Tending Ground was born out of a long journey—from the halls of diplomacy to the quiet work of seed and soil. It is the offering of a life shaped by listening for what wants to grow.

For years, I worked at the systems level—first at the U.S. State Department, where I focused on preventing violence and conflict in some of the most fragile places in the world. I believed deeply in the power of policy to shape possibility, and I still do. But over time, something began to ache in me. I started to wonder: how can we truly tend to systems if we are disconnected from the ground beneath our feet?

So I left D.C. and moved to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I began growing no-till flowers, harvesting seeds, learning the names of plants I had never paid attention to before. It was there, on that land, that I first understood what it means to build something regenerative—not just in theory, but with my own hands. It changed everything.

Now I live in the Finger Lakes of New York with my daughter, where I am slowly standing up a small homestead and native medicinal herb farm. I’m growing plants that are native to this place—many that my ancestors never knew, but that I’m learning to walk beside with humility and care. I’m guided by agroforestry practices, ancestral memory, and the deep conviction that healing happens at the level of relationship: to land, to lineage, to one another.

At the same time, I continue my work as a strategist, facilitator, and coalition-builder. Through Tending Ground, I support nonprofits, funders, and farmer-led networks working to shift the systems that shape our food, land, and communities.

I’ve helped lead the AGree Coalition, bringing together unlikely allies—farmers, environmentalists, policymakers, and industry leaders—to forge bipartisan federal policy on conservation and climate. I’ve helped shape the vision for a Regional Grainshed Initiative, working with researchers, millers, bakers, and growers to rebuild mid-sized supply chains rooted in health, flavor, and place. I’ve advised major foundations on their grantmaking strategy, led complex facilitation processes, and built frameworks that move from insight to implementation.

This work isn’t just about plans and policies—it’s about tending to what is emerging. Listening deeply. Holding complexity. Helping people find alignment around what really matters.

My consulting and my farming are not separate—they are two expressions of the same impulse: to tend. To tend to what is broken. To tend to what is becoming. To help create the conditions for something enduring and life-giving to grow.

This is who we are. A practice grounded in care. A bridge between strategy and soil. A place where systems change and soul work meet.