Mission-Vision-Values
Board President
Annette Herboth is Owner and Principal Consultant at Twill Design and Consulting, Partner at Zefyr Consulting, and former Senior Director of Footwear Material Development at Nike, Inc. Annette has nearly 30 years of experience in the footwear, apparel & home goods industries, working with a wide variety of brands, manufacturers, and suppliers. She is a designer & handweaver determined to connect her family history of farming with her love of fiber, passion for making, and desire for promoting sustainable regional industries.
Board Vice President
Spencer L. Marchand is the founder and chairman of Dakota Linen Company. As a 5th generation North Dakotan, Spencer has been immersed in production agriculture his entire life, even working daily with farmers today as a conservationist. Spencer also has a broad background in upholstered furniture and bedding as a 3rd generation owner in his family business, where his primary role utilized his formal educational background in supply chain and operations management. Spencer takes pride in being raised in rural North Dakota, where it teaches the importance of resilience, hard work, and meaningful relationships. He is excited to bring his skills and experiences to re-emerge the flax fiber supply chain west of the Atlantic.
Board TREASURER
Pamela Weiler is a social scientist with a Ph.D. in Agricultural Education and Communications whose work connects agriculture, education, and community development. After teaching business in higher education, she began a vanilla farm in East Africa—an experience that reshaped her research path and led her into applied agricultural work. Her research and fieldwork focus on working with marginalized and small-scale farmers, to advance farming practices that are environmentally responsible and socially rooted. She is drawn to flax not only for its romantic and ancient history, but for its capacity to help curb mass plastic consumption in the fashion industry while creating futures for small farmers and producing elegant goods for consumers.
BoarD sECRETARY
Sandra Marquardt is the founder and president of On the Mark Consulting, where she provides communications, research, and advocacy services for the organic and sustainable sectors, drawing on extensive experience across agriculture, environmental policy, and sustainable fashion and textiles. She previously held leadership roles with Textile Exchange, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and the Organic Trade Association (OTA), and currently serves as Secretary of OTA’s Fiber Council and as OTA’s representative to the GOTS Standards Committee. Since 2009, she has also managed an organic farmers market and CSA program in her Maryland community.
Board Director
Patrick Flaherty is a mechanical engineer and entrepreneur advancing the next generation of natural-fiber and bio-based composite materials. With deep experience in raw material processing, material development, and end use applications using a wide range of natural materials, Patrick bridges innovation and implementation to bring emerging technologies to market. He is a committed advocate for natural materials in composites and is dedicated to strengthening U.S. leadership in sustainable materials and manufacturing.
Board Director
Sage Shelton is a marketing expert specializing in bast fiber textiles who contributes marketing and membership strategy expertise to the NALA board. She serves as NALA’s representative for the Alphabet Soup Collective and she also serves as a flax representative on the Piedmont Fibershed board. Sage is developing long-term strategic plans for a spinning mill. In the meantime, she enjoys making fun and flirty linen garments in her clothing business, Liberty Linen Co.
Board Director
Eric Singular is a natural fiber strategist who has played a key role in reintroducing industrial hemp as a high-value bast fiber and specialty oilseed in the U.S., working across the supply chain from seed genetics and farming to processing, certification, and brand adoption. In 2022, he became President of INCCert, where he helped develop the Responsible Hemp Standard (RHS), the first global chain-of-custody certification program for industrial hemp textiles. Eric works globally with farmers, mills, manufacturers, and brands to advance the responsible scaling and adoption of hemp, linen, and other bast fibers.
Board Director
Alvin Ulrich is owner of Biolin Research Inc. which began as a research facility with the goal of producing value-added fiber from flax grown in the Prairie provinces of Canada. It has morphed into a privately owned company, under the leadership of Alvin Ulrich, with the purpose of processing and marketing the products available from all portions of flax straw. Biolin’s mission is to utilize 100% of the flax straw for commercial end uses so that the straw, traditionally burned or chopped in the fields by farmers, becomes a viable and profitable product, completing the natural recycle circle.
BoarD director
Shannon Welsh is a fiber and textile advocate with decades of experience in material development, regenerative agriculture, and regional textile systems. She advises fiber producers, brands, universities, and communities, with a focus on revitalizing Oregon’s historic linen industry. Shannon is Co-Founder and Head of Operations at Coast Fibers, Co-Founder of Fibrevolution, founding Executive Director of the North American Linen Association, and former Affiliate Director of Pacific Northwest Fibershed.