February 3rd, 2020
By Lori Sallet
American Farmland Trust Announces Addie Candib Hired as Pacific Northwest Regional Director
WASHINGTON, D.C. – American Farmland Trust, the organization behind the national movement No Farms No Food®, has hired Addie Candib as Pacific Northwest Region Director. Addie will provide strategic leadership for American Farmland Trust’s programs in the Pacific Northwest Region, with an emphasis on Washington, Oregon and Idaho, to advance AFT’s mission to save the land that sustains us by protecting farmland, helping farmers implement environmentally sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land.
“Addie has a deep understanding of agriculture and conservation issues in the Pacific Northwest from her personal experience as a farmer, from her time working for conservation groups and as a board member of agricultural organizations – she understands the challenges facing farmers and ranchers and the critical need for action to protect farmland, promote regenerative farming practices and bring a new generation of farmers onto the land,” said David Haight, vice president of programs for AFT’s regions. “We look forward to Addie bringing her leadership to supporting our growing team of staff and building new partnerships and strengthening efforts across the region.”
AFT opened its Pacific Northwest Program more than 20 years and has worked with farmers, land trusts, public leaders and others to promote the protection of farmland from real estate development and opportunities for farmers to be good stewards of the land to protect water quality and wildlife habitat. More recently, AFT has worked with partners to elevate the role of farms and ranches in combating climate change and build the capacity of land trusts, farm groups, Extension staff and other partners to bring a new generation of farmers on to the land.
Addie’s expertise, experience, and her long running connection to AFT in the region will be vital to AFT’s ability to achieve positive outcomes for farmers and the environment in the Pacific Northwest. Engaged in local food and farming systems in the Pacific Northwest since 2008, Addie developed an interest in protecting farmland while working at the South of the Sound Community Farm Land Trust. She went on to work as the Development Director at Cloud Mountain Farm Center where she established a fundraising program and guided a long range program planning process. Most recently, as Community Engagement Manager at the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, she led a successful capital campaign and trained as a mediator.
“I am thrilled to be joining AFT in a role that will build upon my connections to farming communities, my passion for the work of farmland preservation, and my experience in the nonprofit sector. I look forward to collaborating with farmers, land trusts, and agricultural organizations to advocate for and develop sophisticated solutions to the complex problems that are impacting our region.”
Ms. Candib will be based out of AFT’s Pacific Northwest Office in Seattle, Washington. She lives with her family in Bellingham, WA.
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on a half million additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.