Meet the Carnation Board

Aimee LePage has been the Interim Associate Dean for Seattle Culinary Academy for the past two years. She’s passionate about helping students access life-changing education that honors the rich cultural history of cuisine. Prior to this position she was SCA’s Outreach Coordinator for six years, working with future students to learn about our programs and navigate the admissions process for a successful career start.

Aimee’s interest in food began in 2002 when she fell into the cook position on a tall ship schooner in Maine. After later pursuing a corporate career in business development, she realized that she wanted her life to impact the culinary industry. She went back into cooking, completing culinary school and working in several Seattle area restaurants including Rover’s, Spinasse, Vif, and Hot Stove Society. Aimee is currently the Culinary Producer for NYC Wine & Food Festival, Aspen Food & Wine Classic, and South Beach Wine & Food Festival, producing live demonstrations with celebrity and restaurant chefs. Between 2008 and 2021, Aimee and her chef husband operated a small private chef business focusing on fine dining in-home service, parties and events, along with prepared meals for home and travel. In her free time, Aimee enjoys camping, cooking (of course!), and vegetable gardening.

Aimee holds a BAS in Marketing and Economics from Miami University in Oxford, OH, as well as an AAS in Culinary Arts from the Art Institute, Seattle, WA.

Bryant Helvey is a licensed Professional Engineer and Operations Manager for Graham Contracting. After graduating from Stanford University, he developed a career working on large bridge construction projects in Alaska, Colorado, and Washington.

Bryant is also involved in numerous conservation and livestock organizations, including 4-H, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Cochins International, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

Bryant and his wife, Lindsay, met before high school while participating in 4-H. Lindsay owns a veterinary practice and they live on a small, local family farm with their twins, Landon and Bryn. They have dedicated their lives to knowing and raising livestock. Bryant’s passion is poultry, and he has traveled the United States and Europe experiencing and learning about the history and culture of poultry raising. Lindsay treats horses professionally, has a special love for pigs, and grew up raising rabbits on a significant scale. On their farm they currently raise sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese for pleasure and food.

Bryant has a life-long desire to improve the future of human culture and our relationship with the natural environment. Growing up in a rural community, agriculture and the 4-H organization were critical influences that have led to a life of studying, practicing, improving, and teaching anything related to food, animals, and the environment. Bryant is thrilled to be involved with Carnation Farms, where these values and processes are promoted in his own community.

When the family decided to start a nonprofit at Carnation Farms, it was Daniel’s passion for sustainable good food that led the way towards farm and food based education. With experiences from the culinary field, farming and startup companies he was able to pull from his different backgrounds to help craft and implement a mission to help change the way people want to eat.

I am a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and AIP (Autoimmune Paleo) Certified Coach with a focus in family wellness.

Being a mom of 3 kids, I am passionate about supporting and encouraging fellow moms to live a life that’s not only healthy and well, but THRIVING, while influencing the next generation to do the same. Moms play a tremendous role in the health of their families so I come alongside them to equip them with the information and tools they need to set them up for a life of optimal health and wellness.

In working with Carnation Farms, I believe that together, we can help change the health of America one family at a time by providing moms and families with fun, hands-on activities and events at the farm that equip them with great knowledge and training so they gain nutritional literacy, opportunities to connect with others in the community and work towards environmental stewardship for years to come.

My husband and I live in Carnation with 2 of our kids (the other has now flown the nest) and our English mastiff.

Joe Dickson brings over 25 years of visionary leadership in organic, regenerative, and sustainable agriculture to his role as a board member at Carnation Farms. As the Founder and Principal of Lot 49 Advisors, Joe partners with retailers, NGOs, brands, and agricultural producers to drive impactful strategies in sustainability, certifications, and agricultural best practices.

In addition to leading Lot 49, Joe is a Senior Associate at Wolf & Associates, a leading consultancy in the organic sector, and was Co-Founder and former Head of Standards at Merryfield, where he developed rigorous product standards to promote natural and organic brands. His career also spans two decades at Whole Foods Market, where he served as Global Director of Quality Standards, leady the company’s industry-leading standards and spearheading initiatives that shaped the company’s agricultural policies and commitment to sustainable practices.

Joe’s commitment to the organic movement extends beyond his consultancy roles. He has served on influential boards such as The Non-GMO Project, the USDA National Organic Standards Board, and The Organic Center. Currently, as Vice President of the Board at Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO), Joe continues to advocate for the principles of organic farming.

Joe’s passion for sustainable agriculture was rooted in the Hudson Valley and nurtured while managing a small regenerative ranch in Texas. Now based in Southern Vermont, Joe remains a trusted leader, helping businesses navigate the evolving landscape of regenerative and sustainable farming.

Nathanael Gonzales-Siemens is returning to his roots and the spirit of discovery that first brought him back into farming after a decade of teaching in inner-city Los Angeles and in China and working for criminal justice reform on the West Coast. Nathanael spent his undergrad years studying Plant Genetics and Biology at UCLA and has a teaching credential for CSU Los Angeles. He grew up on a small farm in California’s San Joaquin Valley and founded two businesses there with his family. The first, now run by his brother, is focused on food justice and sovereignty and the second, operated by his wife, strives to implement regenerative farming practices and to equip and empower traditionally underrepresented groups.

Niels Brisbane currently owns and operates a consulting company based in Seattle, WA. His work focuses on the development and management of getting new products to market, both for existing and prospective businesses. He specializes in products that change people’s relationship with food, focusing on health, quality, and sourcing. He has worked with brands including Coro by Salumi and High Key Snacks. Before entering into the world of consumer-packaged foods, he received his BS in Biology from UC Davis and spent several years working in restaurants, most notably as the head of menu development at Seattle’s Canlis Restaurant. Following his time in restaurants, he worked at the renowned WSU Bread Lab where he worked with Dr. Stephen Jones to start the Food Lab which focused on creating foods centered on sustainable farming.

When my husband Daniel and I got the opportunity to start a new organization at Carnation Farms in 2016, we jumped at the chance to do something positive both for the community and world at large. Being the 5th generation of my family on this farm, I can’t think of a better use of this beautiful place than to utilize it to connect people to their food source, teach people about sustainable food and farming practices and just getting people excited about eating local.

A fifth generation Snoqualmie Valley local, Susan is a brand marketing and social impact leader with more than 25 years of cross-sector experience. She bridged from her early career in public health policy (infectious disease and science literacy at National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation) into purpose-driven brand strategy for top consumer brands, including PCC Community Markets, Whole Foods Market and NIKE. Her focus is leveraging private sector resources, systems and teams to deliver scaled social impact solutions. As Vice President, Marketing and Purpose at PCC, Susan is guiding the nation’s largest grocery co-op to harness the power of food to impact social challenges through triple bottom line business strategy. She earned her master’s degree in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University and is a proud University of Washington Husky. A new empty-nester, Susan spends weekends in her kayak or her garden, or foraging for mushrooms in the hills above North Bend.