Margaret Scoles serves as Executive Director of IOIA, maintaining the IOIA office in Montana since January 1999. She has over 30 years of organic inspection experience for numerous certifiers (mostly in the US), including inspection of farms, livestock, and processors and has been teaching organic inspector training courses since 1989.

In 2018, Margaret was awarded the Growing Organic Industry Award by the Organic Trade Association.

She holds a B.S. in Agriculture (Agronomy Major) from the University of Arizona and has served in many IOIA roles since 1991. Margaret and her husband manage a cow/calf operation in southeastern Montana. She is currently serving on the board of directors of IFOAM North America.

Sacha Draine serves as the International Training Manager of IOIA. She organizes all internationally cosponsor managed courses of IOIA since 2007 and has been a staff member since December 2005. Sacha speaks and writes German, English, Spanish and French, which enables her to communicate with our cosponsors worldwide. She holds a diploma in business and foreign languages. She gained her agricultural experience while working on her husband’s family ranch for the past 20 years. The family runs a cow/calf operation, plus raises their own feed crops.

Drew Gourdie serves in the inaugural role of Business Development Director, supporting all of IOIA’s strategic and long-term goals. He’s a business veteran with 30 years in the trenches, including the past 14 years in the natural & organic sector. His cross-border childhood was split between a ‘city life’ in Saskatchewan, and his family’s ranch in northeastern Montana. Drew is familiar with all aspects of life as an Organic Inspector, with several years of processing inspections under his belt. “The role with IOIA is a great opportunity to marry my years of business development work, with my passion for the organic industry. I’ve proudly supported both large and smaller brands in the organic space and see this as a logical evolution of my career path… to make an impact at an industry level.” We expect to see him representing the organization both locally, and internationally.

Teri Lindberg Teri Lindberg serves as the IOIA Training Services Coordinator. She organizes all IOIA managed courses in the United States. Teri has a historical background having done almost every job description with IOIA. Having held multiple positions by intermittently working for the organization since 2008, most recently working for IOIA since 2020.

She gained her agricultural experience while working on her ranch in Southeastern Montana for the past 30 years. The family runs a cow/calf and hay operation.

Teri enjoys all outdoor activities and spending time with her family.

Michele Schahczenski serves as Webinars Coordinator for our in-depth series of webinar content. Web-based training is a key component of our service offering, and an increasingly popular choice for both new and experienced inspector members. Michele is a born & bred Montanan, currently residing and working remotely from Salt Lake City. Service to others and the planet is built right into Michele’s DNA, with stints in both AmeriCorps and The Peace Corps. Organic agriculture is near and dear to her heart; she sees it as “an opportunity to protect the environment and our livelihoods, and nurture a robust, resilient regional food system.” 

Diane Cooner has been with IOIA since 1994, as newsletter editor, webmaster, and now filling a number of project roles. She has a bachelor’s degree in humanities with an emphasis on culture, ecology, and sustainable community, and ran her own professional gardening business for 20+ years in Northern California. She also put in 9 years as Certification Coordinator for the North Coast chapter of CCOF.

Diane has resided in Costa Rica since 2010, where she tends to IOIA's needs and also manages an English language website resource for expats.

DrewAnne Wenzel serves as IOIA’s Office Manager. Another Montana native, she pursued an educational path through Kansas, before returning to the Broadus MT area in recent years. She and her partner are avid hunters, fishers, & campers. Her role with IOIA was meant to be! She noted: “being part of a team committed to a common goal that benefits people across the world, is a dream come true for me. I’m excited to learn more about the inner workings of the organization and help spread awareness to the importance of organic practices.”

Cecilia (Cil) Earley performs all the bookkeeping duties at IOIA including Accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, and any other financial duties. Her background is procurement and contracts from the coal mining and power plant industry. "My husband is originally from this area. We purchased a cattle ranch about ten years ago in Southeastern Montana. I love gardening, hiking, kayaking, hunting and anything to do with the outdoors and spending time with my family."

Jennie Olson moved to Broadus in 2012 to run Powder River County's Noxious Weed Management program. She joined IOIA full time in the fall of 2017. Jennie has a B.S. in Rangeland Ecology from MT State University and a A.S. in Rangeland Management from Northwest College in WY. Jennie and her husband run a registered beef operation, with sheep, pigs, chickens and a few milk cows. They also run a farm to table business. Jennie enjoys the agricultural lifestyle with her growing family.