About CFI

Olivia is the Friendship Bench Program Manager at the Athens City-County Health Department. Originally from Columbus, Ohio Olivia first came to Athens as an AmeriCorps member with the COMCorps program after completing her Bachelor of Arts at Oberlin College with a major in Neuroscience and a minor in History. After two years of service at Trimble Local Schools and Marietta College and an entirely different worldview, Olivia made a promise to herself to return to Athens somehow. Upon completing a Master of Social Work in Community and Social Justice and a Master of Public Administration in Public Budgeting and Finance from the Ohio State University, Olivia was searching for a job that could combine her passion for working with people with her knowledge of policy and management. Through the power of good networking and COMCorps, Olivia connected with fellow board member Ruth Dudding, who was in need of an individual to run a new grant program. Olivia just recently moved back to Athens County and when she’s not doing all things Friendship Bench, you can find her outside taking hikes, eating good food, and spending time with her husband, family, and friends.

Caitlyn Petti McDaniel is  a Staff Attorney at Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, where she represents low-income individuals who would not otherwise have access to an attorney. She practices in a wide area of law, but her primary interests are in housing, education, and reentry from incarceration. Hailing from Dublin, Ohio, Caitlyn came to Athens County to attend Ohio University in 2011 and has lived here ever since (except for brief stints in Baltimore and D.C. to attend law school at American University's Washington College of Law). Prior to attending law school, she served on the board of the Buckeye Environmental Network, a grassroots organization that works to address environmental exploitation across the State of Ohio.

Caitlyn is dedicated to supporting healthy, resilient and diverse communities in Appalachian Ohio. She brings a unique set of skills to the board of CFI as an experienced community organizer and legal professional. When she isn't in court or at a community event, you can find Caitlyn reading books or putzing around on her small homestead near Albany.

Sierra Faris is the current Treasurer of CFI's Board. As a Senior Program Coordinator for Franklin County's Economic Development and Planning Department, her professional life is dedicated primarily to addressing the affordable housing crisis and promoting community development. While originally from the Cleveland area, she has a passion for Appalachian Ohio and loves its vibrant and supportive community. Though Sierra is currently living in Franklin County, she is grateful for her 7 years as a resident of Athens County and plans to continue her connection to the region.

Sierra received her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Geography at Ohio University as well as a certificate in Ecotourism. Sierra's studies focused on development, urban planning, and sustainability. While at Ohio University, Sierra was a Resident Assistant for three years and a Community Ambassador connecting students to the city and county outside of the university bubble.

Sierra brings skills of project management, community engagement, communication, relationship-building, collaboration, leadership, resourcefulness, grant management, and advocacy. Sierra served as an AmeriCorps/COMCorps member with Community Food Initiatives from 2018-2020. Sierra was a Justice Talking facilitator for both years of her service in which she led civil discourse about current events, life experiences, and their connection to the service experience. She received training through COMCorps in having a trauma-informed care approach and received a certificate in motivational interviewing. She is passionate about sustainability, community health, and human rights and is excited to continue to serve on CFI's Board as Treasurer with her current financial and grant management skills. 

In Sierra's free time she enjoys hiking, biking, hammocking, laughing with friends, watching movies, traveling, trying new foods, dancing, and cuddling with her cat, Honey.

Patrick Tegge grew up in Glenshaw, PA a town located just outside of Pittsburgh.  He attended Marietta college where he earned a BA in history, minored in leadership studies, and became certified to teach high school social studies.  Upon graduation, he served with COMCorps, an AmeriCorps program, at Coolville elementary.  He is currently employed by Ohio State University Extension’s SNAP-Ed program as a Policy, System, and Environmental Change, (PSE) Program Specialist.  In this role, he assists county SNAP-Ed staff in implementing PSE changes focused on increasing access of healthy food and physical activity opportunities.  In addition, Patrick partners with CFI on projects including Donation Station, the Families Eating Affordable and Sustainably Together workshop series, and Nourishing Networks. 

In this new role as a CFI board member, he hopes to continue to help CFI work to help his fellow community members.  Patrick currently live in Glouster, OH with his partner Megan. He also enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, working on renovating his home, as well as playing board games and tabletop role playing games with friends.  

Tiffany Arnold, PhD, MEd is originally from Morgan County, Ohio and has lived in Athens on and off since 1997. She is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Ohio University College of Health Sciences and Professions where she teaches Appalachian Studies and Rural health classes, as well as coordinates the Appalachian Studies certificate program. She enjoys gardening, camping, reading, and supporting her kids in their various activities. She currently lives in Athens with her husband, Nick and her two sons, Alden and Jude. 

Carrie is currently a Direct Support Professional with REM West Virginia where she works with intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals in their homes. She previously coordinated the Appalachia Accessible Food Network with ACEnet, Rural Action and CFI. Carrie also served as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Rural Action and the Akron Canton Regional Food Bank. She has a B.S in Environmental Science from Roanoke College and completed M.S. coursework in Sustainable Food Systems at Green Mountain College. Carrie lives in Guysville where she cooks in her small kitchen with her dog Blue. She hopes to contribute her knowledge in network building and collaborative funding to CFI and SE Ohio.

Becky Clark is the Owner, Butcher, and Executive Chef of Pork & Pickles, a company she founded in 2016 with the mission to create a unique food experience that both expands the palate of her diners and holds up the local agricultural community.  She believes in partnerships of equality - superb products in exchange for sustainable income.  Clark uses food as a platform to shed light on issues of economics, climate change, and social justice.  She believes everybody has a right to healthy, delicious food and fair wages, and uses her company to  approach that one bite at a time.   

In addition to her own company, Clark is a restaurant consultant, a mentor for Rural Action’s Whole Farm Program, and a proud OU Alumni.  Her menus center around seasonal local food (what the farmers have available at any given time).  

In her spare time Clark is a loving partner, dog mom, auntie, daughter, granddaughter and friend.  She focuses her time outdoors, pushing her limits physically in all types of adventure recreation, and growing, cooking, and eating delicious food. 

Heather Fuston is the co-owner of Root 56 Farm in Athens, OH and a vendor at the Athens Farmers Market where they sell farm to bottle hot sauces, fermented foods, other produce and native plants.  Additionally, she works for Rural Action as the Community Makerspace Manager.  Prior to that, she worked at Snowville Creamery as their Director of Business Development and Marketing and served two terms as an AmeriCorps member with Rural Action’s Zero Waste Program as their Education Coordinator.  Heather has a passion for connecting our community to local, healthy, sustainable, and delicious food produced right here in our region. 

Heather enjoys eating and making great food, and anything outdoors – hiking, backpacking, playing soccer, and having fun with her two sons and partner.

Adam is the Food Enterprise Coordinator at the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks. Adam graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Restaurant, Hotel and Tourism Management and is currently enrolled in the Master of Public Administration program at Ohio University. Adam enjoys working with all the passionate entrepreneurs that pass through ACEnet, providing technical assistance and training along the way. Adam loves to cook and experiment with fermentation and has a dedicated passion for playing and listening to music.

Mat graduated from the Ohio University Scripps School of Journalism with a focus on environmental sociology and climate change in 2014. Since then, he’s been a dedicated advocate for innovative public policy, environmental sustainability, and resilient local economies.  He is a thought leader and trusted ally for the common good in his community, encouraging others to think vividly and act boldly to enact deep, systematic change that puts people and the planet first. Mat works as the Director of Marketing for the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC) — a non-profit public organization based in Athens serving the sustainable energy needs of 21 member communities and subdivisions across Ohio. Mat enjoys outdoor exploration, playing and watching sports, and spending time with family and friends.