Daniel Turgeon – Co-Chair, Steering Committee
Daniel is formerly a Professor of Culinary Arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Chef Turgeon taught over fifteen of the CIA’s courses over his seventeen year tenure including chef-instructor of the prestigious American Bounty Restaurant. Before leaving the Institute he was responsible for redeveloping the curriculum in the CIA’s St. Andrew’s Restaurant. The new curriculum exposed CIA students for the first time to the topic of food production sustainability and the importance of supporting local food economies.
Chef Turgeon is a 1985 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America. He has also studied at the Beringer Invitational School for American Chefs in California’s Napa Valley. Before returning to his alma mater as a faculty member, Chef Turgeon was executive chef at the Imperial Hotel in Chestertown, MD. At the age of 27 years old, Chef Turgeon earned critical acclaim from the Washington Post and an overall Zagot rating of eleven out of 600 restaurants in both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. He also worked in Chicago, Denver and other prestigious restaurants in Washington, DC, including the Morrison Clark Inn, Occidental Restaurant, and Mayflower Hotel. He is currently a Labor Relation’s Specialist with New York State United Teachers.
Francesca Noble – Co-Chair, Steering Committee
Francesca, a member of the Slow Food Hudson Valley Steering Committee for the past 3 years, joined because of her appreciation for Slow Food’s dedication to nourishing food. Discovering what “nourishing” is has been a lifelong journey bringing her in touch with many diets and philosophies, all recognizing the importance of food in creating and maintaining health. In addition to cooking, eating, and talking about food, she worked as a class teacher of grades one through eight at Mountain Laurel Waldorf School – making sure to include farming, as well as a respect and understanding of the natural world, in her curriculum.
Presently, as a co-owner of Movable Beast Farm, she holds the guiding principle that the land that’s grazed, the animals who are rotated through its green pastures, and the people who eat the beef, should all be well nourished in the process. You can sometimes find her out in the field with the herd, practicing low stress animal handling techniques which make for happier animals and a more productive business. You may also find her in the field with her real estate client, also working to keep the buying and selling process as productive and low stress as possible.
Suki Hertz – Treasurer, Steering Committee
Suki Hertz teaches nutrition at the Culinary Institute of America. Before making the leap in 2008 to full-time resident of the Hudson Valley, she spent weekends in the area searching out farm stands and loving her CSA. In NYC she worked as a cook/chef in restaurants, catering, food-styling, private chef, and in the test kitchen and website of the Food Network. She has been a contributing editor to Shape Magazine and Food & Wine. In addition to Suki’s obsession with food, she has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Nutrition from NYU.
Alyson Chugerman – Secretary, Steering Committee
Alyson is a board certified Holistic Health Coach and Nutritionist. She is the founder of Attain True Health, a private practice in Beacon dedicated to raising the awareness of the profound impact that food and nutrition, as well as, lifestyle choices have on overall health. Alyson has studied nutrition, health and wellness for over 12 years. She received her certification for nutrition from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and also holds certifications in a Health Kinesiology and Classical Homeopathy. Her degrees in Integrative Nutrition from SUNY Purchase and Business/Marketing from Ithaca College have been an asset in her business to further her passion for food and cooking.
Alyson has seen first-hand with her clients the overall confusion that people have when it comes to eating properly in this fast-paced world. She joined Slow Food Hudson Valley because their mission is the same as hers – bringing people together through the common language of real food.
Nicole Cagan
Director of From the Ground Up, is passionate about bringing nutritional and environmental awareness, along with fresh local produce, to school cafeterias. She serves on the Slow Food Hudson Valley steering committee, the Farm to School wing of the Rondout Valley Growers Association and From The Ground Up, and is a founding member of The Chefs Consortium, an advocate group for local food awareness. She worked on Dr. Deepak Chopra’s Path to Wellness program and was the head chef for the Vivekanand Retreat Center. Her experience founding and developing community-based organizations to further localism and sustainability also includes a CSA and a cultural arts center in the Hudson Valley.
Nicci believes that food is an experience that sustains us on many levels offering us an opportunity to celebrate with our friends, families and communities.
Paul O’Hanlon
Paul is a commercial photographer and food is one of his favorite subjects. His work has brought him to the kitchens of some of americas greatest chefs, and he has been involved in the production of many cookbooks and advertisements.
Always a lover of food, it was the move to the Hudson Valley that re-awakened his love of the garden produce of his childhood. He joined a local CSA, visited various farmers markets and started making sauerkraut, Beer and Cider.
Paul has been assisting with the I.T. needs of the chapter for several years.
Dina Falconi
Dina is a clinical herbalist with a strong focus on food activism and nutritional healing. She has been teaching classes about the use of herbs for food, medicine, and pleasure, including wild food foraging and cooking, for over twenty years. She produces Falcon Formulations natural body care products and Earthly Extracts medicinal tinctures. She is a founding member of the Northeast Herbal Association, a chapter leader of the Weston A. Price Foundation and on the board of Slow Food-Hudson Valley. An avid gardener and wildcrafter, Dina is passionate about ecological agriculture and has completed the Permaculture Design Certificate Course. She is the author of Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair: Natural and Healthy Personal Care for Everybody.
Giovanna Righini
For over 15 years, Giovanna has worked in the fast-paced environment of content research and rights clearances for commercial broadcast production. She is known in the industry for guiding production teams from initial creative process through to final legal approvals, which has enabled her to work with people and institutions around the world that are involved in intellectual property management. Her end clients have included Macy’s, Heineken, Adidas, HBO’s The Wire, Mercedes-Benz, Gnarls Barkley and Omega.
Giovanna joined Slow Food because she actively and passionately believes in their philosophy. Since relocating from NYC to the Hudson Valley, she has become involved in local preservation efforts and supports living local on all levels; from farm to conservation to small business economy.