Ann Vargo Ann has worked as a FCS SNAP-Ed Agent in the SE District-Greater Richmond area since 2010. She loves farmers markets and has worked with markets her area for the past 5 years, helping to promote SNAP and encourage buying local produce. Ann loves to prepare and share tasty recipe samples to market goers [...]

Dr. Renee R. Boyer Professor/Extension Specialist | Department of Food Science & Technology Dr. Renee Boyer is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Food Science & Technology department at Virginia Tech.   Her research program focuses on enhancing the quality and safety of fresh produce through pre and post-harvest interventions, as well as researching, developing [...]

Anne Herring Anne Herring, a native of Rockbridge County, Virginia, began her career with USDA/Rural Development (RD), (then called Farmers Home Administration) in October 1987, as an Assistant County Supervisor/Agricultural Management Specialist in Farmville, VA.  Since that time, she has held a number of positions in various locations, and is currently a Community Solutions Specialist [...]

Emily Flippo Project Manager Office of Agriculture & Forestry Development Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Emily Flippo joined the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in December 2018 as a Project Manager in the Office of Agriculture & Forestry Development. Emily works to promote economic development in Virginia's agriculture and forestry sectors [...]

Melissa Ball Melissa Ball is the Special Projects Manager at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in the Division of Market Development. She works with fifteen agricultural commodity boards and administers Virginia’s portion of the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. She holds an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BA in [...]

Julia S. Clark Julia S. Clark is the Executive Director for VA FAIRS, a 501c3 providing technical assistance services to producers in value added agriculture. Before assuming this role in 2018, Clark served as the VA FAIRS Project Manager for five years, working alongside the former Executive Director. She has years of agricultural business development [...]

Emilie Davis Emilie Davis is the founder and creative partner of LinkHouse Consultants, a branding and creative strategy company based in Lexington, VA. With over ten years of experience in graphic design, print marketing, publishing, and web design, Emilie serves not only as a designer, but as a liaison with vendors, freelancers, and other consultants [...]

Chief John “J.R.” Dodd Chief John “J.R.” Dodd has 27+ years of law enforcement experience which started while a student at James Madison University.  After earning a B.A. in English, he moved on to the Harrisonburg Police Department as a dispatcher and then patrol officer.  He was then hired by Bridgewater Police Department and [...]

Heather Wheeler Business and Marketing Specialist, Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Heather Wheeler is the Virginia Grown Program Manager at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services where she partners with producers, farmers market managers, farmers market vendors and buyers across the state of Virginia to promote fresh, local products and to [...]

Livvy Preisser, Unit Coordinator and Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Virginia Cooperative Extension Livvy Preisser was raised in Lancaster, Virginia, on a small family farm where small grains were grown. She grew up loving agriculture and wanted to further her education in the industry. Having earned associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees at Virginia Tech, [...]