BRWIA STAFF
Staff, celebrating at our 2023 fundraising event, A Savory Shindig, held at the Apple Barn on September 30, 2023.
Pictured Front (L-R): Katie Cavert Ferrell, Maggie Caswell, Taylor Campbell, Lily Lipford, Courtney Wheeler)
Back (L-R): Liz Whiteman, Sydney Blume, Jess McClelland, Darienne Montgomery, Sam Springs
(Not pictured: Shannon Carroll)
Pictured Front (L-R): Katie Cavert Ferrell, Maggie Caswell, Taylor Campbell, Lily Lipford, Courtney Wheeler)
Back (L-R): Liz Whiteman, Sydney Blume, Jess McClelland, Darienne Montgomery, Sam Springs
(Not pictured: Shannon Carroll)
Meet Our Team
Liz Whiteman
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Liz grew up in northern Minnesota, spending summers helping her parents dig potatoes and carrots in their backyard gardens. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Liz followed her passion for regenerative agriculture and food sovereignty to urban gardens in New Orleans and tropical farms in rural Ecuador.
She spent 5 years in Washington DC working on federal farm policy, focusing on increased funding for sustainable agriculture and strengthening nutrition programs such as WIC and SNAP. In 2019, Liz found her way to Western North Carolina, spending a season working for Tumbling Shoals Farm in Wilkes County. Drawn to the High Country by the impressive local food economy, Liz is excited to work with local farmers and community members to continue striving for a vibrant, equitable, and sustainable food system. Liz works to direct BRWIA's programming and staff with a focus on strategic expansion and reach and the impact of BRWIA's programming. Contact Liz for any of the following:
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Taylor Campbell
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Taylor grew up in Mt.Ulla, NC, a blip on the map with a feed store and a fire station. Having been surrounded by family farms during childhood, she was drawn to agricultural pursuits from a young age. As a kid, Taylor raised calves, show lambs, Boer goats, and had a horse afraid of standing water. Future Farmers of America was formative to her high school years, as well as her experience working on berry farms, milking cows at a NC research station, and the Lazy 5 Ranch.
Her interest led her to the Appalachian State Sustainable Development program, where she minored in Agroecology. From there, she was the Garden Coordinator at the Hospitality House, has owned her own micro-scale flower farm at CFSA's Lomax Incubator Farm, and was most recently the Farm Manager of a cut flower business in Knoxville, TN. Taylor's experience as a nurse was an eye opening reminder of the inequalities in our food system, and the health issues that can be caused by the inability to access to healthy food. She is very excited about our Double Up Bucks program, as well as our work delivering food boxes to community organizations. |
Darienne Montgomery
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Darienne is from Lynchburg, Virginia, where she spent time exploring and learning from the Blue Ridge Mountains while hiking, swimming, camping, and, of course, snacking. She also enjoyed working in the garden with her mother and kitchen with her grandma crafting meals with fresh produce from her grandpa's and other community members' gardens. Her love for nature and art led her to pursue a career in nature documentaries and photography and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Mass Communications concentrating on Broadcast Journalism.
She later moved to Western North Carolina to immerse herself further in the outdoor industry and be amongst a like-minded community as a photographer and raft guide. She was then brought back to her hometown and spent two years working with the Virginia Cooperative Extension as the Agriculture Marketing and Programs Assistant, where she acted as coordinator and marketer for a Community Supported Agriculture Program with local farmers serving over 100 customers in their first year. She enjoyed working within and helping expand the local food system while becoming a Master Gardner and supporting other agriculture and 4H-related programs. She looks forward to learning from and working with the BRWIA team and offering her experience and skills. Darienne also owns her own business as a commissioned painter under the name The Elemental Artist as a way of transforming and sharing her love for nature in the form of visual art When she is off the clock, you can find her mountain biking or hiking, kayaking, painting, practicing yoga, cooking a delicious, home-cooked meal filled with the best, local products, or attending the next best live show. Contact Darienne for any of the following:
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Sydney BlumeDouble Up Food Bucks & Farmers Market Manager
[email protected] 
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Sydney came to Boone from St. Petersburg, Florida in 2014 and found her home in the Blue Ridge. After graduating from Appalachian State University with degrees in Sustainable Development and Spanish, Sydney managed Appalachian State’s sustainable campus gardens and co-founded ClimAct, a local climate justice organization. This entrance into community organizing and the local food system helped to strengthen her community relationships and establish her roots in the High Country. She has also taught courses on community gardening and climate change at Appalachian, taught at High Country Forest Wild, and served as a founding board member of BAD Composting.
