DAPNet Board of Directors

Meet our Directors! These are the folks dedicated to keeping the Draft Animal-Power Network up and running. They volunteer long hours behind the scenes of our website, social media, fund raising, newsletters, and in-person events. Their work is organized in a few committees that meet regularly and often involves working with our hired administrative group. New directors are voted in by our members each year, at our annual Membership Meeting. All of our directors are approachable. If you have an idea, question, or concern, please feel free to contact any one of our directors.

John Smolinsky (he/him), President, Finance and Fundraising Committee Co-Chair, ebforestryservices@gmail.com, Cabot, VT
John was introduced to working animals in 2010 when he started at Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, VT. He went on to intern with Carl B. Russell, 35-year horse logger in Bethel, VT. Following his internship, John started his own small logging business using a Belgian draft horse. Earthbound Forest Services focuses on low volume, high frequency harvest within the parameters of a silvicultural management plan. John focuses on putting the ecological integrity of the forest first by using his horse’s special draft capability within a harvest. The goal is to work with landowners so that they can understand how harvests provide long-term health and strength to the forest’s economic engine within a healthy and strong ecosystem.

Erika Marczak (she/her), Vice President, Field Days Coordinator, erikamarczak60@gmail.com, Bethel, Vermont
Erika Marczak is a founding director of DAPNet, following involvement with the Northeast Draft Animal-Power Field Days. She has 16+ years experience of vegetable, egg, and meat production using a variety of techniques and power sources. After 7 years of draft animal power market gardening, life took a turn and Erika travels for work in a different branch of the equine industry, and brings her draft cross breeding program with her. A young pair of homebred fillies will be ready to go to work when she gets back into farming in the future. Erika is passionate about draft animal power culture, preserving working stock, soil health and how it relates to the health and nutrition of all beings.

Tianna Kennedy (she/they), Treasurer & Finance and Fundraising Committee Chair, tianna.kennedy@gmail.com, Worcester, NY
Tianna sits on the board of Draft Animal-Power Network as treasurer. She spends most of her time as Executive Director of the newly minted Catskills Agrarian Alliance and co-owner/operator of Star Route Farm, a diversified veggie and small grain farm in the Catskills. She also manages THE 607 CSA, an 750+ person multi-farm CSA project supporting 40 farm and food businesses in central NY, delivering to the Catskills, Hudson Valley, and the five boroughs. In 2015, along with her farm and CSA, she co-founded the Greater Catskills Chapter of the National Young Farmers’ Coalition, Bushel Collective, and the Schooner Apollonia, a Hudson Valley Sail Freight venture.  She is still involved with all of those projects in advisory roles. In 2022, Tianna was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for her service to her community by then Rep. Antonio Delgado. Her newest endeavor is Delaware Phoenix Distillery, a Draft-Power NY farm  distillery growing botanicals and producing absinthe in partnership with Ryan Jahn.

Ivy Pagliari (she/her), Secretary, Hitchpointfarm@gmail.com, Walden, VT
Ivy began her draft animal journey in 2008 with a bull calf given to her by the farm she was working on and the help of the internet.  From 2016-2020 she worked as the teamster for Tillers International assisting with their draft horse and ox classes as well as growing small grains and producing hay with live power.  In 2020 she returned to Walden, Vermont with her team of Shorthorn oxen where they help in the garden, make hay, and pull wood.  Ivy enjoys all things draft including preserving techniques and equipment for working animals, developing the capacity to do as much as possible with draft animals in her life, and supporting others on their live power journey.    

Ray Ramsey (he/him), Events Committee Chair, ray@sanbornmills.org, Pittsfield, NH
Raymond Ramsey is honored to be a part of this organization. He grew up on a 180 acre family farm in Indiana where his family grew grains, hay, and livestock. He also worked at several dairy farms in the community. After serving in the Marine Corps he moved to New England and settled in Pittsfield, NH 22 years ago where he lives with his wife and two children on a small homestead. He is the Farm Manager at Sanborn Mills Farm where they grow vegetables, livestock, and grains using oxen and horse power.  

