Liz Niles is Compliance Manager at Sespe Creek Organics. She serves on the CCOF Board.
Liz Niles grew up in an agricultural area. Her schools were surrounded by lemon orchards and strawberry fields, all grown conventionally. “I grew up seeing aerial sprays,” she says, “and getting sent home with notices saying, ‘They’re spraying, so we’re not participating in recess today, you might want to keep your child home.’ It was my introduction to making that connection, why are we not allowed outside?”
“As I grew and learned, I started to hear more about pesticides and exposure, and the risks not just to farm workers but to entire local communities,” Liz recalls. “At one point, there was a theater production about the elevated cancer levels in high school teachers at the school I attended.”
While studying environmental science and policy at UC Berkeley, Liz sought a more thorough understanding of the social and environmental impacts of agricultural approaches. “It sparked a passion for sustainability,” she says, “looking at the way we’re farming on a large scale and the effects it’s having on our health and environment.”
Liz took every class she could find about food systems and was active in the student organic garden. After graduating, she made her way to Portland, OR, where she worked for an organization that supported cranberry farmers who were transitioning their land to organic. The organization bought cranberries at a transitional price, creating a market so farmers wouldn’t lose income while their land transitioned. She says, “It was a big learning opportunity about the certification process and about the importance of supporting farmers.”
Liz currently works at Sespe Creek Organics with John Wise (of Wise Ranch in Fillmore, CA, which is a longtime certified organic CCOF client). “My boss, John, has been farming organically since the beginning when farmers were certifying other farmers,” she says. “He was a CCOF board member for many years. When CCOF reached out to say their South Coast Chapter was looking for a board member, John told me he thought I’d be great. I was glad for the opportunity to get more involved with the local and wider organic community.”
Liz was elected to the CCOF board and was recently re-elected for a second term. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to learn more about organic policy at the state and federal levels,” she says. “It’s a fulfilling way to serve not only local farms in my chapter but also to get involved with policy on a larger scale and steer the direction that organic takes.”
“For me, supporting organic gives growers an opportunity to make an impact on their immediate environment, their family, and their community,” Liz says. “When I talk to friends and family, I encourage them to support their local organic farmers. That’s the only way organic will keep growing, gain momentum, and become the norm.”