Slow Food East End is a chapter of Slow Food USA and part of a global, grassroots organization founded in 1989 in Italy, by Carlo Petrini to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions, counteract the rise of fast life and combat people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from and how our food choices affect the world around us. Since its beginnings, Slow Food has grown into a global movement involving millions of people in over 160 countries, working to ensure everyone has access to good, clean and fair food for all.

We are an all-volunteer Chapter on the East End of Long Island — the North and South forks of Long Island from Riverhead to Montauk — that connects the Joys and Justice of food with a commitment to our local community and the environment.

We are fortunate to live in a bountiful area where the principles of Slow Food are lived by our farmers, fishermen, vintners, and artisanal food producers. Slow Food East End works to inspire our community and to partner with like-minded organizations to create a food web that is environmentally sustainable, preserves cultural traditions, is healthy and delicious, and celebrates the Joys and Justice around food that is Good, Clean and Fair.

All contributions to Slow Food East End are tax deductible through our affiliation with Slow Food USA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, tax exempt organization.

Maria McBride | Chair

Maria joined the Slow Food East End board in 2020 as the Events leader. She then served a term as SFEE VP and assumed board leadership in 2024. As a member of the board, Maria’s goal has been to continue building community and engagement with the diverse food network on the East End.
Professionally, Maria is a real estate salesperson who owns her own event production and consulting business following a career in publishing with Conde Nast Publications. She was the wedding style director at BRIDES magazine, producing content and events, and has also authored six books about wedding style and hosting events.

Since 1997 Maria has enjoyed living in an old barn in Southold but grew up in Wilmington, DE, the eldest of 12 children. Her desire to slow down began at a young age with the daily family mission of feeding everyone meant dinner prep was usually fast-paced but always home-cooked. Sharing a meal with loved ones is still where she is happiest.

David Morris | Treasurer

David joined the board as treasurer in 2025. Professionally, Dave worked in accounting and finance roles in the corporate world for the first half of half of his career before joining his wife, Melinda, as a partner in their custom design retail business in Southold. As a result, he found a passion and niche to focus his skill set by providing strategic accounting, analysis, and financial consulting for small businesses as @daveinaccounting. Currently he’s Controller at a local winery. 

David moved to the North Fork from Brooklyn after many years of visiting the area in 2019. David was introduced to SFEE by participating in the Flour Power program, he is an avid bread baker and competitive home cook, he plays piano, does illustrations, enjoys kayaking and running.

Susan Wachter | Secretary

Susan joined the board as a guest leader in 2023 and took on the role of Secretary in 2025. As a guest leader Susan helped produce SFEE event and the silent auctions and has been a member of the Snail of Approval committee. 

Throughout her life, Susan has always been an active volunteer in her community, particularly helping children who may not have the resources to excel. Professionally Susan enjoyed a long career as an executive at a major media conglomerate she brings managerial and analytical approach to problem solving have been invaluable in her role as secretary to help further SFEE’s missions particularly as it relates to children’s health and welfare. Susan splits her time between Greenport where she farms oysters and Westchester where she continues to volunteer as a “baby cuddler” for NICU Westchester Medical Center.

Miranda Capriotti | Board Member

Miranda joined the board in 2025 as a leader responsible for securing sponsorships, grants and donations needed to help fund SFEE initiatives. With a background in nutrition, agriculture, and over a decade of nonprofit experience, Miranda Capriotti is deeply committed to the intersection of health and food systems. Having worked on farms in both California and Italy, she has gained a holistic understanding of sustainable food systems and the importance of local agriculture.

Miranda’s career spans a range of roles, including working with large educational institutions to implement district-wide nutrition programs, managing farmers markets, and collaborating with farmers and food producers to strengthen local food networks. As a key member of the development team at the national nonprofit Charity Navigator, she excels at cultivating meaningful donor relationships and driving impactful fundraising campaigns, which she plans to incorporate into her role on the SFEE board. Her dedication to food systems is fueled by her belief that local food movements are vital to promoting health, sustainability, and building resilient communities.

