Growing up in rural Michigan my father instilled in me a deep appreciation for nature and science with frequent nature walks and trips to Lake Michigan. Throughout my life this inspired my pursuit in engineering and environmental work to regenerate and protect these places for future generations to thrive within and experience. Continuing to seek ways to connect people with place and planet led me to agriculture where we are deeply bound to the earth through food and soil. I believe that in order to have a healthy thriving food system and ecosystem we must come together to share the risk our farmers and ranchers take in producing our food, fuel and fiber. As the Regenerative Agriculture Program Director, I work within our agrarian communities to encourage collaboration and foster meaningful change in agricultural policies, practices and economies. We are developing a robust program to derisk farmers in the adoptions of soil health practices with access to capital, training and carbon markets.  

Raised in two distinct agrarian wildlands: the Northern Rockies and central Appalachia, I grew up skirting different perspectives on our relationship with nature. In one sense land was to be possessed, worked, and made to yield livelihoods. In another sense, it was the source of all life outside of livelihoods: cultural identity, refuge, the sacred, the wonderous, and it demanded protections or at least its respect. Wildlife could be seen as a nuisance or an integral part of a functioning ecosystem. Most of my professional career has been spent researching the balance between these dualities to create solutions for people and nature to thrive in unison rather than struggle in competition. As Director of Natural Capital with the US Soils Regeneration Programme, I work to bring the technology, policy, and science of those solutions into the agriculture sector and onto your farm. More broadly at ReGen Future Capital, I serve as the internal expert on ecosystem services, carbon markets, and environmental modeling.