Our Team

Dr. Laney Siegner

Founder & Co-Director, Climate Farm School

Laney completed her Ph.D. at the U.C. Berkeley Energy and Resources Group in 2020. She researched sustainable, agroecological food systems and climate change education, and spent several summers working on regenerative farms while researching for her dissertation.  

She has published book chapters on teaching climate change in U.S. K-12 classrooms and on conducting participatory agroecology research. Prior to attending graduate school, she worked as a middle school teaching fellow for 2 years in Boston, MA as part of an AmeriCorps National Teaching Fellowship. 

When she’s not teaching or learning, she enjoys being outside for a variety of physical activities – farming, worm composting, trail running, bird watching, or swimming in the ocean. Originally from the East Coast, she now lives on a farm in Sonoma County, California.

Ryan Peterson

Co-Director, Climate Farm School

Ryan Peterson is dedicated to regenerating ecosystems through food and agriculture. After beginning his career in finance, he decided to change course and study sustainability at UC Berkeley where he was captivated by the potential of food systems transformation. His master’s research focused on how policy can be used to promote agroecology in California.

He went on to train as a cook at Chez Panisse before helping to launch the Culinary and Food Systems Program at The Ecology Center, a regenerative farm and ecological education center in San Juan Capistrano, California. He has worked on farms in Maine, Northern and Southern California, and Hawaii.

He spends his time collaborating with farmers and chefs, developing educational events around regenerative agriculture, and reconnecting humans to nature through his cooking. He is deeply interested the connection between healing ecosystems and ourselves. Originally from Massachusetts, Ryan now lives in Berkeley, California.