TomKat Ranch Team Updates

We would like to introduce you to our four new team members and celebrate the exciting promotion of a valued colleague!

Congratulations!

Stephanie Pittman – Small Ruminant Coordinator 

For the past decade, Stephanie raised livestock in pasture-based systems at for-profit ranches and educational nonprofits across the country. Most recently, she managed a sheep herding program that ran 2,500 head on 7,500 acres in central coastal California. As a shepherd, she strives to contribute an example of how humanely-raised meat, via good grazing practices, fits into climate resiliency. 

Through her work at TomKat Ranch, Stephanie explores how skilled animal husbandry, solid stockmanship, and innovative grazing help craft a high-functioning ecosystem. Stephanie was recently promoted to Small Ruminant Coordinator and is leading our Small Ruminant Program with our two new team members, Mukethe and Kim.

Welcome to the Team!

Mukethe Kawinzi – Small Ruminant Assistant

After extensive time in the field of healthy food access, Mukethe transitioned to working in agriculture in late 2019. Early experiences on goat dairies around the country spurred an interest in small ruminants, alongside a curiosity for raising livestock with a greater eye toward land stewardship. She is drawn to the restorative power of management-intensive frameworks and delighted to be a part of a team that approaches grazing as iterative and intentional.

“Encountering the dynamic nature of the TomKat Ranch model was galvanizing—I am deeply inspired by work that nourishes the earth from soil to the community level and beyond, that privileges the integration of stockmanship, biodiversity, and food access. It’s all connected! It feels like a model that leaves no stone unturned while burnishing the health of land, animals, and people alike.”

Kim Kitchener – Small Ruminant Assistant

Kim moved to Pescadero in 2018 to grow flowers and quickly fell in love with raising livestock with intention and producing pasture raised meat. Kim had long dreamed of learning to shepherd and use ruminants to graze forests and ecosystems for land management and fuel reduction. The pleasure of stewarding the diverse land of her new home was solidified as a passion after the CZU fire drastically changed the landscape and she observed the impacts of environmental stress on animal and human communities. 

“I feel very much blessed to be given the opportunity to be learning alongside such talented and motivated people who all care deeply for the animals and land they tend. I’m grateful to be able to continue to do the work I love in a community and landscape that has been so kind to me. I’m excited to learn and refine my stockmanship skills, as well as become intimate with the movements and habitats of small ruminants in this ecosystem.”

Brian Voris – Facilities Maintenance Assistant

Brain started working at TomKat Ranch in May 2022. He grew up in La Honda, CA, a small town about 25 minutes from Pescadero. He was drawn to the ranch out of a curiosity to experience what happens on a ranch and how it runs. What he likes about working in Pescadero is all the great people he gets to work with. 

“I want to learn effective ways to care for the land and livestock.”

Jessica Hartzell – Director of Operations

Jessica graduated from high school in nearby Half Moon Bay, California. She grew up riding and teaching horseback riding, and throughout her career has prioritized creating access to the outdoors for young people through volunteer and board roles. Jessica is trained as an attorney and facilitator, and offers these skillsets to the organizational systems at the ranch. 

“I hope to explore the influence Earth-based practices could have on decision making and governance.”