After 25 years as the Wild Farm Alliance Executive Director, Jo Ann Baumgartner will retire at the end of August. She is working closely with the Board of Directors and staff to support a transition to a new model of leadership. As part of this transition, WFA will move to a co-directorship structure, reflecting the organization’s long-standing commitment to collaboration and collective impact. 

We are excited to announce that Shelly Connor, WFA’s Deputy Director (based in the Midwest), will become one of the Co-Directors. A second Co-Director based in California will be hired later this year.

Shelly has been with WFA since 2015, playing a central role in expanding the organization’s programmatic reach and partnerships while helping to build a strong and dedicated team. Over the past several years, she has led initiatives advancing habitat for beneficial birds and biodiversity on working lands, secured and managed state and federal grants, strengthened organizational systems and financial stewardship, and guided collaborative projects. 

With a background in biology and natural history, and decades of experience advancing sustainable agriculture initiatives, Shelly brings leadership grounded in both ecological science, operations, and movement-building.    

Shelly Connor (left) will take on a Co-Director role after Jo Ann retires.

“I am grateful to Jo Ann for her mentorship, trust, and partnership over the last 11 years, and for helping build an organization rooted in relationships and care for the land,” said Shelly. “Stepping into this Co-Director role is both humbling and exciting. Our team is deeply committed to advancing WFA’s 2050 vision – expanding on-farm habitat, supporting farmers with tools and resources, and strengthening the growing network of wild farming advocates.”

WFA’s board chair and co-founder, Dan Imhoff, thanked Jo Ann for her years of service, particularly her leadership in helping build WFA into a trusted organization that inspires growers to embrace biodiversity, strengthen farms, and reduce agriculture’s impacts on wild nature.

“Jo Ann’s dedication to the science of nature-based farming solutions was a rare voice in the ecological agriculture movement. Her tireless efforts have created a solid foundation for our organization to thrive over the coming decades. The movement to promote more biodiverse and ecological resilient farming systems is better for her decades of leadership.”