Sydney left Boone to receive a Master’s of Science in Food Systems from the University of Vermont with a focus on agroecology and agroforestry, and she is thrilled to return to Boone to work with BRWIA to help support a more just and sustainable local food system. In her free time, Sydney enjoys trail running, gardening, climbing, basket weaving, painting, and playing music. Contact Sydney for the following:
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Shannon CarrollFinance Coordinator
[email protected] 
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Shannon grew up in the Piedmont area of NC and moved to Boone in 1983 after spending a year teaching Biology on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.
She has 30+ years of experience providing leadership and support for instructional technology for Watauga County Schools. She retired from Watauga County Schools in 2013 and is currently dividing her time between three part-time positions - being the Finance Coordinator for BRWIA, helping with the Lettuce Learn at Parkway School, and helping her husband, Terry, with his SunCatcher Passive Solar Greenhouse business. She also recently earned her Master Gardener certification. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, traveling to visit her sons, and going for long walks. Contact Shannon for any of the following:
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Katie Cavert FerrellCommunity Relations Manager [email protected]
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Katie grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where she remembers hot afternoons as a kid in the garden with her father, picking and eating strawberries. She is currently BRWIA’s Community Relations Manager.
After studying Geology at The University of the South in Sewanee, TN, she became an environmental educator in Alabama and as Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua. She taught Spanish in Asheville for 5 years, then returned to her environmental roots to get her Master’s degree in Appropriate Technology at ASU. With experience in education and with a new sustainability lens, Katie spent 7 years coordinating the NC Green Schools program. Katie’s personal foray into local food started out with a small home garden and grew into raising backyard chickens, fermenting vegetables, making molasses, supporting local CSAs, and shopping at the Food Hub. In her free time, Katie enjoys yoga, dancing, hiking with her family, identifying wildflowers, and reading. Contact Katie for:
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Sam SpringsLocal Food as Medicine Coordinator
sam@tanxiqiao.net 
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Originally from the Sandhills region of NC, Sam was raised on camping trips to the mountains, where she imagined creating a life in one of the most beautiful places on earth. That dream was realized in 2018 when she moved to the High Country, and it's been getting better ever since!
Sam has always been enthusiastic about improving the lives of the people around her. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from UNC Greensboro, where she helped create programs focused on improving health outcomes in areas of Guilford County most affected by socioeconomic challenges. She further developed her skills working with the Department of Social Services, the Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children's Museum, and other community- and service-based positions across the state. Over the course of her career, she has become passionate about creating and supporting sustainable food systems and increasing accessibility to local food and mutual aid networks that create interdependent, self-reliant communities. She is excited to have the opportunity to help design and launch the Satellite Project that will expand the Food Hub, not merely for the sake of customer convenience, but ultimately to reduce food disparities related to accessibility. In her free time, Sam loves hiking, cooking, making art, dancing to live music, and cuddling with her kitty, Orion. Contact Sam for:
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Maggie CaswellSatellite & Delivery Coordinator
[email protected] 
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Maggie grew up in Durham, North Carolina, but always felt the mountains calling her home. Shortly after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor's in Biology, she moved to Western North Carolina. Maggie worked for the North Carolina Outward Bound School for ten years, spending five years managing the Logistics Department at the Table Rock base camp before moving on to instruct backpacking courses in WNC and canoeing courses in the Florida Everglades. She then spent two years at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, NC, working in Adult Education and coordinating courses in natural history, gardening, arts, and wellness.
