Meet the NGBI Team

NGBI is led by Ridge Shinn

a longtime farmer, grazing advocate, CEO of Big Picture Beef, and co-author, with Lynne Pledger, of Grass-Fed Beef for a post-Pandemic world.

Ridge Shinn has been a leader in the shift from feedlot production to raising cattle on a diet of 100% grass and forages. In addition to raising a large herd of grass-fed Rotokawa Devon beef cattle in Massachusetts, he was the Vice President of a Connecticut slaughterhouse and founded a successful meat company, Hardwick Beef. 

He has developed markets and distribution systems for 100% grass-fed beef throughout the northeastern United States and has consulted all over the US and for the Argentine government on the production and marketing of grass-fed beef.

His work has been recognized in Time Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Wine Spectator and Smithsonian.

Prefer audiobooks? Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World is now on Audible.

A man with a gray mustache wearing a plaid shirt, a dark vest, and a flat cap standing in a green field with several cows grazing in the background.
Book cover titled 'Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World' by Ridge Shinn and Lynne Pledger with a foreword by Gabe Brown. The cover features a pastoral landscape with grazing cattle and trees under a sky, along with a green circle containing text about building resilient, secure, and healthy food systems during times of disruption.
  • A woman with dark, curly hair and a bright smile standing outdoors in a park with green trees in the background.

    Sara Riegler, Program & Development Manager

    Sara is an agroecological farmer/gardener, service provider, and activist based in central Vermont. She is committed to building systems that support thriving for all beings and to the active exploration of alternatives to the current hegemonic food and agriculture systems.

    She currently dedicates her time to her work with NGBI, supporting and organizing with farmworkers through her work with UVM Extension and Migrant Justice, growing and making medicine, and her creative practices of printmaking, natural dyeing, and restoring an old farmhouse. 

    sara@ngbi.org

  • A woman with long brown hair smiling at the camera, wearing a gray shirt and a red top underneath against a brown background.

    Rebecca Brown, Operations Manager

    Rebecca grew up on a diversified farm, holds a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management, and has spent more than 20 years working as a biological farm manager and grazier. She specializes in soil nutrition consulting and designing regenerative land systems. She studied dairy farming (and kite boarding) in New Zealand for a year and has worked on farms in the northeast, VA, WI, and PA. 

    Her curiosity keeps her moving; if she isn't traveling abroad or doing hot yoga, she's often adventuring outdoors - mountain biking or hiking in Vermont where she is currently based. With health as her primary focus and growth as her motivator, she brings her passion for supporting dynamic systems to our team at NGBI.

    rebecca@ngbi.org

NGBI ADVISORY COUNCIL

Cheryl Bruce, Senior Livestock & Grazing Specialist, American Farmland Trust

Jenn Colby, Executive Director, Northeast Pasture Consortium

Lisa Holmes, President, The Martha and Hunter Grubb Foundation