Heather Spalding

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA)
Unity, ME

Heather Spalding has worked as an environmental activist since graduating from college in the mid-80s and is currently the deputy director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), the nation’s preeminent advocate for organic and certification agency. Ms. Spalding’s introduction to MOFGA came during a summer 1996 sabbatical from Greenpeace, when she volunteered as an apprentice on New Leaf Farm in Durham, ME. Wanting to settle in her home state of Maine, she then accepted a job coordinating the Common Ground Country Fair, which attracts over 60,000 people on the third weekend in September every year. After several years focusing on the Fair, Ms. Spalding became MOFGA operations director, coordinating a three-year organizational development program. As associate director and now deputy director, she focuses primarily on public policy, MOFGA’s participation in the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, outreach, and staff management. Wanting to settle in her home state of Maine, she then accepted a job offer to coordinate the Common Ground Country Fair. Prior to MOFGA, Ms. Spalding spent 10 years in Washington, DC, working for the National Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, and Greenpeace International where she served as publications coordinator for the International Toxics Campaign. She grew up in Waterville, ME and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1986, with a degree in Geography and Environmental Sciences.