Our Team

Shoshana Ohriner is a nourisher, connector, teacher and community builder. After careers as a rabbi and chaplain serving the spiritual and emotional needs of her patients and then as a stay-at-home-mom caring for three growing kids and 1000 members of her husband’s congregation, Shoshana and her family decided to follow a different path in tending and caring for others. They purchased 16 acres of raw land on an old overgrown walnut orchard to homestead which grew into Ma’alot Farms.

Shoshana is passionate about sharing abundance and creating spaces that nourish her family, friends, and community. When Shoshana isn’t milking goats, processing harvest for donation, or designing next season’s planting plan, you can find her in the Ma’alot Farms kitchen or bakery preserving harvest, making cheese, or baking the delectable signature pastries always on-hand at the farm.

Shoshana simply cannot wait to share the magic of Ma’alot Farms with you at a community dinner, tour, or workshop making a batch of jam or planning your own resilient, sustainable home garden.

Alex came to Ma’alot Farms in May 2022, quickly growing from Community Farmer to Farm Lead. In addition to managing the crew day-to-day, Alex maintains a birds eye view of the farm and, working effectively with his team, is our lead problem solver!

Alex brings calm confident leadership to the Farm Team and takes up new skills with impressive speed. He appreciates this work (except the flies); it is exactly what he imagined doing since he was a kid growing up here in the Bay Area.

Before joining Ma’alot Farms, Alex worked in both landscaping and construction. When not at work, Alex is taking care of his ranch in the Central Valley, horseback riding, spending time with his family, and wrangling goats.

Fernando has been working at Ma’alot Farms since May 2022, when he joined the team as a Community Farmer. Fernando worked for 15 years working in construction and landscaping and has a lifetime of experience in plant cultivation since he grew up on a ranch. He works with a great attitude, immense knowledge, and artistic precision.

At Ma’alot Farms, he appreciates working together as a team and loves the tranquility of working outside in nature. On the weekends, he stays out in the fresh air, exploring outside with a coffee in hand, caring for his horses, and spending time with his family.

After 15 years working in landscaping, Lorenzo joined Ma’alot Farms in May 2022 as a Community Farmer, accomplishing various tasks with artistry and advanced skill from building garden beds to constructing fences. Lorenzo particularly enjoys planting and harvesting corn, beans, and tomatoes, which remind him of the ranch where he grew up.

Lorenzo’s childhood was his original teacher for this role, where, after school, he’d go to the forest to harvest wood for his mother to cook with and work the garden. He loves to stay active by walking in nature and bike riding, and enjoys spending time with his family.