Aaron Vargas Email & Phone Number

Portland, OR

• Supervised 2 staff at the manager levels, handheld project teams accountable and balanced in our work. Served as a coach and advisor to help the team meet core objectives, experiment, learn, and develop professionally.
• Supervised a portfolio of 6 projects, 13 different grants/contracts, and fiscal management of a multiyear, multimillion dollar program budget. Worked closely with the VP of Food Systems Equity and Finance team to track.
• Led proposal development to successfully receive $1. 5 M of funding through a Cooperative Agreement with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to address the lack of engagement and benefit from FSA, NRCS, and other USDA.
• Served as a strategic thought partner to colleagues across levels of the organization while Ecotrust has evolved as an organization through the creation of and implementation of a 5-year strategic plan.

Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Area

• Served on Ecotrust ’s Strategic Planning Work Group and hosted 3 interviews duri ng Ecotrust’s strategic planning process with the Intertribal Agriculture Council, Capaces Leadership Institute, and a focus group of.
• Facilitated a collaborative process with the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition to launch the inaugural year of the Viviane Barnett Fellowship for Food System Leaders.
• Led the proposal development for a $250k USDA RFSP grant that funded the Equitable Food Economy Collaborative (EFEC) in close partnership with Prosper Portland. A 3-year project designed to implement a community.
• Managed regional Farm to Institution vendor fair, Local Link, from 2017-2019. The event convened 21 institutions and 43 regional farms, ranches, and food businesses. Co-authored 2020 end-of-year appeal letter and blog.

Portland, Oregon

• Led the coordination of the NW Food Buyers Alliance, a peer-to-peer network of institutional foodservice buyers and chefs.
• Launched the Agriculture of the Middle Accelerator, a business development program that served 65 farmers, ranchers, and fishers accross the region from CA to AK.
• Conducted data collection and preliminary research for Farm to Institution and Ag of the Middle Accelerator program deliverables.
• Supported the development of three successful USDA grants (RBDG, VAPG, FMPP).

Seattle, WA

• Coordinated the scheduling, registration, promotion, logistics, and evaluation of 27 events including: -fundraiser for the American Alpine Club with 450 participants raising $10,000. -ROCK Project, Vertical World ’s.

Springfield, Oregon

• Managed year-round farmers market with 30 vendors and an average of 1,000 visitorseach market. 2014 market season generated $2 million of economic activity inDowntown Springfeld.
• Authored weekly e-newsletter to 10,000 recipients. Visited farms to interview andphotograph farmers for vendor highlights.
• Managed Sprout! Regional Food Hub Facebook page.
• Assisted in partnering with Huerto de la Familia to host annual fundraiser FestivalLatino at Sprout!
• Coordinated efforts to integrate incubator kitchen and marketplace programs throughpop-up restaurants.
• Supported data collection for grant reporting and annual economic impactassessment.

Eugene, Oregon

• Provided programmatic support to an educational bicycle repair shop, serving 2,400students per year.
• Created agendas and facilitated meetings with 5 staff members.
• Awarded $3,700 grant from Student Sustainability Center and coordinated reporting.
• Educated diverse student population on bicycle repair, meeting each student at theirlevel of knowledge and experience.

Half Moon Bay, CA

• Supported farm manager with payroll and accounts payable/receivable.
• Seasonal farmworker that thinned, harvested, and prepared foods to bring to market.
• Developed annual maintenance schedule for all buildings and farm equipment.

Bachelors Of Science, Environmental Studies And Planning

Activities and Societies: Net Impact

Forestry