Meet the Members

Jasmine Chaffee: Program Director

Jasmine has always had a love for the outdoors and the environment. As a child she spent her summers exploring the north woods of Wisconsin from a canoe, kayak or with a backpack on. After high school, Jasmine worked as a summer adventure camp counselor leading backcountry trips, facilitating ropes courses, and overseeing the garden and compost facilities. During the school year, she worked for Boston University as an experiential education teacher at a satellite school in New Hampshire. Eventually, she made her way out west and attended the University of Montana, where she pursued a bachelor’s degree in sustainable agriculture and business.

Jasmine began working for the Montana Department of Agriculture in 2014. She has worked in the pesticide licensing, apiary, and noxious weed programs and is currently the State Noxious Weed Coordinator and AgCorps Director. Her favorite part of the job is working with land managers across the state and supporting their efforts to combat noxious weeds and improve native habitat. When not at work, she enjoys exploring the woods and rivers of Montana with her dogs and husband, gardening, and making paper flowers.

Amanda Coyle: Program Coordinator

Amanda has a background in Environmental and International Studies. Her passion for the Environment really took form with a study abroad program in Tanzania where she studied the wildlife as well as the effects Climate Change on local farmers. Since then, she has worked in multiple wildlife sanctuaries and outdoor education positions.

 With a dedicated passion for service, Amanda has volunteered for many organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue, Hospitality Helping Hands and Prickly Pear Land Trust. Her more formal journey of service started with the Peace Corps in Mongolia where she served two years as a secondary School English Teacher. Returning early due to COVID 19 opened her eyes to the world of AmeriCorps where she served as Team Lead for Montana State Parks AmeriCorps. That journey led her to where she is now as the program coordinator for AgCorps.

Amanda loves exploring the outdoors. She can regularly be found running on the trails. If she’s not outside, she is most likely climbing at the local climbing gym.

Samantha Yonan: Adopt-A-Trailhead Coordinator

I have been serving as the Adopt-A-Trailhead Coordinator with MDA since 2023. I am excited to continue with the position through another term for 2024. I am excited to travel more of Montana and work with volunteer groups to help build the AATM program. Originally from Honolulu, HI, I moved to Idaho to study at Boise State University where I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Climate Studies. During that time, I spent a semester with Swan Valley Connections in Montana, and always knew I would return to the state. After graduating from Boise State, I worked as a crew lead for the Idaho Conservation Corps Backcountry Leadership program spending time doing trail work in the Frank Church Wilderness. The experience introduced me to the AmeriCorps world and led me to pursue other AmeriCorps opportunities like my current position. During my free time, I can be found working on a crochet project or hiking around Helena.

Kadeshia Dawes: St. Peter's Harvest of the Month Specialist

As the St. Peter's Harvest of the Month Specialist, I will be teaching monthly Harvest of the Month lessons in HeadStart classrooms in Helena, doing Harvest of the Month community outreach events for the Zero-Five population, and working on planning, planting, and harvesting of garden space and summer garden programming specific to Zero-Five population. I am so excited to get into the community and I feel that by teaching HOM, I am also helping myself learn more about these local foods and ways to grow and prepare them.

I was born and raised in Deer Lodge, Montana. I truly love this place and what Montana has to offer, I don't see myself leaving. After AgCorps, I will also have finished my Master's in Applied Nutrition and be a Registered Dietitian.

Luca Mele: Montana Ag Literacy Specialist

“I was born in Missoula, though moved to Western North Carolina at a very young age. I grew up in the Appalachian mountains near Asheville, all the while exploring nature, building forts, swimming in mountain rivers, and getting muddy on the family farm we had when I was young. I have always loved the natural world, so after working as a baker for some time I decided to pursue a career outside, and AgCorps was my steppingstone. I enjoy pottery, arts, music, ballroom dancing, meeting new people, and I have a newfound enjoyment of curling! After AgCorps, I plan on becoming a botanist and hopefully a Park Ranger so I can continue introducing people to the beauty of the natural world.

As the Montana Ag Literacy Specialist serving with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in Butte, I promote and educate about sustainable food systems, healthy eating, and community building, primarily through the Montana Harvest of The Month program (HOM) and the experimental SIFT garden. The Harvest of The Month program showcases Montana grown and raised food by highlighting a different local product each month for education, activities, taste tests, and more; as well as managing the NCAT newsletter, and HOM In Action site posts, I work outside of Butte to implement Harvest of The Month into businesses, schools, markets, and other organizations in surrounding communities. Through this program I am excited to form new professional relationships, build my resume, work with and educate people of all ages, find the right career fit for my future, and most importantly learn and have fun.”

