By Samantha Cave, NFFC Strategic Content Designer
NFFC’s longtime staff member, Lisa Griffith, retired from her position with us on August 15, 2024. For many of our coalition’s members, staff, and allies, Lisa’s name is inextricably linked to NFFC. Beyond that, many of us are grateful to consider her a friend.
Lisa was actively involved in food system and social justice work before joining NFFC. She resided in Chicago, IL, for several years, working to advance community garden access and foster close connections between local residents and regional/downstate farmers. Just as her work with a local social justice nonprofit was ending, she discovered NFFC while browsing a brochure of federal food policy organizations at a friend’s house during a meeting with other food and farm activists.
Working in Washington, DC, right in the center of policy changes, had been a secret dream of hers for many years. As luck would have it, Lisa soon had the chance to move to the DC area where she was able to meet with Kathy Ozer, NFFC’s Executive Director and a well-respected champion for family farmers. In between meetings with legislators, Kathy and Lisa discussed NFFC’s work and plans for the 2008 Farm Bill. Lisa began working part-time with NFFC that year, supporting Kathy’s legislative efforts and administrative tasks.
Lisa remembers these years fondly and described working with Kathy as a major highlight, saying: “Kathy was one of the kindest and most knowledgeable people in food and farm policy of all time. She was iconic.”
From Left: Lisa Griffith, Ben Burkett, & Kathy Ozer.
She also represented NFFC at various events like the Federation of Southern Cooperatives’ annual meetings, demonstrations protesting free trade agreements, US Food Sovereignty Alliance gatherings, and coordinating member involvement in Farm Aid. Lisa cites these in-person connections as instrumental to both her personal and professional growth, saying, “Through others, I learned what food justice, racial justice, equity, and opportunity truly mean. Having so many teachers has been incredibly important to me.”
After Kathy Ozer passed away in 2017 after a battle with cancer, Lisa transitioned into the role of NFFC’s Interim Executive Director as staff and board members began the search for the next leader to continue the work. Although she only carried this role for a little over a year, it was a difficult transition, especially after losing one of her best friends in Kathy. Lisa credited NFFC’s Executive Committee for stepping up and supporting her—including Ben Burkett, Dena Hoff, Savi Horne, and Betsy Garrold–as well as allies at Farm Aid, WORC, IATP and Food & Water Watch. By early May, NFFC had chosen Niaz Dorry as their new Executive Director and had begun the transition to the shared leadership model that continues today. Lisa then stepped into the role of National Program Coordinator and finally took up the new role she carried through until her departure — as the National Outreach and Communications Coordinator.
This new role allowed Lisa to continue her passion of connecting people with NFFC and supporting our members in any way possible. She often spent hours talking with our members over the phone, listening carefully to their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. When I joined NFFC in 2021 and started working closely with Lisa, it became immediately apparent to me that Lisa was a pillar of support for our members and would always center their voices in our work.
From Left: Lisa Griffith, Jim Goodman, & Rebecca Goodman
Lisa described her overall experience with NFFC as a privilege that connected her to her passions. She most appreciated the “many opportunities to hear and learn from incredible people, and the opportunity to be part of an organization really focused on positive, transformative change to make the future truly better for everyone.”
Now, Lisa is mulling over her next steps. She knows she will stay involved in the family farm movement in some capacity and looks forward to nurturing the connections between people, their environment, and food—both in her community of Belleville, IL, and in Missouri, where she and her brother own their family’s farm. In preparation for the upcoming elections, Lisa plans to engage in voter drives and to support candidates who uphold the values of our democracy and demonstrate their commitment to people over profit. She will also continue her passion for expanding and protecting pollinator habitats from the threats of increased GMO and pesticide use—beginning with her own backyard.
All of us at NFFC will miss working with Lisa, but we know she’ll stay connected to our work in some capacity. I know that we’ll continue to carry forward Lisa’s unwavering commitment to our members and to those who feed us all. Meg Stratton, previously our Coordination Wizard, has taken up the newly formed Membership Organizer position and has already begun to carry out this work with deep care.
Thank you, Lisa, for your many years of conscientious commitment to the coalition and to our movement!