about our crew
2021 Apprentice - Rebekah Foster
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Rebekah has spent the last five years working as a garden educator in San Francisco where she grew food & community with kids, parents and teachers. She organizes for climate justice with the Sunrise Movement and sees sustainable, regenerative agriculture as one of our greatest hopes in solving the climate crisis. She's excited to spend a season at Good Stead learning how to grow food for a community and have her introduction to animal husbandry. In her free time she likes to spend time with friends, cook, go camping and has recently been learning to quilt.
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2021 Apprentice - Ryan Lanham
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Ryan found his passion for growing plants while living in the verdant city of Portland, Oregon. He is drawn to small-scale farming for its philosophical, physical, community, and culinary benefits. He's excited to hone his growing and farm management skills at Good Stead Farm before starting his own in Northern Michigan. In his spare time, the self-proclaimed serial dabbler enjoys foraging for mushrooms, fermenting things, making crafts, and bike riding into the sunset.
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2021 Summer Intern - Jacob May
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Jacob is a Midland native studying Social Relations and Policy at Michigan State, and is joining us to learn more about food cultivation and community distribution. In the future, he hopes to work as a public servant as an advocate for food security and in non-profit agriculture. In his free time, Jacob enjoys spending time with his friends, listening to music and tossing around a frisbee.
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2021 Staff - Anna Swartz
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Anna has enjoyed working with her hands in the soil since she was young. She has a love for our beautiful earth and values organic practices. When she’s not at the farm, you can find Anna with her camera, working as a photographer.
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2021 Staff - Ladybird
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Since her recruitment in 2015 from the Midland County Humane Society, Ladybird has climbed her way tooth and claw up the corporate ladder here at Good Stead Farm. Starting her career as a pest control technician, she has since held positions in our security, product tasting, and livestock support divisions. She is now Vice President of Good Stead Farm’s Public Relations department. Although she’s very busy these days, Ladybird always makes time to greet visitors. She invites you stop in for a belly rub.
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2017-2020 Staff - Julia Kuhns
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Julia spent four years with us running our Wednesday markets, taking care of the animals, managing our migrogreens production, and generally helping us hold the farm together. She will be sorely missed, but we are excited for her as she begins a new adventure in northern Minnesota.
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2020 Apprentice - Leeza Regensberger
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Leeza joined us from North Carolina for the 2020 season, bringing a good attitude, creative mind, and critical eye. We are looking forward to seeing the farm she builds one day!
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2018 Apprentice - Nick Eddy
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Nick is from Missaukee county in Northern Lower Michigan and has been attracted to the subject of agriculture since a young age, despite not being from a farming background. Nick is specifically interested in sustainable, organic farming and in learning about ways to live off the land. While he does not know where it will take him, he plans to continue learning about sustainable farming and how it can benefit local communities. Nick is pleased to have the opportunity to spend the season with Good Stead Farm and is enjoying all that he is learning.
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2016 Apprentice - Evan Istamboulian
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Beginning in high school, Evan began spending much of his time learning about the world of small-scale agriculture. At his home in Rochester, Michigan, he self-studied through books and any information-rich media on the internet. While on a trip to visit his wife in British Columbia, Canada, he took the opportunity to shadow a small-scale vegetable farmer. This left him with a tangible taste of the physical aspects of farming that he'd only yet read and listened about. He left this experience with the desire to pursue hands-on work. Evan found Good Stead Farm while in search of an educational opportunity that would be guided by an experienced small-scale farmer. He looks forward to one day having a farm of his own with his wife, Cassie.
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