Meet Our Staff
Chris works with small farm families in Eastern Kentucky to develop plans to increase their farm’s efficiency and profitability.
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Martina coordinates the Berea Kids Eat program, a year-round feeding and nutritional education program for Berea youth.
Faye blends nearly a decade of career in health and well-being program delivery, research and evaluation in London, England, with seven years of naturally grown farming and sales in the local food economy in Kentucky. Her work centers around program evaluation, monitoring, and impact.”
Kayla manages our social enterprise program, including high tunnel, roof run off water catchment and micro drip irrigation consultations & installations, fertilizer and garden supply sales.
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Mark began with Grow Appalachia in 2012 and currently delivers direct technical support to producers throughout the region.
David Cooke is a native of southern West Virginia and the youngest child of a coal miner and a schoolteacher. He holds degrees from Berea College and West Virginia University. Cooke previously served 13 years as an extension agent in southern West Virginia working extensively with small landholders and other entrepreneurs in agroforestry and other natural resource based small business enterprises. As the founder and first director of Grow Appalachia(for 12 years) he is deeply proud of the passionate and committed staff of Grow Appalachia, and the program’s role as an outreach service and education program of Berea College.
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Candace started with Grow Appalachia in 2012 and manages fundraising, evaluations, program development, marketing and strategic planning.
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Steph Hamborsky is the social enterprise program assistant. She manufactures high tunnel materials, helps manage farm supply orders, and travels with Kayla building high tunnels around the region. Steph previously worked on and managed numerous rural and urban farm operations and has spent a considerable amount of time focused on community organizing. She is deeply passionate about building community centered on justice, reparations, and resilience.
Taye works with local youth, coordinating and implementing programming based on gardening and nutrition education.
Nathaniel is a Berea college student who works with our garden grants program. He collects data and resources from our partner sites and organizes them into a detailed instructional library.
Storey works with small farms in Eastern Kentucky to explore innovative strategies that increase profit and efficiency.
