Committed and PassionateSprouting Farms Non-profit Corporation Board of Directors is made up of farmers and community members that are all committed to the mission of the Sprouting Farms project.
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Eric FittsEric is the Director of Bethlehem Farm (bethlehemfarm.net), a small Catholic nonprofit in Clayton, WV. Bethlehem hosts groups of high school and college volunteers on service-retreats. Bethlehem Farm has a mission to transform lives through service with the local community and the teaching of sustainable practices. Eric has 17 years of experience in agriculture and local food systems. He has a Masters in Public Administration with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from West Virginia University, which afforded him a strong base of knowledge and robust professional network in the region.
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Dave BurhmanDave Buhrman’s vegetable gardens grew in size from 1972 until 2010. Catering mostly to the demands of The Greenbrier Hotel chefs from 1983 on, Dave also sold his fresh produce to local grocers and restaurants in and around Greenbrier County. Now retired, Dave hopes to give back some of his knowledge and experience to others interested fresh vegetable production.
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Lauren DeskinsLauren is from Greenville, WV. She graduated from WVU in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in Multidisciplinary Studies consisting of three minors: Agribusiness Management, Food Science Technology and communications. Currently, she is renovating a home built of out a water tower and maintains their 25 acres surrounding it with an orchard full of apple and pear trees.
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Spencer MossSpencer’s roots in agriculture run deep and family happenstance has committed her to supporting those who want to feed their communities and enjoy farming as a livelihood find the resources to do so. After spending two years developing food security projects in central and southern Appalachia, she joined the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition in 2015, where she now serves as the Executive Director. Spencer holds a B.S. in Communications from Missouri Western State University and a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in Local Governance and Community Development from West Virginia University.
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Elizabeth SpellmanElizabeth's life work is dedicated to supporting small farm communities and environmental and human health. Her broad perspective—developed through work from West Virginia to the San Joaquin Valley of California—stems from her faith in equitable food systems as a catalyst for justice, health, and a new economy. Elizabeth is the Community, Farm, & Operations Director at Agrarian Land Trust. She and her partner co-operate a diversified farm in the Sinking Creek Valley of southwest Virginia. Elizabeth is an acupuncture intern at Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine. Care-taking of the land, animals, and plants as a farmer interconnects with caring for people and the landscape of the body as an acupuncturist! She plans to specialize in geriatric care and complex illnesses that are resistant to standard care through a rural acupuncture clinic and farm that empowers community well-being with healing foods.
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Ture' M. JohnsonTure' M. Johnson is the proud parent of two; David and Faith, married 10 years to his lovely wife Jade. Ture' is a graduate of West Virginia State University and Marshall University Graduate School with a degree in Adult and Continuing Education. He has been with KISRA for 12 years and in his current position for 5 years. In those 12 years he has had the opportunity to instruct and facilitate more than 10 different curricula, become a statewide trainer in Parenting Inside Out, an evidenced based curriculum, and be trained as a motivational interviewer. He has taught inside correctional facilities as well as in the community setting. He has 10 years of experience in teaching and facilitation. He is currently the Assistant Manager of Paradise Farms.
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