Philippe Naviaux: AgCorps Mapping and Monitoring Specialist

My name is Philippe Naviaux and I am the AgCorps Mapping and Monitoring Specialist. My responsibilities are to educate, monitor, and identify noxious weeds for them to be treated. One way I do this is by educating the public on how to use EDDmapS. This is an application for people to report noxious weeds so that they can be treated. Another responsibility of mine is to educate the public about noxious weeds by distributing educational materials and presenting where the weeds have been located and treated on digital maps. In the future, one of my responsibilities will be to identify noxious weeds in the field and report them by geographic location which can then be used by others so it can be treated. I am also helping create a drone template for a future Montana Department of Agriculture UAS program which will add remote sensing capabilities to identify noxious weeds. I am excited to gain new GIS skills by learning new software and new ways to use the software. I am fascinated to learn how to identify and report noxious weeds. I am interested in all the volunteer opportunities I get to participate in order to help the public, and the skills and knowledge I will gain from those experiences.

I am from sunny San Diego, California. I have been enjoying my time at AgCorps and after completing my service I plan on continuing my education by getting a Masters in Geographic Information Systems. I hope to become a GIS Specialist and then go on to be a GIS teacher to the next generation. When I have free time, I enjoy all outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking, surfing, and camping.

Mateja Lund: Butte Agricultural Literacy Specialist

I am serving as the Butte Agricultural Literacy Specialist,  hosted by The National Center for Appropriate Technology [ncat.org] in Butte. In this role I have the opportunity to share the Montana Harvest of the Month [mtharvestofthemonth.org]program with businesses, schools and other community organizations in Silver Bow County. This program provides educational resources, activities and recipes for Montana grown products. In addition, I am helping on the SIFT [attra.ncat.org] (Small Scale Intensive Farm Training) urban farm at NCAT. The SIFT farm serves as a community learning space and a national information hub for affordable, sustainable, and alternative agriculture practices. While here I hope to gain a better understanding of the local food work already in practice in Butte and Montana as a whole. My goal within my service term is to build upon the strength of existing programs and provide the framework for expanding those programs to reach a more diverse group of community members.

I grew up in Utah and spent many summer weeks with my grandparents along the Clark Fork near Plains, Montana, and lake Coeur d’Alene in Sandpoint, Idaho. I’ve dreamed of living in this area and was able to make that dream a reality when I moved to Butte in May of 2023. I love the sense of community and the access to beautiful outdoor recreation across this state and am excited to now call it my home! After AgCorps I hope to continue to support improving accessibility of local, affordable, and healthy foods for all Silver Bow County community members. I plan on returning to school for a master’s program in Public Health, Public Policy, or Sustainable Food Systems so I can better serve my community. In my free time I can be found skiing, backpacking, knitting, shooting bows at the archery range, gardening, hanging out with my backyard chickens or reading a good historical fiction book.

Quinn Sullivan: Organics, Apiary, and Nursery Specialist

I am the Organics, Apiary, and Nursery Specialist for the Montana AgCorps!! My responsibilities include monitoring and maintaining traps for potential invasive species, creating educational materials for the public, and analyzing specimens for early detection. Additionally, in the MDA Organic Program, I work on certifying producers, conducting client surveys, and providing educational outreach for the organic community. Lastly, I support Montana’s Apiary Program by registering sites, distributing educational materials, and presenting on the importance of apiology for state agriculture.

I grew up in South Texas, so moving to Montana was a complete 180 from what I was used to, and it has been amazing! My future plans with AgCorps include educating students and beginning beekeepers about the intricacies of bee colonies and their extraordinary benefit to the environment, along with education on other local pollinators. A beginner beekeeper’s handbook with teachings about diseases and pests to look out for in self-managed hives is in the works, along with plans to hold public tours on hive management. In my free time I enjoy nature photography, hiking, writing, and watching too much reality TV!

Chloe - Noxious Weed and Outreach Specialist

My name is Chloe and I am doing noxious weed education and outreach with AgCorps. Throughout my term I will be visiting schools and 4H programs across Montana to educate communities on the impacts of invasive plants. It has been incredibly fun so far and I'm looking forward to further empowering kids of all ages to take action to preserve native ecosystems!

Being from the east coast, I have loved all the outdoor opportunities and exploration that Montana has to offer. A highlight so far has definitely been snowshoeing for the first time with the other AgCorps members in Helena. I am super excited to go backpacking, camping, and fishing as the weather warms up.