NARBA Leadership
Executive Council
NARBA’s Board of Directors is called the “Executive Council” and is made up of eight Regional Representatives, up to four At-large Representatives, and the officers (who may or may not also be Regional Representatives). Executive Council members serve three-year terms and are elected by the membership.
Interested in joining our leadership? Contact info@raspberryblackberry.com for more information.
2023 Officers
President – Tom O’Brien, O’Brien Family Farms, Coats, NC
Contact: obrientp@aol.com
Vice President – Amanda McWhirt, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
Contact: amcwhirt@uada.edu
Treasurer – Ben Butler, Butler’s Orchards, Germantown, MD
Contact: ben@butlersorchard.com
Executive Director – Darcy Kochis, Portland, OR
Contact: info@raspberryblackberry.com
2023 Regional Representatives
Region 1: (Canada and Europe)
David Klyn-Hesselink, Fenwick Berry Farm, Fenwick, Ontario, Canada
Contact: berryfresh@sympatico.ca
Region 2 (CT, NH, NY, MA, ME, RI, VT)
Courtney Weber, Cornell AgriTech, NYSAES, Geneva, NY
Contact: caw34@cornell.edu
Region 3 (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA, WV)
Ben Butler, Butler’s Orchard, Germantown, MD
Contact: ben@butlersorchard.com
Region 4 (IN, KY, MI, OH, WI)
Monica Schafer, Schafer Raspberries, Williamston, MI
Contact: schafermonica@yahoo.com
Region 5 (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN)
Tom O’Brien, O’Brien Family Farms, Coats, NC
Contact: obrientp@aol.com
Region 6 (AR, IA, IL, KS, MO, MN, ND, NE, OK)
Amanda McWhirt, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
Contact: amcwhirt@uada.edu
Region 7 (AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, HI, MT, NM, OR, TX, UT, WA, WY)
Darren Sinn, Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission, Portland, OR
Contact: darren.sinn@berryfresh.com
Region 8 (Mexico and Central & South America)
Juan Pablo Molina Baranzini, Reiter Affiliated Companies, Jocotepec, Jalisco, Mexico
Contact: juan.molina@berry.net
2023 At-Large Representatives
Karen Blaedow, NC State University Extension, Hendersonville, NC
Contact: karen_blaedow@ncsu.edu
Ken Hopps, Sun Belle, Schiller Park, IL
Contact: khopps@sun-belle.com
Whitney Phillips, PhyllaTech, LLC, Farmville, NC
Contact: whitney.phillips@phyllatech.com
Pierson Geyer, AgriBerry Farm & CSA, Hanover, VA
Contact: pierson.geyer@gmail.com