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, [...]

Analise Adams is the Program Director at Shalom Farms. She comes to this work passionate about supporting communities in cultivating healthier, more equitable spaces for all, and loves every opportunity to bring people together around food and good conversation. Through her work supporting the food access programs at Shalom Farms, she loves getting to know [...]

Stanley Jones III “To Be Determined” Stan is the Director of Surry County Parks & Recreation and the Director for Surry County’s Farmers Market. A veteran of the US Army for 13 years and a government contractor, he has studied at various universities and is currently working towards his degree in Psychology. Stan has recently [...]

Katie Struble, Mobile Market Manager, LEAP Katie spent 2019 as LEAP’s Mobile Market Manager, serving local produce to communities around Roanoke and managing the complex logistics of Mobile Marketing. A Roanoke native and animal lover, Katie loves cooking and operates a small business producing and selling unique fermented foods with locally grown produce.

Elizabeth Borst is Executive Director of Virginia Community Food Connections (VCFC) in the Fredericksburg region, and a state co-lead with the Virginia Fresh Match Nutrition Incentive network. VCFC works to connect people, producers and communities to increase consumption of healthy, Virginia Grown fruits and vegetables. Elizabeth is an experienced Farmers Market Manager and SNAP EBT [...]

Michelle McKenzie, Director of Virginia Food Works Michelle McKenzie is the Director of Virginia Food Works, a non-profit that helps growers and other food entrepreneurs make value-added products for retail sale. She has a strong farming background, with eight years of experience growing vegetables on Bellair Farm in Albemarle County. Michelle is dedicated to getting [...]

Meredith Ledlie Johnson, Family Nutrition Program Meredith Ledlie Johnson manages the Food Access and Availability Initiative for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Family Nutrition Program. This program is designed to ensure that all Virginians have access to enough healthy, culturally appropriate food in their communities through increasing access to farmers markets, gardening, and healthy retail outlets. Meredith [...]

Martha Boneta is a native Washingtonian, Policy Advisor, Virginia farmer and a nationally recognized Commentator on agricultural, property rights and current affairs. Martha was recognized as one of “America’s Most Amazing Women” by Country Woman Magazine for fighting for farmers rights across the nation. The Virginia General Assembly, honored Martha Boneta with a Joint Commendation [...]

Kyle Shreve, Executive Director, Virginia Agribusiness Council Kyle Shreve currently serves as the Executive Director for the Virginia Agribusiness Council, where he represents the Council’s diverse membership of businesses in both the agriculture and forestry industries. He holds a decade of trade association experience including representing the International Dairy Foods Association, Virginia Retail Merchants Association [...]