Ian McAfee Snider (he/him) Education Committee Chair, mtnworks@gmail.com, Zionville, NC
Ian is a Mountain Silvicologist, Regenerative Rancher, and Educator. He is a lifelong resident of Southern Appalachia but has traveled to mountain regions the world over to inform his perspective and develop his skills. Ian began working with draft horses in 2005 after attending a workshop on horse logging near his home in Zionville, NC. He operates Mountain Works Conservation, a diversified natural resource firm founded in 2007.  He holds a B.S. and M.A. in Geography from Appalachian State University.  He studies and teaches in the Forestry Department at Clemson University.  He is the recipient of forestry related awards and grants from the Society of American Foresters’ Appalachian Chapter, Forest History Society, University of North Carolina, the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, and the American Association of Geographers.  He attained the rank of Eagle in the Boy Scouts and has worked as a mountain guide, carpenter, and natural resources teacher since the age of 16.

Maggie Smith (she/her), Communications Committee Chair, margaretsmithlonglake@gmail.com, Ithaca NY
Maggie grew up in a near-total absence of horses or farming, in the middle of the Adirondack Park in New York. In high school, exposure to Essex Farm planted a draft-power seed in her heart, and experiences in college sold her on organic agriculture. In spending seasons at Northland Sheep Dairy and Natural Roots CSA, she saw how the two things could be integrated and there was pretty much no turning back. Maggie currently lives in Trumansburg, New York, where she is in her second year of independent part-time farming, growing edible dry beans on borrowed land with the assistance of borrowed horses. She is the proud co-owner of an awesome yearling draft filly that she's training up for her future team. DAPNet has been invaluable to her so far and she hopes to be able to give back to this fabulous organization going forward!

Sara Dougherty (she/they), Small-Events Coordinator, sdougherty8071@gmail.com, Canastota, NY
Sara has been working with horses and draft animal power for the better part of a decade. As an undergraduate, Sara got her start with working draft horses by completing a sundry of draft animal management courses and apprenticeships. Since finishing her masters degree, Sara has worked within and managed several of New York State's collegiate equine educational facilities. She's held a number of positions including work as a teaching teamster, equine rehabilitation technician, barn manager, sleigh driver, and draft horse program coordinator. Currently, Sara is working as Colgate University's Greenhouse Superintendent and as a part-time environmental education specialist at Rogers Environmental Education Center. In her spare time, Sara works on carting with her Bernese Mountain draft-dogs and sits on the Board of Directors for Draft Animal Power Network.

Dave Gibaldi (he/him), dgibaldi86@gmail.com, Montgomery, NY
Dave began farming in 2011 and in 2016 transitioned to a mixed-power farm after buying his first team of mules. Now, he and his son are working mules on their farm and occasionally off the farm doing some low-impact logging and forestry work. After attending his first Field Days in 2017, he knew he wanted to be involved, and is honored to serve on the DAPNet board of directors. Dave also works off the farm as a shop teacher, and values sharing knowledge and skills with others.

Daphné Rose Coutrès (she/her), DAPChat Coordinator, daphnerosecourtes@gmail.com Quebec, CA
Daphné was born and raised in Paris and she started riding horses at a very young age. After moving to Quebec, she did a three year program in growing organic fruits and this is how she met Paul Chaperon and his family during an internship. He became her mentor and gave her the opportunity to use horses everywhere on a farm. From doing loose hay, logging, seeding, plowing and much more, it revealed her passion for working horses. She started her own small-scale logging business after buying one of her mentor’s horses, Fred. Using a single horse, the goal of her new project is to harvest wood in an ecological and thoughtful way.

Lara Weise (she/her), laralweise@gmail.com
Lara’s love for horses began with riding horses. She competed in dressage and eventing and then began working with draft horses and oxen while studying at Sterling College, VT. There she worked closely with the oxen and horses and has also worked at Sanborn Mills Farm and Northland Sheep Dairy. In addition, she has worked at various livestock farms in New England. She is currently working as Herdswoman of a beef herd at Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne, VT but is moving on to new opportunities in Europe in 2024.