In need of big change post-COVID, Maggie and her partner downsized to a camper and moved to Boone with their dogs, Sprout and Buffy, in December 2021. Having always been passionate about helping others and building community, she feels lucky to have found a place with BRWIA as Delivery Coordinator. In her free time, Maggie enjoys hiking, camping, paddling, dabbling in art and crafts, and spending time with friends and family. Contact Maggie for:
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Laney BakerProducer Programs Coordinator
[email protected] 
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Originally from the Tennessee River Valley outside of Chattanooga, Laney first found her love of agriculture working on a small scale produce farm in high school. Here, she organized a school garden conference for teachers to learn more about creating similar programs at their own schools. This solidified her passion for agricultural education and knowledge sharing.
Laney went on to pursue a degree in Sustainable Development with a concentration in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture at Appalachian State University. While enrolled in classes, she spent her free time working at Full Moon Farm in Triplette, NC. Here, she discovered the resiliency and strength of the local food economy in the High Country. After graduation, Laney took on the project of solely operating the farm while the owners were on a sabbatical. She is excited to support and collaborate with local farmers and producers! In her free time she enjoys skiing, kayaking, getting her hands dirty, and playing outside with her dog, Roan. Contact Laney for:
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Courtney WheelerOutreach and Events Coordinator
[email protected] 
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Courtney is a Boone native, who returned to her hometown in 2020 after a non-profit career in Winston-Salem and Raleigh. She is a graduate of Salem College where she studied Communications and Non Profit Management. While at Salem, she developed a passion for building community and creating positive change through non-profit work.
Most recently, she spent over a decade as Membership Coordinator with the award-winning roots music non-profit, PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music in Raleigh, NC. During her tenure with the organization, she was awarded the Betty Siegel Universal Access & the Arts Award for her work to make PineCone and the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) annual World of Bluegrass events accessible to people with disabilities. In addition to her role at BRWIA, Courtney is the Executive Director of Joe Shannon's Mountain Home Music, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Appalachian performing arts. Courtney is excited to utilize her passion for creating lasting change in her community, to continue building on the work BRWIA has done supporting local farmers and creating sustainable and equitable food systems in the High Country. Contact Courtney about:
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Lily LipfordBlue Ridge CRAFT and Climate Smart Coordinator
[email protected] 
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Lily was fortunate to have grown up in Watauga County, which instilled in her a deep appreciation for her local community. Her profound love for her hometown fuels her passion to better our food system, ensuring equitable access to nutrient-rich, delicious food for her community.
Her journey into agriculture began while working on a small-scale pasture poultry farm in Creston, NC, where she developed a dedication to sustainable and regenerative farming practices and fostering resilient food systems. Lily is currently pursuing a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Agroecology, along with a minor in Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and swimming in her favorite river spots. Contact Lily for:
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Alice AshburnFarmers' Market Assistant
[email protected] 
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Originally from Charlotte, Alice grew up visiting her family in Western North Carolina and has a strong love for the Appalachian mountains. Her passions for gardening started young, as she always helped her grandma garden and cook whenever she visited. As she grew up, she developed a love for learning about the environment, gardening, and agriculture.
Moving to Boone to study Sustainable Development with a focus in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture has only fueled her passion for wanting to develop stronger food systems within the local community. Her work with Heritage Homestead Goat Dairy has deepened her love of farm work and helped her to understand the importance of community connection and resilience. She loves working outdoors and in her spare time, she helps with freelance landscaping and gardening for the Watauga Humane Society SNIPS program. Alice also enjoys hiking and backpacking, cooking, music, knitting, and exploring new places. She loves doing these things with her friends and family. |
BRWIA INTERNS
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Kayla Dovel
Local Food as Medicine Intern (Summer 2024)
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Grace RaimoBRWIA Social Media and Promotion Intern
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Maggie WoodsFarmers' Market and Double Up Food Bucks Intern
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