Born to Solve Problems.

I founded Growing Naturally in 2008 to serve businesses primarily in the Organic products universe. It sprang from my decades of solving every kind of problem in manufacturing, sales, distribution, operations, logistics, food safety, customer service, marketing, and brand building.

I've worked in literally every aspect of manufacturing-centered businesses—from trucks and pallet jacks to board rooms and forecasts. This has given me a 360 degree view on how companies can operate successfully and where they can fail, no matter what industry they serve. My areas of expertise include turnarounds, mergers, strategic partnerships, financial analysis, quality assurance, food safety, product recalls, and crisis management.

As a veteran of the highly publicized Odwalla e-coli apple juice recall of ‘96, I have an obsessive commitment to ensuring that products are safe to eat or drink. To that end, I’m certified in Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance and am capable of preparing production facilities for Siliker audits in record time.

Additionally, I now farm seven acres in the north Georgia mountains with mixed cover crops, four-season high tunnel vegetables, three bee hives, and a flock of 19 laying hens. After four years of intensive learning and building out my farm’s infrastructure for no-till production, my perspective has grown exponentially about agricultural systems, farm economics, and the true state of soil health. All of it affects the food we eat, as well as how carbon is (or is not) sequestered in the ground.

All crops are important to our food system, but I hold a deep affection for the fair-trade organic coffee sector. Like many subtropical plants, coffee and its hard-working growers are highly vulnerable to the effects of a climate change. I’m a Specialty Coffee Association member, have consulted in coffee operations, and maintain my own small collection of coffee plants in a special grow house. What I’ve learned is that the best way to support this crop, like all others, is by creating biologically active soil.

The “SoilFood Web” has become an area of deep learning for me. It’s a term coined by world renowned soil microbiologist, Dr. Elaine Ingham, who has shown over and over that healthy soils possess uniquely balanced microbial communities, and that our modern agriculture practices (even in Organics!) are persistently harmful to these valuable little critters. I completed her foundation soil courses with honors in 2018 and am currently in her consultant training program, where I’m perfecting my ability to produce and monitor biologically active compost and liquid amendments. These biological tools, along with reducing tillage and cover cropping, are the remedy for many broken soils and the path to rapid soil-carbon sequestration.

My personal mission is to help Anyone who wants to help our planet and All The Living Beings on it. I believe that the food and beverage industry in particular sits at a uniquely powerful nexus with farmers, suppliers, processors, retailers, and consumers. Together, we have the capacity to catalyze enormous ecological change and move our world ever closer to carbon neutrality.