Experience

Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE)

• United States
• Environmental Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Founder and President

  • 2001 - Present

  Sibella founded and directs the non-profit agriculture and food systems organization SAGE. SAGE revitalizes agricultural places near cities to support thriving farms and vibrant local food cultures. SAGE's innovative projects fall under two interrelated program areas: Agricultural Revitalization and Urban-Rural Connections.

• Agriculture and Food Systems Consultant

  • 2001 - Present

  Sibella assists clients in developing place-based agriculture and local food projects. Her consulting services include existing conditions analysis, feasibility studies, business plans, stakeholder engagement and facilitation of multi-party collaborations.



Center for Global Metropolitan Studies, UC Berkeley

• Director, Agriculture in Metropolitan Regions

  • 2006 - 2009

  Agriculture in Metropolitan Regions (AMR) was a pilot program within the Center for Global Metropolitan Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. AMR focused on the importance of local food and agriculture systems to the economic, environmental, and cultural vitality of cities and metropolitan regions worldwide. AMR aimed to engage faculty, students, and practitioners in exploring issues at the interface of rural and urbanizing areas with the aim of creating a bridge between… Show more Agriculture in Metropolitan Regions (AMR) was a pilot program within the Center for Global Metropolitan Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. AMR focused on the importance of local food and agriculture systems to the economic, environmental, and cultural vitality of cities and metropolitan regions worldwide. AMR aimed to engage faculty, students, and practitioners in exploring issues at the interface of rural and urbanizing areas with the aim of creating a bridge between sustainable agriculture and smart growth. As part-time Director, Sibella led production of the Sacramento Regional Local Market and Multi-Functional Agricultural Assessment (2007-2008), put on the New Ruralism & Other Urban-Rural Sustainability Strategies Symposium (2007), and co-sponsored a monthly speakers series. Show less



KRON-TV

• United States
• Broadcast Media Production and Distribution
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Bi-weekly Commentator

  • 1997 - 2004

  San Francisco Bay Area As a commentator for the KRON-TV Weekend Daybreak Show, Sibella worked on segments focused on seasonal food, locally grown produce, and agricultural issues.



Chez Panisse, Berkeley Unified School District

• Consultant

  • 2000 - 2001

  As a consultant to the Berkeley Unified School District and Food Systems Project, Sibella helped develop sustainable agriculture activities and cooking programs in schools at part of a new California Nutrition Network Program. Several of the cooking teachers hired at this point are still teaching in the schools. As a consultant to Chez Panisse, Sibella helped the renowned restaurant define its sustainability goals and principles. She developed Chez Panisse Purveyors (2001), a publication… Show more As a consultant to the Berkeley Unified School District and Food Systems Project, Sibella helped develop sustainable agriculture activities and cooking programs in schools at part of a new California Nutrition Network Program. Several of the cooking teachers hired at this point are still teaching in the schools. As a consultant to Chez Panisse, Sibella helped the renowned restaurant define its sustainability goals and principles. She developed Chez Panisse Purveyors (2001), a publication outlining the restaurant's commitment to sustainability and profiling long-time purveyors, as part of the tribute for the restaurant’s 30th birthday. Show less



Foodwise

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Founding Director

  • 1992 - 2000

  San Francisco Bay Area Sibella developed the nationally acclaimed San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market and the Market’s renowned education programs. She oversaw the organization’s development from inception to an entity with a half-million dollar budget, which included all aspects of the organization: Board, staff, administrative procedures, budgets, infrastructure, market rules, fundraising, and public relations. She developed the Market's acclaimed and much replicated educational programs, including Shop with… Show more Sibella developed the nationally acclaimed San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market and the Market’s renowned education programs. She oversaw the organization’s development from inception to an entity with a half-million dollar budget, which included all aspects of the organization: Board, staff, administrative procedures, budgets, infrastructure, market rules, fundraising, and public relations. She developed the Market's acclaimed and much replicated educational programs, including Shop with the Chef and Market Cooking for Kids. Show less



San Francisco Chronicle

• United States
• Newspaper Publishing
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Staff Writer

  • 1989 - 1996

  San Francisco Bay Area Sibella reported part-time on local and organic food news, including: • Weekly ‘In Season’ column for the San Francisco Chronicle Food Section • ‘Down on the Farm’, a monthly farm profile series in the San Francisco Chronicle. Selected articles: Family Fruit Ranch Fights Urbanization (Van Dyke family, Santa Clara Valley), Working the Land with a Sense of Community (Full Belly Farm, Capay Valley), Farmer in the Dell: Small Sonoma Farm Leads the Flock in Handmade Cheese and Specialty Lamb… Show more Sibella reported part-time on local and organic food news, including: • Weekly ‘In Season’ column for the San Francisco Chronicle Food Section • ‘Down on the Farm’, a monthly farm profile series in the San Francisco Chronicle. Selected articles: Family Fruit Ranch Fights Urbanization (Van Dyke family, Santa Clara Valley), Working the Land with a Sense of Community (Full Belly Farm, Capay Valley), Farmer in the Dell: Small Sonoma Farm Leads the Flock in Handmade Cheese and Specialty Lamb (Bellwether Farms), East Palo Alto Begins to Reclaim Garden Heritage (East Palo Alto Historical & Agricultural Society), Superb Apples and Pears With the Taste of History (Pettigrew Ranch, the Sacramento Delta), Organic Farming in Baja: Del Cabo Produce is a Co-op Affair. • Bi-monthly articles about agriculture issues and food topics, in the San Francisco Chronicle. Selected articles: The Flight of the Honeybees (Varoa mites and killer bees threaten native bee populations); Big Business Pursues Foods of the Future (Flavr-Savr tomato); Organic Grows Up (25-year look-back on the organic food movement); Asian Roots - Immigrant Farmers are Changing the Face of Produce Markets; Operation Radicchio Succeeds in Salinas (Italian consortiums refine US radicchio production). • Regular contributor to California Farmer. Selected articles: California’s Olive Industry Hopes to Diversify; Dry-Farming Fruits and Vegetables in California; Pioneer Academy of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. • Occasional contributor to New Farm, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Los Angeles Times. Show less



Cookbook Author

• Author

  • 1991 - 1992

  Berkeley Greens: A Country Garden Cookbook published in April, 1993 by Collins Publishers, San Francisco.



GreenLeaf

• United States
• Food & Beverages
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Specialty and Organic Produce Manager

  • 1984 - 1990

  San Francisco Bay Area Sibella developed relationships to connected the best Bay Area farms with the best Bay Area chefs. She created new quality-driven supply-chains to ensure local chefs have an of-the-moment selection of unique local seasonal and organic produce. She cultivated relationships with local organic and biodynamic farmers helping them to select desirable varieties and implement harvest, handling and shipping protocols to ensure a superb product arrives timely to market in pristine condition.



Tasting of Summer Produce

• Founder and Director

  • 1983 - 1987

  San Francisco Bay Area The Tasting of Summer Produce began as a small event at Greens Restaurant to bring small growers to meet the restaurateurs. It grew into a mjor event open to the public and drawing over a thousand people to sample the bounty and diversity of the Bay Area's regional farms. Sibella founded the event and produced it for its first four years.



Chez Panisse

• Restaurants
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Cook, Forager, and Urban Garden Developer

  • 1981 - 1984

  Berkeley Sibella pioneered the foraging model to connect new organic farmers to direct-to-restaurant sales.