After 16 years, CISA Executive Director Philip Korman to step down

CISA Executive Director Phil Korman, pictured last summer, will step down at the end of August after 16 years at the helm. A search for his replacement is under way.

CISA Executive Director Phil Korman, pictured last summer, will step down at the end of August after 16 years at the helm. A search for his replacement is under way. file photo

By CHRIS LARABEE

Staff Writer

Published: 07-27-2024 2:01 PM

SOUTH DEERFIELD — After serving as executive director at Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture’s (CISA) for the last 16 years, Philip Korman is stepping down from his position at the end of August with the hope of welcoming a fresh perspective to the 31-year-old agency.

Effective Aug. 30, the executive director will step back from the agency and take some time to “recalibrate” after more than a decade and a half of serving the Pioneer Valley’s farms and food system.

“At some point, all good things come to an end. I wanted to leave when the organization was in a very strong position,” Korman said. “I feel like the staff is really strong … You might as well leave when it’s a good time versus when it’s not a good time.”

When Korman joined CISA in 2008, he said the agency was “solely known” for its widespread “Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown” campaign, but the agency has adapted to the changing agricultural landscape, branching out into farm policy and climate resilience work, alongside efforts to inform folks on where to buy local food.

“I don’t take credit for that, I feel it’s so much of a team effort,” Korman said, highlighting the 20-person staff who keep the agency moving.

From the economic recession gripping the country when he started to the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, Korman said that local farms help support so many slices of the local economy when dealing with tough times.

“All these pressures that we’ve seen on and off over the years are still true today,” he said. “When the going gets tough, people lean in and look toward farms. Even if it’s a little bit harder sometimes to go to a farmstand or paying just a little bit more, that effort creates our connections to each other and maintains more open land.”

“We have this ability to decide how we want to live and how deep our roots are in our community,” Korman added. “When we’re buying locally from local farms, we’re making that investment and commitment to create that world.”

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Jenny Ladd, chair of CISA’s board of directors, said Korman has done an excellent job for the agency and Pioneer Valley’s agricultural industry.

“We’re sad to see him go in the sense of what a wonderful human being he is … We’re very happy with the way he’s left the organization,” Ladd said, adding Korman was able to keep CISA “vibrant and alive” over his 16 years, ensuring it was stable enough to be successful.

Ladd pointed to CISA’s response to 2023’s freezing and flooding events that devastated farms around the region and how the network Korman built with farms, nonprofits and elected officials was able to rapidly respond to support those who suffered damage.

“Because he has built such good, authentic relationships with all of those players, that was able to move quickly … he had that trust,” Ladd said. “That comes from years of soil building, so to speak.”

As CISA looks toward its future, Ladd said they have partnered with Eos Transition Partners, a national executive search firm, to help find a replacement for Korman. The replacement, she said, needs to be someone able to continue building the relationships CISA already has, while determining the best way to create new programs and support existing ones.

“We’re really looking for someone with a lot of energy, who shares a commitment to this valley and its local food system,” Ladd said. “We are confident we’ll find a good person … but there will be no one like Phil, Phil is one of a kind.”

In the meantime, CISA Deputy Director Kelly Coleman will serve as interim director while the hiring process unfolds and Ladd said they are “very grateful” for Coleman’s willingness to step up.

The full job posting and application instructions can be found at buylocalfood.org/executivedirector

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.