Paul Holt, President

Paul and his wife have lived in Newton since 1993 and they raised their children here. He has enjoyed the Farm as a CSA sharer and volunteer. Paul is on the board of Green Newton and Newton Tennis and he is also a former Newton Youth Soccer coach. Professionally, Paul was the former CEO of GroupComm Systems, a 60-person technology company, which he sold in 2005. He went on to become a major gifts fundraiser for Northeastern University, the American Red Cross, and Big Brothers Big Sisters before retiring in 2018.

Barbara Seal, Co-Treasurer

Barbara is a CPA with considerable government and non-profit financial statement and compliance audit experience. An Oklahoma native, 30-year Newton resident, and long-time CSA sharer, Barbara is married with two college-age children. Barbara has always viewed volunteering as a chance to contribute and learn, whether as a youth soccer coach, school program presenter, or club and non-profit treasurer.

Madelyn Sorensen, Co-Treasurer

Madelyn and her husband have lived in Newton since 2017 and she has been a volunteer at the Farm since 2020. She grew up on a dairy farm in Maine. She has degrees in music and theology and is experienced in administrative work. Since retiring, Madelyn spends time with her grandchildren, enjoys testing recipes for America’s Test Kitchen, and also volunteers at the Episcopal monastery in Cambridge.

Laura Bishop, Co-Clerk

Laura was born and raised in Newton where she has been for most of her life. She spent four years at college in Maine and a few years in Boston where she received her MBA with an accounting focus. Laura and her husband along with their two boys (now young men!) were early and enthusiastic NCF CSA joiners! Laura is the controller at Noble and Greenough School where she also helps coach the girl’s cross country team. She volunteers at Lovelane Therapeutic Riding Center in Lincoln. She loves reading, gardening, running, and hiking in the woods with her friends, family and dogs. Laura feels strongly that supporting local farms and eating local foods as much as possible is the way to go.     

Claire Caine, Co-Clerk

Claire is a longtime Newton resident, CSA sharer, and gardener. She has graduate degrees in business and computer science and started out her work life as a software developer. After a few years, she moved to school IT and then to teaching. She now teaches coding, engineering, math, and gardening to elementary and middle school children.

Mindy Gregory Sieber

Mindy has lived in Newton for more than 30 years. She has worked, volunteered, and held leadership roles in many Newton nonprofits, and founded an online store selling eco-friendly goods. Currently, she works at a local nonprofit and is on the board of Green Newton. She enjoys hiking and painting. Mindy looks forward to supporting and helping broaden community access to NCF’s wonderful resources.

Linda Chafets

Linda and her husband have lived in Newton for 35 years, and they raised 2 children here. Linda recently retired as CFO of Boston Dynamics. She has a BA in psychology and Spanish, and an MBA with a concentration in management. Linda has been an avid CSA member of Newton Community Farm since its inception. In addition to volunteering on the farm, Linda is also currently doing volunteer work for the Newton Free Library.

Peter Roaf

Pete comes from an agricultural/horticultural family; however he chose a project management career in the financial services industry. He does still enjoy getting his hands dirty tending to his vegetable beds and propagating plants year-round. Pete and his family have been Newton residents for over 10 years.

Michael Spalding

Michael grew up in Newton and graduated Newton North High School in 2015. Upon joining The Village Bank in 2016, he quickly grew a fondness for being active in the community and doing what he can to help out anyone in need. Now the branch manager in The Village Bank’s Waban office, Michael is excited to share his passion for the environment and help promote agricultural sustainability to the community through NCF.

Debra Hall

Debra moved to Newton eight years ago with her husband and they share a two-family home in Newton Highlands with their daughter’s family. She fell in love with Newton Community Farm after discovering the Seedling Sale and has volunteered at NCF for the past several years. Deb studied environmental and land use planning and had a 40-year career working in public agencies and non-profit organizations to make buildings, businesses, and communities more sustainable. Now retired, she volunteers for the Newton Food Pantry and is Restocking Coordinator for the 24/7 Newton Community “Freedge” in Nonantum. The Freedge users appreciate all the fresh produce donated by the Farm.

Dan Scheib

Dan and his wife have been CSA members and volunteers at the farm since its inception. They have two grown children and have been Needham residents for 30 years. As a graduate of Babson College, Dan  spent the majority of his career in the high-tech industry at Oracle as a Vice President in charge of North American partnerships. Recently retired, Dan has become more active in volunteer work including several food pantries, the MS Society, and the Graylag Nature Preserve (Board member) in Pittsfield, NH.  Dan’s parents were founding board members for one of the initial CSA farms in the US.