Our Team
The success of our farm, creamery, and shops are all built on one thing: teamwork. We are intensely focused on collaborating and providing training and careers to our country’s next generation of farmers and food producers. We collaborate within our own team and also with neighbors, local businesses, public entities, schools, and more.
Farm
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Co-owner (she/her)
Tamara was born in rural San Diego County and spent her early childhood in Oklahoma. She received her BA in Sociology from UCSD and moved to San Francisco for graduate school, receiving her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Tamara is passionate about building healthy and vibrant communities. She was drawn to restoring the land and farm to ensure that the farm could produce healthy food for local communities and contribute to the economic and social fabric of Tomales and West Marin. She spends her free time involved with organizations she feels passionate about, including the Marin Agricultural Land Trust and Agricultural Institute of Marin.
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Co-owner (he/him)
David was born and raised in New York City and attended Yale University, receiving a BA in Literature. He received his MD from Albany Medical School and ventured out West when he joined the Navy. He fell in love with West Marin as it reminded him of the idyllic summers spent in Maine as a kid and he’s passionate about sharing great food. When not working at UCSF, you can often find him fixing tractors, cars, and broken pumps at the farm, slinging cheese at the Marin Farmers Market on Sundays, or making coffee at our wood-fired bagel shop in San Francisco, Daily Driver.
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Apprentice (she/her)
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Facilities Manager (he/him)
Jacob is a California native and grew up in SoCal. He can fix any car, machine, and more!
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Assistant Herd & Land Manager (she/her)
Audrey is a recent graduate of Cal Poly, SLO with a degree in Animal Science and minor in Sustainable Agriculture. She grew up around sheep and goats in Bakersfield.
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Bookkeeper (she/her)
After over 40 years of living in San Diego, Cindy sold her 7-11 and home that she had built and relocated to Santa Rosa. When not helping with our books, she is taking road trips in her RV or 1957 Ford Thunderbird.
Creamery
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Head Cheesemaker (he/him)
Nick grew up in the South Bay and studied Spanish and Political Science at UC Davis. Originally on the path to become a diplomat, he shifted to chef work and winemaking after graduation, finally finding his way to an apprenticeship at Toluma Farms. Becoming part of the creamery team has been an amazing opportunity to reconnect to his dairy farming Serbian roots in Montenegro. He's a passionate home cook, avid gardener and seed saver.
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Assistant Cheesemaker (he/him)
Oscar was instilled with an appreciation for sustainable foods and farming at a young age thanks to his summers spent at Camp Chewonki in Wiscasset, Maine. Later, Oscar developed a love of artisanal cheese by frequently visiting Antonelli's Cheese Shop near his home in Austin, Texas. After graduating from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota with a BA in Geology, Oscar came to Tomales to delve deeper into his interests in sustainable farming and cheese. His hobbies include games of all kinds (video, board, and tabletop), hiking, and cooking.
Volunteers
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Jessica is the Director of Digital Services & Open Government for the City of San Rafael. She is an Advisory Board Member of the Big Data Program at Rutgers University. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, she received her BA in International Relations. Jessica is spearheading (with co-owner Tamara Hicks) an illustrated book about Toluma Farms, filled with TFC cheesy recipes, stories and more.
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Anya is a Human Centered Design consultant on the Kaiser Permanente Care Experience team. Outside of work, she makes metalsmithed jewelry and sews clothes. She first visited the farm in 8th grade when she developed an interest in cheesemaking. Since then, she has WWOOFed and volunteered on many farms and is excited to be back at Toluma Farms!
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Susan is the co-owner of Beach House Style shops in Fairfax and San Anselmo. She has experience as a vet tech and in dog fostering. When not at the farm or her shops you can find her camping in her Sprinter van with her two children.
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Christina is the Director of Sustainability & Strategic Sourcing at Simple Mills. Christina graduated with a BA in Agricultural Sciences and Food Policy from Brown and earned an MSc in Agriculture, Food & Environment - Corporate Sustainability Track from Tufts University. For five years she worked at General Mills as the Regenerative Agriculture and Responsible Sourcing Manager, Global Social Impact Team.