Becky Chidester | Board Member

Becky joined the board in 2025 after a year as a guest leader. For the last year she has been the leader of Flour Power, overseeing a pivot from a COVID-era program to one with more sustainable, targeted results for our community. Becky is an activist focused on inspiring healthy behaviors. It is a passion she discovered while working on Capitol Hill in grassroots politics and honed during a career spanning more than 30 years at WPP, one of the largest marketing and advertising organizations in the world. During a journey that included founding and serving as CEO of Wunderman Thompson Health for more than a decade, Becky developed a particular interest and expertise in behavior change in the areas of health & wellness.  Over her career at WPP, Becky worked with a range of healthcare clients representing brands in consumer health, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and nutrition.

Now a full-time resident of the North Fork, Becky joined Slow Food East End to further her accomplishments in promoting better food and nutrition choices utilizing the abundance of locally grown organic produce and shellfish.  One of the driving factors in selecting to live on the North Fork was discovering the plethora of locally grown food and the commitment to good, healthy food and sustainable practices. She is excited to partner with the members of Slow Food who share the belief that integrated food and nutrition is an essential tool for treatment and prevention.

Alyson D’Anna | Board Member

Inspired by the bounty of the North Fork and introduction to SFEE by friends on the board Alyson became a Board Member in 2022.  Aly is passionate about SFEE’s values, she strongly believes everyone should have access to good, clean and fair food.

Alyson currently works for Madison Square Garden as a Vice President of People Acquisition.  Alyson brings to SFEE a background of experiences advising and leading not-for-profits on how to build funding and growth strategies.  Alyson will focus on SFEE’s fundraising strategies that will include recruiting new supporters and engaging existing sponsors with the goal of expanding our programs for both the North and South Forks.   Alyson splits her time between East Marion and NYC.

Kristen Himmelberg | Board Member

Kristen Himmelberg began working with SFEE as guest leader in 2024 supporting events and communication and joined the board in 2025.   A native New Yorker, Kristen started her career in communications and journalism but has been working in the food and farming field for over 10 years and has a deep passion for farm to table dining and education for all. 

Kristen completed her master’s degree in food studies from NYU in 2020, her studies focused on food history and sustainability in the farming and food communities. She moved to the East End in 2021 to work at Amber Waves Farm where she ran their community programming and education programs. Her focus was on teaching classes to kids and adults on sustainable farming, cooking, food preservation and natural arts for groups of 10-300.    Currently residing on the South Fork Kristen is the manager of Sagaponack General Store, established in 1878, and is now a foodie destination for local provisions.  Kristen’s goal is to use her experience to help connect with our community and develop more educational opportunities and help engage people with their farmers, and the food they grow.

Claudine Nayan | Board Member

Claudine joined the board in 2024 as an agricultural leader working to continue to build on the legacy programs of school gardens and other growing initiatives with Slow Food.

Claudine first came to the attention of SFEE when the farm where she works received a Snail of Approval award. Amber Waves farm is a woman-owned, non-profit farm, market, community space, and education center in Amagansett. Claudine is the leader for the farm’s fundraising and partnership efforts.

Claudine is on a mission to get food to the people. Claudine brings a rare combination of skills to our organization, having forged relationships with so many small-scale farmers around the country and having worked on a farm full-time over multiple growing seasons she has developed a comprehensive understanding of what farm to fork looks like.

Ralph Reinertsen | Board Member

Ralph joined the board in 2021. Ralph is a full time North Forker who really enjoys all the East End has to offer. He is a retired elementary school teacher, a retired motivational speaker for a nutritional organization. He has an outgoing personality and a willingness to work to achieve Slow Food goals. Having played a lifetime of athletics, he understands the importance of being a team player.

For the last two years Ralph has been the leader of the Snail of Approval committee dedicated to seeking out and recognizing leaders on the East End worthy of the award. Awardees are local businesses who receive international awareness by the global Slow Food network for their important work in the food world. Ralph has always been passionate about thinking outside the box, since his involvement SFEE he has been committed to presenting these awards to a wider mix of candidates in our East End food network. From shining the spotlight on more early leaders in the organic and sustainable farm movement to awarding wineries with healthy soil and farming practices and awarding East End hospitals with impressive food service programs that source locally and offer healthy menus utilizing food as medicine philosophies that are changing the landscape of hospital culinary services.

