Beth Robinette
Beth is the fourth generation of her family to work the Lazy R Ranch, where she raises grass fed beef and lamb with her dad, Maurice. Beth explored the intersection sustainable agriculture and business in her undergraduate studies at Western Washington University, and went on to earn her MBA at Bainbridge Graduate Institute, a small independent sustainability focused business school. She is also the co-founder of LINC Foods, a worker-farmer-owned cooperative food hub based in Spokane.
Beth became the first (and only?) second generation certified Holistic Management educator in 2015 after completing her training in Extremadura, Spain, with Byron Shelton. She has had the honor of teaching and studying holistic management in Turkey, Mexico, and throughout the United States.
Along with Sandy, Beth co-facilitates the New Cowgirl Camp and is excited about making future generations of land managers more resilient, vibrant, and diverse.
Sandy Matheson
Dr. Sandra M. Matheson is a life-long farmer, educator, filmmaker, author, speaker, and retired veterinarian. She lives and ranches in Bellingham, Washington, where she runs a cow/calf operation and grass-fed beef and Yak business. Sandra was a participant in the five-year Washington State University IFS Holistic Management Project. She also completed the intensive two-year training to become a Certified Educator and Accredited Consultant/Field Professional in Holistic Management. She is certified as a facilitator by Consensus Associates.
Sandra been trained in personal development; leadership; consensus building; public speaking; facilitation; cross-cultural skills; rural community development, and the holistic approach to management of natural resources, people, and finances. She has worked throughout Washington and the United States presenting, teaching, and facilitating various aspects of agriculture, holistic management, and consensus building.
Doug Warnock
Doug Warnock was raised on a ranch in eastern Oregon. Upon completion of a BS degree in agriculture from OSU, he helped in the management of the family ranch for several years. He went on to serve a 35 year career as a Washington State University extension educator.
Doug is certified as an Accredited Consultant and Educator in Holistic Management and certified as a facilitator for seeking consensus between groups in conflict. He is a member of the American Society of Animal Science and the Society for Range Management. Doug was active in the National Association of County Agricultural Agents and served as president in 1994. He was recently admitted to the organization’s Hall of Fame.
Doug is co-author of several popular management guides, as wells as, five articles in professional journals and 20 WSU Extension publications. He and his wife Pasty Adams Warnock own a farm in southeast Washington.
Craig Madsen
is co-owner of Healing Hooves which was started in 2002. Healing Hooves uses it herd of 220 goats as a tool to manage vegetation and help clients create their landscape goal. The goats are managed to target undesirable plants and to reduce fire risk for clients. Craig has used his goats on projects throughout Washington as well as northwest Oregon and northern Idaho. He has worked for a variety of clients, private landowners, cities, park departments, homeowner associations, colleges and the federal government. He also has experience working in a variety of situations from rural to urban such as managing his herd of goats within the city of Issaquah, WA.
Before starting Healing Hooves, Craig was a Range Management Specialist with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service for 14 years. He has worked as an independent rancher and range consultant since leaving the agency to establish Healing Hooves.
Craig participated in the five-year WSU Holistic Management project where he received training in Holistic Management and Consensus building. He then completed the two-year program to become a Certified Educator in Holistic Management. He is currently certified as a Field Professional with the Savory Institute.
Andrea Mann
Andrea retired in 2016 after 37 years with USDA Soil Conservation Service/Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In her long career at NRCS, she served in Nebraska, Washington, and Oregon. She currently lives near Pendleton, Oregon on irrigated pastureland where she practices multispecies grazing and enjoys retirement.
Her experience includes watershed planning, fire and flood restoration, multi-species grazing, economic development, forest-range-soil health relationships, sustainable agriculture, grant research and writing, coordinated resources management planning, and non-profit management.
In addition to serving on the board of Roots of Resilience, she is currently working with an Oregon group to form a biochar non-profit called Forest2Farm.
Maurice Robinette
Maurice Robinette is a third generation cow-calf operator and a sustainability activist in Cheney, WA. He attended graduate school at the University of Idaho and worked for three years in Montana studying the social impacts of large scale construction force on small rural communities.
Maurice participed in the five-year Kellogg Foundation Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) WSU Holistic Management project (1995-1999).
He resumed ranching in 1981 and started using holistic management on the Lazy R in 1996. Using the techniques of holistic management, he has cut costs, improved productivity, and made the ranch a happy and healthy place to raise a family. He wants to continue to learn and understand the interaction of economics, people, and the environment. He is an educator in Holistic Management and a certified consensus facilitator.
Maurice has been actively promoting sustainable agriculture practices in the northwest. He is married to Ellen and they have two grown daughters.