Isa Marie joined the Center for Land-Based Learning team in 2023 and currently serves as Managing Director of Administration and Finance, where she provides strategic leadership and oversight of the organization’s financial, administrative, and compliance functions. In this role, she oversees grant and contract funding, financial planning and reporting, internal controls, and cross-functional coordination between program, development, and finance teams to support CLBL’s statewide programs and long-term sustainability.

Before joining CLBL, Isa Marie worked as Grants Manager at Farmer Veteran Coalition, where she managed federal and foundation grants from application through closeout. Prior to her work in nonprofit finance and grants administration, Isa Marie served in the U.S. Army for 8½ years as a Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Repairer, including 27 months in combat. During her first deployment, she conducted convoys in Ramadi, Fallujah, and Baghdad, and was awarded a Combat Action Badge after coming under direct enemy fire. In 2012, Isa Marie became a caregiver to her husband after he was severely wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, resulting in the loss of both legs and a moderate traumatic brain injury.

Her dedication to supporting the agricultural community began in 2016 when her husband found a new purpose in beekeeping. What started with just 75 hives has grown to approximately 1,500 hives, which are contracted each spring to almond growers in Woodland, California. In May 2019, Isa Marie graduated from Sacramento State’s Business Honors Program with a degree in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. While at Sacramento State, she also completed a three-week international business program at Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan—an experience that deepened her appreciation for cross-cultural learning and sparked her ongoing interest in travel.