About Us

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Susanna serves as our Executive Director. As the founding Director she brought a skill set needed to build out an integrated farm operation that can serve as a training ground for new farmers, a satellite site for local food hub operations, and a space that is healthful and convenient for the local community.

Susanna@newrootscommunityfarm.com

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Valerie manages and curates our new on-site Farm Market. She is incredibly curious about food. Valerie has participated in West Virginia's local food system in many capacities over the past ten years: farmer, gardener, server, student, researcher, and guest at the dinner table. She believes that everyone deserves to eat good food.

Valerie@newrootscommunityfarm.com

Farm Market Manager

Amy manages and curates our on-site farm market. She is passionate about local farming and food systems. She believes in encouraging, enabling, and protecting growers and producers of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels towards the common ends of feeding and (economically) supporting themselves and their community. She has worked in food and farming in the area in different ways for 15 years. Food is her love language and she wants everyone to have access to healthy and delicious food that they enjoy.

amy@newrootscommunityfarm.com

FARM MANAGER

Evan serves as one of the two farm managers at New Roots. He is passionate about nurturing robust soil ecosystems, and treating land, plant, and animal life with curiosity and reverence. He has been involved in these pursuits for the last 8 years. His favorite vegetables are in the parsley/celery family, and he loves to spend time in the forest.

evan@newrootscommunityfarm.com

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Eleanor serves as the Program Coordinator for New Roots. Her role is focused on community outreach and food access, with a focus on farm to school programs. When not working, Eleanor makes and sometimes sells artisan baked goods featuring natural leavening, fresh milled flours, and seasonal ingredients. She can also be found making paper cut art or running around on a trail. She lives in Oak Hill with her partner and their two dogs.

Eleanor@newrootscommunityfarm.com

ASSISTANT FARM MANAGER

Stephen is a North Carolina native that moved to West Virginia two years ago to pursue a more meaningful existence with people and the outdoors. He loves serving coffee and growing vegetables for the community which he is a part of. He also enjoys rock climbing and chess during his free time.

FARM APPRENTICE

Elena is our newest Farm Apprentice. She will assist the farm team in sustainable production of specialty crops here on the farm. Climbing and guiding brought her and her husband to the New River Gorge region in 2017, where we fell in love with the rocks, rivers, and mountains of West Virginia. Eleana enjoys rock climbing, fiddle playing, and traveling. She also is a fiber artist here in the New River Gorge region. Check out her art here https://www.elenafouchfiberart.com/

NRCF BOARD MEMBER

Kelsey Abad serves as the Secretary of The Advisory Board for New Roots Community Farm. She has over ten years of experience working in local food development up and down the value chain. She owns and operates Rooted Community Consulting, a local food systems development consulting business whose mission is to empower and collaborate with equity, sustainability, and resiliency minded organizations to uplift farmers. She is deeply passionate and motivated to see local food thrive in West Virginia (and beyond). She is an adventurous cook and enjoys sharing meals with folks with a hefty side of vegetable puns and bad dad jokes.

NRCF BOARD MEMBER

Autumn Long serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for New Roots Community Farm. Autumn’s professional career, academic background, and personal interests center around sustainable development in Central Appalachia. She works as a nonprofit program manager specializing in solar energy project development, policy advocacy, and public education. Autumn has been an entrepreneur, community organizer, researcher, writer, editor, landscape designer, gardener, and homesteader. She holds an M.A. in Geography from WVU and a B.Phil. in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh.

NRCF BOARD MEMBER

Joy Marr serves as Treasurer of The Advisory Board for New Roots Community Farm. Joy is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to organizational constructs for non profits. As a founding member of the Fayette County Farmers Market as well as Plateau Action Network, helping to establish and grow non profits is in her bally wick! As a Business Coach for the Value Chain Cluster Initiative (VC2), she has had a hand in bringing viability and sustainability to business start-ups across West Virginia. Her interest in the environment and the resiliency of the region is supported by her position on the County Farmland Protection Board. Joy is a serial entrepreneur-- working with in the community as a retail/wholesale grower, a consultant offering process engineering for culinary or business programming, event production, a published writer, Pilates instructor and more.