Staff Members
Richard Olson
Director, Berea Urban Farm
responsible for management and production, outreach and educational activities of the Berea Urban Farm
Therese Hildebrand
Manager – BUF Educational Gardens
Oversees the Four-Seasons Teaching Garden and associated educational programs.
Tress Middleton
Office Manager
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Mr. Z
Assistant, Berea Urban Farm
Visitor greeting and vole and mole control
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Board Members
Janet Meyer – Chair
is Director of Farm Enterprises at Berea College. Previously, she worked with Berea College students and staff to produce and market certified organic plants, seeds, fruit, and vegetables. She graduated from Berea College with a B.S. in Agriculture and Natural Resources in 2005 and has more than 35 years of agricultural experience
David Kennedy – Vice-Chair
was the founder and director of Leaf for Life, a nonprofit organization working to reduce micro-nutrient malnutrition through the optimum use of leaf crops. For 40 years, he initiated projects that combined small-scale agriculture and simple food processing in 13 countries. He led an environmental program at the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center in Berea for three years. Dave is the author of four books on integrating green leaves into our food systems
Kayla Preston – Secretary
moved to Berea in 2012 after graduating from the University of Kentucky and found passion and love for sustainable farming after interning on a nearby Permaculture farm, and ever since she has been involved in the local foods movement in the Berea area. She has worked with Grow Appalachia as their Social Enterprise Manager since 2016 supporting and educating farmers on season extension specifically high tunnel greenhouses. She has a love for growing flowers, making bouquets and enjoys cultivating vegetables for herself, friends and her neighbors.
Randy Stone – Treasurer
is the retired city administrator of Berea KY, and a life-long gardener with a particular affection for cabbage and sauerkraut.
Betina Gardner
is a Senior Fellow at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Cheyenne Olson
is converting her household into an ARK with vegetable production, native plantings for wildlife, and chickens.
Richard Olson
a Ph.D. agronomist who is retired from the Environmental Studies faculty at Berea College & has experience in ecological design, ecological restoration, small-scale farming, and horse logging
George Schloemer
a local physician, bicyclist, gardener, and practitioner and advocate of the health and environmental benefits of a vegan diet
Anna Spurlock
is a Community Health Worker associated with Berea Family Medicine, CHI Saint Joseph Health. She is a life-long resident of Berea.
Lou Deluca (Lifetime Director)
has degrees in political science (Yale), law (U. Colorado), and city planning (Harvard) & career included city planner, New Haven, CT; Asst. Dean and Assoc. Professor, Yale School of Art and Architecture; Dir. of the Mountain Program at U. Kentucky; Arts and Humanities Director, KY Dept. of Education; Exec. Director of KY Arts Council and Deputy Secretary KY State Cabinet for Education, Arts, and Humanities. Spent a decade living on and helping manage a small hill farm in Anderson Co., KY