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Education and Outreach

The Education and Outreach program creates, shares, and amplifies knowledge and resources that strengthen and connect healthy working lands, food systems, and communities.

Experiential Learning
Hands-On with Experts

We prioritize in-person, hands-on workshops hosted in collaboration with landowners, as well as far-reaching digital resources and technical publications. Because we know that learning from peers and neighbors tends to be more culturally relevant, we focus on empowering communities to pursue regenerative land conservation and agricultural practices through peer-to-peer, participatory knowledge exchange, uplifting all voices in the pursuit of ecological and economic resilience and equity.

Workshop participants

Workshops

We collaborate with farmers, ranchers, and community members to host workshops across New Mexico and Colorado. Our workshops cover a range of topics including soil health, grazing practices, erosion control and watershed restoration, connecting to financial resources, and more. Recognizing that our participants have as much to offer as they have to learn, our workshops provide space for peer-to-peer learning, sharing experiences and new ideas, and fostering connection beyond the event. Join us! 

Technical Assistance

We support farmers and ranchers in achieving their conservation and regenerative agriculture goals through one-on-one support, workshops, webinars, and producer-centered tools. We work alongside farmers and ranchers through the steps that help strengthen their operations and open doors to federal conservation and financial opportunities. Learn more and get in touch. 

red canyon reserve

Since 2003, Quivira Coalition has stewarded Red Canyon Reserve, a historic cattle ranch near Magdalena, New Mexico. Over the years, through tireless staff and volunteer efforts, Red Canyon Reserve has been transformed from overgrazed and heavily-eroded to the soil-rich and biodiverse landscape we see today. Learn more and get involved. 

working lands gatherings

Continuing the work started by the Coalitions to Enhance Working Lands, these working lands gatherings bring together farmers, ranchers, community leaders, organizations, and agencies across the Southwest to address challenges in agriculture and support the health of working lands. We create spaces for participants to gather and build connections, take part in peer-to-peer learning, and engage in collaborative problem-solving. Join us!

Radio segments

We are cultivating partnerships between land stewards and governmental agencies that can provide support for their critical work within our agriculture and food systems. Listen in English, Spanish, and Diné Bizaad to their experiences and successes with accessing USDA funding for projects on the land they manage. 

Partner With Us

If you have ideas for a workshop or would be interested in hosting one, please reach out to education@quiviracoalition.org. We are excited to work with you!

Meet the Education Team

Elica Whittlesey
Elicia Whittlesey
Education and Outreach Director
she/her/hers

Elicia comes to Quivira with a curiosity about the promise of personal, social and ecological healing through agriculture. Elicia began her farming journey at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in California over a dozen years ago, and worked for Fort Lewis College running a farmer training program before coming to Quivira. Elicia holds a bachelor’s in Environmental Analysis from Pomona College and a master’s in Geography from the University of Minnesota. As part of the Education and Outreach team, she is excited to connect with farmers, ranchers, and land stewards across New Mexico and Colorado to foster community and share knowledge and information. She lives in Mancos, Colorado with her husband and daughter, and their small yard is filled with apple trees, herbs, and flowers.

Elicia Whittlesey
Elicia Whittlesey
Education and Outreach Director
she/her/hers
Katie Miller
Katie Miller
Technical Support Manager
she/her

Katie Miller is passionate about preserving the landscapes of the American West and the vital role that thoughtful land stewardship plays in keeping those landscapes whole and healthy. She brings a systems-level understanding of the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of agriculture and works to strengthen all three through education, collaboration, and community engagement.

Katie holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree from Colorado College, where she designed her own major in Sustainable Agriculture in the Western United States. As a Certified Educator with Holistic Management International and an Independent Farm & Ranch Auditor for the American Grassfed Association, Katie is excited to translate her knowledge and past experiences to support opportunities for the next generation in agriculture and to advance regenerative practices that sustain both people and place through Quivira’s Education and Outreach team.

In her leisure time, Katie enjoys her role as a mother to her daughter and son, and alongside her husband, stewards their land—Heritage Belle Farms—a 160-acre first-generation ranch in Calhan, Colorado, where they raise Texas Longhorn cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry, and direct-market American Grassfed Association-certified beef.

Katie Miller
Katie Miller
Technical Support Manager
she/her
Maria Rodriguez
María Leonor Rodríguez
Education and Outreach Manager
she/ella

María Leonor was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and often finds herself daydreaming about the ocean now that she lives in New Mexico. Early on, María found her love for the outdoors and learned how shared outdoor experiences could help build positive and powerful communities. These experiences and communities led her to pursue work in environmental and ecological programs across New Mexico, Idaho, Chile and North Carolina. Through her work, María grew passionate about creating culturally-relevant programs to strengthen connections to land and inspire long-lasting environmental change. As one of Quivira’s Education and Outreach managers, María designs and implements educational programming, facilitates regional network building, and develops one-on-one relationships with farmers, ranchers and land stewards. María is excited to continue building connections at Quivira and expanding education programming to create more equitable and accessible opportunities for all. In her free time you can find María romping around New Mexican landscapes, cooking elaborate meals, and attempting to successfully take care of her plants!

Maria Rodriguez
María Leonor Rodríguez
Education and Outreach Manager
she/ella
Nina katz
Nina Katz
Education and Outreach Project Manager
they/them

Nina joins Quivira with an excitement for sustainable and equitable food system management. Before recently graduating with an MA in Food Studies from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA, where they focused on US agricultural policy, agroecology, regional value chains, and justice oriented food practices, Nina spent a decade working on diversified vegetable and livestock farms across the US, and growing as a facilitator, advocate, and educator at organizations such as Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions, The Santa Fe Botanical Garden, and Girls Inc. of Santa Fe. As part of Quivira’s Education and Outreach program, Nina merges their passions for human systems and food systems while facilitating conversations and programming around regenerative agriculture, as well as kindling connections throughout the Mountain West. Outside of Quivira, Nina can be found working at their other career as a food writer and recipe developer for various regional and national publications, as well as tending to their hobbies of needle felting, cooking the perfect pot of beans, and taking long walks.

Nina katz
Nina Katz
Education and Outreach Project Manager
they/them