2023 Steering Committee
8 Members Total

Leonard Bussanich
Co-Founder & Owner RVCG
I believe in the mission of the NGA and I look forward to being part of the Steering Committee that will help guide the organization in its efforts to strengthen the grain basin in the Northeast. As Co-Founder of River Valley Community Grains, I believe my experiences and insights can make a significant contribution to the overall efforts of the Steering Committee.
Bio: As Co-Founder of River Valley Community Grains, I am working towards restoring value-added grains in NJ, working with farmers to clean and mill the grains and direct-to-consumer marketing in the form of farmers’ markets. Education background: Master of Arts in US History from Rutgers University and Community Sustainability Management from University of Colorado.

Zachary Robinson
Co-Founder & Owner of Short Path Distillery
I would love to help foster a strong and healthy community that is self-sustaining, that directly improves the life I live and the world I interact with every day. The need for local is much more important than mere tribalism. The more something is locally controlled the more it is responsive to the community it serves, while the further away it is the more it is concerned with “the market.” You stop dealing with people and start dealing with concepts. Local is a check on quality and decency. Yes something made in a high-tech factory far away can be “better” made than by the person around the corner, but I’m never going to interact with the owner of that factory, while I will grab a pint at the local pub with my mechanic. Humans rip off strangers not neighbors. It can be in quality, price, or any other metric to “make a buck.” Communities are less concerned with making maximum profits today, as they are on lasting forever. The goal of community is to be there for future generations. All of this is to say, I think what the Grainshed is doing and what it is planning on doing is vitally important. But also it’s just a ton of fun. I would love to expand membership, or at least partnerships with retail outlets as this is the point of contact most customers have with our products (grocery stores, coops etc.). I think collaborations across the Grainshed is another great way to build excitement not just with members but also with the public at large.
Bio: New England born and raised (with a brief stint in the South Pacific), I went to middle and high school in Maine, college in Boston, and have lived in greater Boston ever since. I graduated with a masters degree in organic chemistry. In 2014 I founded Short Path Distillery with two friends which focuses on using as many local ingredients as possible (hence the name Short Path). From the get-go our goal was to make not only a single malt whiskey but a single malt whiskey that uses exclusively locally grown and malted grains. Today we make three such whiskeys.

Andrea Stanley
Co-founder & Owner of Valley Malt
Why would you like to serve on the NGA Steering Committee? To keep the momentum of the local grain economy moving forward and expanding. How do you intend to further the NGA mission through your position on the Steering Committee? To anticipate the work needed to bring together more growers, processors, and makers and align our mission as much as possible. To help the NGA become a sustainable organization with good governance structure, ample funding and staffing support.
Bio: Founding member of NGA and Craft Malt Guild. Founder of Valley Malt (2009) and Ground Up Grain (2018).

Daniel Leader
Chairman Bread Alone Inc
To help build a vibrant local grain economy. Use my 40 plus years of baking experience to us helping the Northeast Grain Alliance.

Hannah Smalls
Executive Director of the NGA
I hope to build my knowledge of what our members needs and build on the success of the NGA to continue to prosper and fully achieve our overall mission. I will continue to work towards marketing and outreach strategies that build demand for Northeast grains. While focusing on attainable steps in order to support farmers and processors in networking and overall aid.
Bio: I am Hannah Smalls, she/her pronouns, and proud Executive Director of the NGA. I am currently in the business planning process of having my own resilient farmstead. I have a BS in Sustainable Food and Farming, with a long time mission to be an active part in achieving a healthy, thriving, and resilient local food system.

Matthew Steinberg
Owner & Co-Founder of Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing
As a brewer who focuses on local grains, I can offer first hand experience as to why local grains are just better for our beers, our community, and our industry. I would like to contribute to the NGA by offering ideas, concerns and new innovative ways to further the mission of the NGA and its members.
Bio: Matthew Steinberg is the Co-Founder and Head Brewer at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company and an expert on all things craft beer. Before co-founding Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company in 2015, Matthew designed, built and established brewery and beer brands for Mayflower Brewing Company, High Horse Brewing, and Offshore Ale Company. Matthew was also the Founder and Brewmaster for Blatant Beer, LLC, a craft beer brand he started in 2011. Now, after 25 years into his career in beer, Matthew is always looking forward, innovating, and continuing his quest for better beer.

Sönke Dornblut
Owner & Baker, Juniper Cottage Bake Shop
In order to rebuild the necessary infrastructure for a functioning regional grain economy, cooperation and sharing of information as well as active networking are important values and activities. NGA can play a vital role in that endeavor to which I would like to contribute. I am particularly interested in a robust distribution network for regionally grown organic grain and regional refined grain products to allow for more farmers to profitably grow grain in our region. Local grain cooperatives may prove a vital component in such a network. As part of the NGA Steering Committee I hope to convene and develop conversations to explore these and other concepts.
Bio: I found my way back to baking after a professional detour of 20 years. Since 2013 developing Juniper Cottage Bake Shop as a wood fired homestead operation focused on local organic, naturally leavened bread. Operating a wood fired oven since 2014. Part of a farm based cooperative effort to revive the availability of locally grown grain. Graduate training in community economic development. Years of experience on non-profit governance boards of various types of organizations. Very excited and motivated by the energy in the existing work of our local grain shed.

Barry Labendz
Owner, Kent Falls Brewing Company
The primary reason for joining the Steering Committee is to continue to develop the work we started and raise more awareness for local grains – the people that keep them growing, producers who turn them into something for their community, and the consumers who care to support them in return. We are probably approaching some inflection point between people possibly going back to their pre-pandemic ways or harnessing the momentum and visibility of what local can mean and establishing roots beyond our small group. I would bring a vocal and energetic personality to the conversation, passion for problem solving and thinking about things from angles others might not. I would like to center the Square Foot project at the center of our marketing and push for acreage goals to be visible in more spaces we operate.