Juan Pablo is responsible for expanding farm education programs, creating strategic partnerships, and building capacity for schools and communities in Fairfax County - Route 1 Corridor to grow their own food. He joined Arcadia in 2019 as the Outreach and Education Coordinator to address food system inequities in local communities with the intent of improving food access, reducing food insecurity, and fostering better nutrition. He joins our team with 10 years of experience in agriculture and nonprofit management. In Guatemala, his home country, Juan Pablo co-founded an urban sustainability organization, owned and managed an urban organic farm, owned a bar and restaurant and served as president for a Public Health nonprofit. He also completed a business management degree from Universidad Mesoamericana de Guatemala. Though relatively new to the greater DC area, Juan Pablo looks forward to building a new community around gardens and food.
Executive Director Pamela Hess has been with Arcadia since March 2013. She came to Arcadia from journalism. A career national security journalist, Pam covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the Pentagon and CIA with the Associated Press and United Press International. After a brief foray into national politics as a communications director on Capitol Hill, Pam returned to her first love: food and sustainable farms. In 2011, she took the helm of a local food and wine magazine that celebrated sustainable food and farming in the Capitol Foodshed, and in the course of it, met and fell in love with Arcadia. She brings to Arcadia a deep commitment to its mission, a large and expanding network of farmers and food advocates, and a great reputation within the sustainable food community.
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Kenneth Meyers has been Arcadia Farm’s Co-Manager since 2019. A graduate of the University of Maryland's Institute of Applied Agriculture, he learned vegetable farming in Maine and helped launch a vegetable farm business in Montana. This year marks his 10th year of growing vegetables. Kenny focuses on growing nutrient-dense vegetables with regenerative methods and educating our community on best production practices.
Matt is responsible for organizational development and operations, strategic partnerships, and outreach and communication for Arcadia’s programs. Matt has spent the last 17 years actively working on environmental and agricultural programs in the DC nonprofit community. His experience as the founding Director of the Accokeek Foundation’s Center for Agricultural and Environmental Stewardship provides a great understanding of the issues at the heart of Arcadia’s mission. His academic experience includes a Master’s degree in Biology, with scientific research in the fields of Ecology, Pollination Ecology, Ornithology, and Herpetology. Matt loves to garden and eat good food, and is excited to have a job that incorporates both of those loves.
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Sam Stern is a Navy veteran turned farmer. Sam became Arcadia Farm’s Co-Manager in 2022 after completing Arcadia’s Veteran Reserve Program and Rodale Institute’s Veteran Farmer Training program in 2021. 2023 will be Sam’s third year farming. He’s focused primarily on the ancestral practice of seed-keeping, storytelling, and stewarding the land with regenerative methods. Sam is also one of our incubator farmers this year, co-farming as a member of SeedEd Farm.
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Arcadia Fall Harvest Dinner - Oct. 1, 2023 Learn More
Fall Funtacular - October 15, 2023 Learn More
2024 Veteran Farm Applications Now Open Learn More