Al Goldberg | Acting Treasurer

Al was born and raised in NYC. After graduating high school in 1959 Al realized college wasn’t a top priority at the time. He was able to find a job, however, and quickly realized that a college education was the way to go. He achieved his B.S. in Accounting, joined a CPA firm, and studied for a CPA license. After ten years in public accounting, he was recruited by the firm’s largest public client and worked his way up. While working there for ten years he went back for graduate study later earning an MBA. Armed with a new set of skills he quickly rose through the ranks eventually into general management and strategy.  The remaining years of his business career were in senior management positions in finance, operations and finally as a management consultant specializing in assessing and fixing distressed companies. Al has traveled extensively, both domestically and overseas.

Al has been a passionate fisherman since childhood. His passion drew him to Montauk and the Northfork in the late 1960’s. His dream was eventually to live out east when he retired. Al and his wife eventually bought a small condo on the beach in Montauk in the early 1980s for a weekend retreat. Eventually, buying a house in Montauk in 2002 and moved there full-time when he retired in 2006.

Al was introduced to Slow Food in 2012 and became a member shortly thereafter. He worked on the events committee in planning future events. He has also given classes in sustainable seafood and taught classes in the Chef to School program. His financial skills drew the attention of the board and was later asked to review their books and practices.  Eventually, Al was asked to join the board as treasurer and was elected three times. He will continue as acting treasurer until a replacement is recruited and will continue as an advisor.

Pennie Schwartz | Advisor

Pennie has been a member of Slow Food East End for five years. She came looking for a place where people had interests like hers: food, cooking it, and where it came from. She has volunteered on the Snail of Approval Committee and anywhere else she was needed, including selling raffle tickets at SFEE potlucks and coming early to help set up events. Pennie was elected as a Leader in 2017 and immediately began serving as Secretary during 2018. She was elected Chapter Chair for 2019 and 2020. Pennie played an instrumental role in starting Slow Food East End’s Flour Power program and is very passionate about it. She will continue to play a vital role in growing that program.

Pennie spent 30 years as a chiropractor, always recommending whole, clean food as part of healing. She is currently pursuing certification in Permaculture Design, which is a combination of landscape design, environmental ecology, and sustainability. She wants to design edible gardens, so when we promote local…it’s in our own yards! She and her husband Paul love living on the East End – it is a Slow Food dream. Pennie’s yard is also a Slow Food dream, filled with beehives, chickens, and food growing everywhere.

Laura Luciano | Advisor

Laura Luciano is a professional graphic designer and writes the blog Out East Foodie: a food blog that shares the edible stories of the North and South forks of Long Island. She contributes to Edible East End and Edible Long Island Magazines for her “What’s in Season” column and is one of the founders and coordinator for the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Project, a squash listed on the Ark of Taste.

Laura became immersed with the Slow Food movement in 2013, the same year she, and her husband Christopher Jeffrey, an Architect, built their Energy Star Rated sustainable home Sheridan Green in Hampton Bays, NY that has a rooftop garden filled with heirlooms and Ark of taste varieties. It is there that she hosts potlucks and dinner parties for like-minded people to come together to talk story, enjoy amazing food and drink and share inspiration in a great space.

After attending Terra Madre in 2016 as a guest leader, she was elected to the board for Slow Food East End.  In October of 2017, she became the Slow Food Governor for New York State, where she oversees all regional chapters and shares her unwavering passion for biodiversity, food sovereignty, and coveting culinary traditions.

In 2018, she was recently appointed to Slow Food USA’s National Board as Chair of the Network Development Committee and awarded the Snailblazer award for Emerging Leader. Laura’s appointment provides multiple benefits to SFEE & other NYS chapters such as direct communications with Slow Food USA and first-hand access to news, initiatives, and campaigns, both nationally and internationally. She also has “her finger on the pulse” of chapter happenings throughout the country and can identify networking and knowledge sharing opportunities. Laura’s passion, creativity, and resourcefulness will most certainly have an impact nationally, as well as locally. Our chapter is excited by the possibilities for growth and serving our community better due to her appointment.

Robin Tyson-Stoehr | Advisor

Robin has always had an avid interest in cooking and entertaining which grew when she and her husband moved to the North Fork and began to become better acquainted with what the community offered in terms of fresh and local ingredients.

She joined Slow Food East End in 2014 and began working with other members to build the Snail of Approval Program, which recognizes businesses that incorporate the Slow Food values of good, clean and fair food into their businesses.

Robin worked as a Human Resources executive in the financial services sector where she focused on developing future leaders and implementing large scale change initiatives. Robin hopes to bring her love of food along with her organizational experience to continue to support the important and significant agenda of Slow Food East End.