Staff

Tracy Emrick

Chief Executive Officer

temrick@countrysidefoodandfarms.org

Tracy has served Countryside in multiple capacities since 2012 and was appointed to CEO in March of 2017. She graduated magna cum laude in 2010 with her degree in Political Science from Kent State University. Tracy is passionate about farmland preservation; sustainable agriculture; social and environmental justice and policy; and she is committed to building a resilient food system that ensures equity and viability for all. She’s been actively involved in agriculture since 2004. She is a member of the Ohio Farm Bureau, and served as a county Board member, food and animal issues committee co-chair, and a county delegate at the OFBF Annual Meeting. Tracy has been a life-long entrepreneur, small business owner, as well as farmer and outdoorswoman. She lives is Wayne County Ohio on a tiny farm once belonging to her grandparents.

Daena Johnson

Office Manager

admin@countrysidefoodandfarms.org

Daena joined Countryside in August of 2019 after leaving a career in promotional products manufacturing. Her interest in food access and supporting local businesses brought her to Countryside. She is also passionate about sustainable practices both in the workplace and in the home. This passion started in her youth with clothing created from recycled and unconventional materials and led to the creation of her own business making long lasting products using recycled papers. Daena is a lifelong resident of Cuyahoga Falls and enjoys frequent visits to the library, second-hand stores, and all the local breakfast joints with her husband, Anthony.

Christina Hill

Marketing and Communication Specialist

chill@countrysidefoodandfarms.org

Christina joined Countryside in the summer of 2018 as the Farmers’ Market Culinary Intern. Since, she has graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management from The University of Akron and moved into the role as Marketing and Communication Specialist. Christina has always had a love for cooking throughout her life and working at Countryside combined her two passions of cooking and marketing perfectly. When Christina isn’t working, she loves to spend time outdoors hiking, kayaking, and boating.

Ginnette Simko

Farm Manager

gsimko@countrysidefoodandfarms.org

Prior to joining Countryside in January 2020, Ginnette served on the faculty of the Sustainable Agriculture program at Lorain County Community College, where she taught technical courses in crop production and plant propagation. She holds a BA in English from Baldwin Wallace College and had a long career in management and administration before switching gears to follow her lifelong passions for growing and eating really high quality produce. Ginnette lives with her family on a one-acre homestead in Hinckley. Her hobbies include hanging out with her chickens and making small batch fermented hot sauces.

Kaitlin Proppé

Farm Assistant

kproppe@countrysidefoodandfarms.org

Kaitlin brings to Countryside a background of varying experiences and educations, including a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Kent State University. She is passionate about cultivating knowledge in order to promote growth and finds joy in working with the natural world around her. She enjoys being in nature, spending time with loved ones, and developing skills to live a more simple, self-reliant way-of-being. Some of these skills include gardening, hide tanning, and crafting. Kaitlin lives with her cat Junebug in Northeast Ohio on land her brother likes to call Junebug Acres.

Jenna Eastman

Food Access Manager

jeastman@countrysidefoodandfarms.org

Jenna joined Countryside in March of 2021 as the Food Access Manager. She has a background in food and nutrition as a dietitian, and is currently completing a Master of Development Practice. She was drawn to Countryside’s food access programming as she believes in approaching food and nutrition via the social determinants of health, and that food access is an important component of health equity. Jenna enjoys crafting and DIY projects, photography, comedy, and getting outdoors to hike & swim.

Emily Kuhn

Farmers’ Market Associate

cheese@cvcountryside.org

Besides being the resident ‘Cheese Lady’, Emily is the lead graphic and page designer for the Record-Courier and Akron Beacon Journal. She has also been involved in Northeast Ohio craft events as a vendor and volunteer for over 10 years. Emily spends her free time cooking, powerlifting, and adventuring in Cleveland.