam spent 12 years at Google leading various teams specializing in Analytics, Telecommunications & Data Partnerships. Sam and his wife, Sara, currently live in Haverford, PA with their three children.

Loren Speziale

As Deputy Managing Partner, Loren Speziale regularly counsels small to mid-sized, private and public corporations as well as privately held businesses on corporate and employment matters. Loren is a former member of the District XA Attorney Ethics Committee. She was selected for inclusion in the 2013, 2014, and 2015 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, and in 2010 and 2011 Loren was recognized by New Jersey Super Lawyers on their Rising Stars list. Loren was nominated as one of Lehigh Valley Business’s 2018 Women of Influence. In 2017, she was recognized by Lehigh Valley Magazine as a “Local Legal Leader” and was selected for Lehigh Valley Style’s “Lehigh Valley Select Lawyers” issue. In 2014, Lehigh Valley Business also recognized Loren on their list of “Forty Under 40.” After receiving this recognition, Loren was asked to serve as a judge for 2015.

Scott Stoll

Dr. Scott Stoll is an international leader in lifestyle medicine and board-certified physician specializing in sports and regenerative musculoskeletal medicine. During his career, he has provided care to top Olympic, professional and collegiate athletes as well as Royal families in Europe and the Middle East. An innovator, he is the co-founder of the Plantrician Project and served as a member of the Whole Foods scientific and medical advisory board and consults with healthcare organizations globally to integrate lifestyle medicine solutions. As a past keynote speaker at the Institute’s Regenerative Healthcare Conference, he has been a long-time thought leader to the organization.

Jeff Tkach

Jeff Tkach, Rodale Institute’s Chief Executive Officer, is on a mission to reconnect humans with the earth. He is responsible for leading the organization’s growth, impact, and strategic planning, and is committed to advancing the Institute’s world-renowned research and education on regenerative organic agriculture. In this role, Tkach leads a global workforce dedicated to advancing innovations in regenerative organic agriculture. His management portfolio includes strategic planning, overseeing the Institute’s twelve campus operations in the U.S. and Europe, directing research investments, and supervising the organization’s education programs. Before assuming the Institute’s most senior leadership position, Tkach served as Rodale Institute’s Chief Impact Officer.

Bill Wolf

Bill Wolf is Founder and CEO of Wolf & Associates, a leading global organic consultancy, and an innovative thought leader in organic and value-added product development and sustainable agricultural practices. He passionately mentors numerous individuals, projects and companies to enhance food and agriculture for healthier soils, plants, animals, and people. Bill’s pioneering work includes founding the first national organic farming supply company and Thorvin, the largest U.S. certified organic seaweed brand and co-founder of New Resource Bank to fund organic and sustainable businesses. He received the Organic Trade Association’s top accolade, the Organic Leadership Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement. He and his wife, Bonnie Brooks, operate Second Star Farm in Sinking Creek, Va.