New Beginnings at WIR: Q&A with Our New Team Members

Q: What is your official job title with WIR and where/how/in what capacity can community members connect with you? 

Chiara: My job title with Women in Ranching is Community Development Manager! My role here is deeply rooted in the relationships I create and sustain within this community, and I would love for community members to reach out to me via email at chiara@womeninranching.co to say hello!

My biggest goal is to learn more about the wonderful women who make up the Women in Ranching community so I can better create opportunities that support us all.

Hannah: I'm all about collaboration and bringing people together! As the new Program Manager, my hope is to carry out the vision that WIR has expressed "to connect, engage, and unite" and offer my humble support to our collective at large. I'm deeply committed to the growth and representation of women in agriculture and the intentional space we are co-creating together! You can connect with me through email at hannah@womeninranching.co.

Julysa: My official job title within WIR is Senior Communications Manager, and I am here to hold space, listen, learn, and amplify the work, voice, and essence of this beautiful community! I will be the person behind our social media accounts, so you can always send me a DM or an email at julysa@womeninranching.co to say hi or connect!

Q: What is your current self-given “life” title?

Chiara: Sunshine Chasing-Dance Loving-Cooking Obsessed-Caretaker

Hannah: Nature Loving-Food Justice Junkie-Soul Riding Cyclist-Dog Wrangling- Seed Mama-Community Building-Seeker of Goodness.

Julysa: Art Making-Day Dreaming-Vintage Sourcing-Cozy Gaming-Beach Chasing-Trinket Collecting-Evolving Being

Q: What brought you to Women in Ranching? 

Chiara: My desire is for a community of women who love the land as much as I do! Also, the aspiration to heal alongside this community, learn from this community, and celebrate the beauty that life has to offer with this community.

Hannah: Women in Ranching has held a special place in my heart ever since I attended the first virtual Confluence back in 2020. I recognized early on how individuals nurture and care for one another in this space. I want to immerse myself in purpose-driven work that honors the lived experiences of individuals and is rooted in care for the land, animals, and people.

Julysa: I joined Women in Ranching because I believe our most important relationship is with the land. The work that WIR does is critical and has a direct impact on both present and future generations. In our current system, similar to the land, women who care for it often face the same inequities.

By humanizing, amplifying, and celebrating your contributions, my goal is to act as a megaphone, projecting your voices into the narratives that will lead us towards a more equitable and sustainable future.

Share your favorite recipe or book!

Chiara: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver & Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer! Also, this oatmeal cookie recipe that I’ve been making for years!

Hannah: Sheep, Stars, and Solitude: Adventure Saga of a Wilderness Trail by Francis R. Line & Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas by Alexi Pappas

Julysa: Two books I always return to at different points in life are Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés and All About Love by Bell Hooks.

I am also so obsessed with this dressing that I batch create and freeze it to always have it ready. Pair it with dino kale—destemmed, rolled, and cut into strands—and top with Parmesan cheese (I prefer the chunky version). It's so simple and so good!

Here's the recipe:

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated (plus extra for topping)

• 1/3 cup olive oil (extra virgin preferred)

• 2 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 medium lemon)

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Q: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

Chiara: As a kid, I was fiercely in love with live theatre and wanted to be involved with plays and musicals (which I still love!).

Hannah: I started swimming lessons when I was really little, so naturally, I dreamed of being a mermaid! I told myself if I didn't grow fins by age 7, then I would be a marine biologist instead. To this day, I still love swimming and being in the water!

Julysa: When I was a kid, all I wanted was to own a ranch in Mexico, have a horse, animals, and fruit trees with hammocks to nap on. I wanted all my family to live there with me and to have my own art studio on-site.

Q: What is your relationship to land and livestock? Or what would you like it to be?

Chiara: I grew up in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The land was my teacher and friend. She nourished my belly and fostered my greatest creativity. The earth has taken care of me my whole life, and it’s my life’s work to give back to her through inquiry, love, and storytelling.

Hannah: The land is my relative, Madre Tierra. I feel protected by Her and, in turn, want to honor and protect the only place we have all ever known as home! In the future, I hope to raise some animals of my own. I really enjoy the curious and naughty nature of goats. Most of my experience has been working with chickens, sheep, goats, and some cattle.

My greatest desire is to be a feral woman and live as much of my life outside as possible! To be in service to the land and creatures that gift me with such awe and inspiration for life!

Julysa: Our ancestral teachings tell us that we are born with two mothers: the first from whose womb we emerge and the second to whose womb we return. I feel an immense responsibility to care for Her and to be a good relative and lifelong student of the lessons from Her, as well as from both human and non-human relatives.