Who We Are
Board of Directors
Ellie Costa: President
Ellie's passion for growing food began while digging up potatoes as a volunteer at Pariah Dog Farm in 2018. She brings experience as a facilitator, educator, designer, and entrepreneur to her work with Farming Falmouth. She is honored to serve with a group who cares so deeply about healthy food, healthy community, and the health of Mother Earth.
Kirsti Frazier Vice President
As a volunteer for Farming Falmouth, Kirsti brings a background in program management, team building, and a deep belief in the importance of community and our relationship with the planet. When not at work she can be found gardening, practicing yoga, herbalism, or hanging out with her chickens.
Lorre-jo Joyce, Treasurer
With over 20 years of financial expertise, Lorre-jo serves as the Board Treasurer for Farming Falmouth. A dedicated year-round resident of Falmouth, she has a solid background as a bookkeeper spanning more than two decades. Additionally, Lorre-jo has served as a Legislative Liaison and worked as a draftsperson, showcasing her diverse skill set. Lorre-jo brings a wealth of experience and commitment to her role.
Jennifer Bussum, Director, KNF, Gleaning
As a volunteer since 2020 for Farming Falmouth, Jennifer joined the board in 2023. Jennifer has experience gleaning from local farms for the Falmouth Service Center, and is a student focused on soil with specialties in Korean Natural Farming, bokashi fermentation, and composting. When not at work she can be found gardening, foraging, dreaming of edible landscapes for all and playing with dirt.
Susan Shephard: Director, Activist
Susan Shephard was born and raised on a family farm in northwestern New Jersey, where everyone she knew was a farmer. During her time in graduate school, she and her husband joined the Peace Corps and were assigned to Kenya, where they spent four incredibly memorable years. On coming home, they moved to Falmouth with a newborn and a job at WHOI and have lived and worked here ever since. Susan (recruited by Mary Lou Smith) got totally involved with the effort to save Highfield Hall way back in 1992 and eventually became its first Executive Director. She moved on to involvement with the starting up of a number of local nonprofits, including Neighborhood Falmouth, Falmouth Preservation Alliance, and Friends of Nobska Light. She served for years on the APCC (Association to Preserve Cape Cod) board as well. Once the Andrews Farm went up for sale, Susan was heavily involved in the successful effort to get the town to purchase and preserve it. Out of this, Farming Falmouth was born, and Susan has remained involved ever since. She is a Town Meeting Member in Precinct 1, and acutely aware of how much farmland has been lost on the Cape just since she moved here in in 1972. “Farming Falmouth takes me back to my roots, in a way…”
Kurt Achin: Director, Videographer/Communications Projects
Kurt spent 20 years in Asia as a producer for CNN, a multimedia correspondent/bureau chief for Voice of America News, and host of a morning radio show in Seoul, South Korea. He puts his gear and experience to work for Farming Falmouth creating videos and other online content. In his day job, Kurt is Membership & Outreach Coordinator for Falmouth Community Television.
Patricia Gadsby: Director, Media Outreach
Patricia is a founding member of Farming Falmouth and a former President of the Falmouth Farmers' Market She has a background in science journalism and food writing. In 2020 she initiated Share Your Bounty, Farming Falmouth's food donation program for backyard gardeners. She is a recreational shell-fisher, forager, and local small-scale farm supporter. "As a society, we have outsourced our food supply to industry," she says. “ It's time to bring food home again.”
Tyler Barron: Director, Community Needs Assessment
Tyler grew up in Falmouth and got his BA from UMASS Amherst. His special interests are in organization building, outreach to the public and mushroom cultivation. He is currently hard at work creating a customized Community Needs Assessment for Falmouth’s food system. Tyler led Farming Falmouth's project to plant pawpaw trees on Andrews Farm.
Andy Buckingham: Director, Land Agreements
Andy Buckingham has returned to Falmouth where he spent much of his formative years falling in love with the sea. An avid fisherman and sailor, he is happily back on the shores of the Atlantic after years in west Texas. Now supporting the growth of Farming Falmouth, Andy is finally scratching a long time itch to help develop the regenerative agriculture movement across America.
Jim Hancox: Director
Jim Hancox has returned to Falmouth after years of ranching in Montana. He's looking forward to supporting a thriving agricultural future in Falmouth. Let Jim know if you've got equipment or tools for sale or donation.
Managers
Jeny Christian: Farm Manager
Jennifer served in the Massachusetts national guard and was deployed overseas in 2010 to be a part of the war in Iraq, returning a year later as a United States Army Veteran. In 2011 she taught in a summer program called “Feed the Need” which focused on teaching 10-14 year old kids how and why to grow food. She served two years on the board of Health for the town of Wendell where she worked on issues related to green home-burials, composting toilet bylaws, and zero energy apartments. In 2014 she graduated from Greenfield Community College with two liberal arts degrees: One with a focus on Renewable Energy and the other in Farm and Food Systems. In addition she received an internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate.
Jeny moved to Falmouth and in 2014 became involved with work at Pariah Dog Farm. In 2017 Jennifer joined the Falmouth Agricultural commission. She was involved with the Tony Andrews Farm working group from the beginning. She was instrumental in the formation of Farming Falmouth, serving as vice president and president of the board of directors.
Katrina Nevin: Gleaning & Graphics
Katrina learned about agriculture, food, and community while working in the dirt, first at Morning Glory Farm on Martha's Vineyard where she was employed on and off for 7 years, then in the gardens at Findhorn Ecovillage in northern Scotland, and later by living and working on small organic homesteads in the French Pyrenees. Katrina got her BA from Goddard College where she created her own degree focused on community resilience and sustainable farming practices. In 2015 she began her own flower growing business. She is an illustrator and graphic artist and enjoys creating Farming Falmouth’s annual Holiday cards. Katrina grew up on Martha’s Vineyard and moved to Falmouth in January of 2020 where she lives with her husband and two young children. Katrina launched Farming Falmouth’s gleaning program in 2020.
Staff
Jess Kowal, Administrative Support
Michelle Royer, Contact Manager
Lillian Kazanis, Publicity/Communications Manager
Stewards
Jeff Silcox, Community Orchard Steward
Shay Kuntz, JSK Treecare
Miles Manning, Manning Construction, Inc.
Chris Saunders, Saunders Land Care
Advisors
Scott Peterson: Orchard Consultant
Stan Ingram: Farming Consultant (Retired after many years managing Coonamessett Farm.)
Jim Green: Website Management