Award Honorees

Lynn Coody of Eugene, Oregon, has been active as a crucial voice on the organic front since the 1970s. First serving as general manager of an organic farm, in the ensuing decades she has provided invaluable technical assistance to growers, certifiers, producers and regulatory agencies at the local, state, regional, national and international levels. She was one of a three-person team who guided the development and passage of Oregon’s ground-breaking Organic Food Law in the late 1980s. Based on that experience, she served as technical advisor to Kathleen Merrigan (Aide to Senate Patrick Leahy) during the drafting of the federal Organic Foods Production Act and to Representative Peter DeFazio’s staff on the House version. She has been principal consultant at Organic Agsystems Consulting--her own technical assistance firm--since 1982, focusing primarily on education, standards development, management of quality systems for organic certification, advocacy and research. Described by peers as possessing vision, courage and know-how as a deft facilitator and leader, she is seen as a core expert who provides careful thought based on values of integrity and transparency, as well as good science, while always advocating for organic family farmers.