Seed Savers Exchange Management Bios

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  Diane Ott Whealy, Co-founder and Vice President

  Diane Ott Whealy co-founded Seed Savers Exchange with Kent Whealy in 1975. She has been a national leader in the heirloom seed movement and a strong advocate for the protection of the earth's rare genetic food stocks for over 36 years. In 1986 she helped develop Heritage Farm, SSE's scenic 890-acre headquarters near Decorah, Iowa to maintain and display endangered varieties.

  Today she is a featured speaker at garden shows and botanical gardens throughout the country. In June 2011, she published "Gathering: Memoir of a Seed Saver", which tells the story of how SSE has grown from a small coterie of passionate gardeners to one of the most active and effective seed saving organizations in the world.
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  John Torgrimson, President and Executive Director

  John Torgrimson has been the Executive Director of SSE since July 2010. He previously served as Editor and Media Coordinator for the organization. Torgrimson has considerable experience managing nonprofit organizations, including serving as Executive Director of Oxfam Hong Kong, an international development and relief organization working in Southeast Asia. He is a former Peace Corps Volunteer, having served as a community development worker along with his wife Patricia in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. He and his wife live on an organic certified hobby farm in Minnesota.

  
  
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  Tom Wahlberg, Commercial Seed Manager

  Tom Wahlberg came to SSE in 2007 following 17 years in the food service manufacturing industry, primarily serving as a manager of quality assurance. With a farming background and a master's degree in business, he is well positioned to coordinate SSE's commercial seed department. When Tom is not working, you might find him riding one of his horses, jogging, hiking, home renovating, planting trees, or any number of outdoor activities. He and his wife Beth live with their two children Anders and Annika on a farm north of Decorah.

  
  
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  Jim Edrington, Facilities Manager

  Jim Edrington started work at SSE in 2006. His responsibilities at Heritage Farm include supervising the maintenance and new construction of buildings and equipment, as well as the management of the 890 acre grounds. Before coming to SSE, Jim served in the military for 21 years. His responsibilities included facilities management, environmental compliance, physical security and training of personnel.

  
  
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  Shannon Carmody, Public Programs Manager

  Shannon Carmody has been at Seed Savers Exchange since 2009. As the Public Programs Manager she runs outreach and educational programming, events, tours and SSE's Annual Conference & Campout. She is also the editor of SSE's membership publication, The Heritage Farm Companion. After graduating from Beloit College, Shannon worked as a naturalist and environmental educator. This fall she pressed her first batch of cider from russet apples grown in SSE's Historic Orchard.

  
  
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  Tim Johnson, Seed Bank Manager

  Tim Johnson grew up canoeing in the Boundary Waters, fly-fishing Wisconsin’s cold-water creeks and daydreaming about working in conservation - just like his grandfather did. He joined the Seed Savers Exchange Preservation team in 2012 after earning his masters and doctoral degrees in Environmental Horticulture from the University of Florida. As an Alumni Fellow, he researched the seed physiology and breeding systems of threatened native orchid species and taught courses on plant conservation and plant micropropagation. He is also a runner, photographer and proud family man.

  
  
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  Jenna Sicuranza, Collection Curator

  Jenna Sicuranza has been at SSE since January 2010, serving first as Assistant Curator. With an M.S. in Plant Science from the University of Rhode Island, Jenna enjoys exploring her interests in organic food production and plant collections management. As Collection Curator, Jenna is primarily responsible for collection acquisitions, evaluation, documentation, and promotion. What she loves most about her job is that she gets to look closely at the varieties in the SSE collection; the diversity and beauty of the collection is very exciting to this self-described “plant geek”. Jenna also feels passionately about SSE’s mission of participatory preservation and hopes to see an increase in the number of collection varieties being grown in members’ gardens across the country. A New England transplant to the Midwest, Jenna misses the ocean terribly but has made a comfortable and happy life for herself out on the prairie.

  
  
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  Kelly Tagtow, Marketing Manager

  Kelly Tagtow became of member of Seed Savers Exchange in 2004 and joined the team in 2011. He previously held various technical, analytic and marketing positions during his 21 years at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, IA. Kelly is a founding member and Board President of the Iowa Food Cooperative and involved in promoting good food from the ground up. He and his wife Angie are very involved in local and sustainable food systems, and enjoy spending time studying and photographing their reconstructed tallgrass prairie.

  
  
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  Sherman Watts, Information Technology Manager

  Sherman Watts joined Seed Savers Exchange in November 2012. He graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and is certified as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. His previous experience includes Windows Server Administration for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, System Engineering for Alasconnect Data Center, Computer Support for Alaska Department of Transportation, and starting his own internet company selling software he developed. With over 13 years of experience, Sherman is excited to be part of the Seed Savers Exchange team. He is passionate about the SSE's mission and offers creative solutions to facilitate the mission through technology. He enjoys traveling and the outdoors.