Our Team

Amy’s interest in food systems was originally born out of a degree in cultural anthropology. After five years farming on the East Coast, Amy served on the board of a forming urban ecovillage, worked at Harlequin’s Gardens Nursery, and founded an ecological landscaping business. Amy is also a teacher and facilitator for the Boulder Permaculture Design Course, which she graduated from in 2018. She is deeply passionate about local history and ecology and how dryland agriculture can regenerate the land and communities of the arid west. Amy lives and homesteads in Niwot.

Rachel is originally a desert being who grew up in the suburbs of Phoenix. She was introduced to sustainable agriculture during her two years of living in rural Panama, coffee farming and growing veggies with children. After another two years of working on food sovereignty with the Red Lake Nation in northern Minnesota, Rachel finds herself soaking up every permaculture-imbibed moment at Elk Run Farm. A sister, a daughter, a farmer, a coffee lover, and a cat mom, it is her utmost honor to be the Director of Elk Run Farm. Her favorite vegetable is broccoli.

Born and raised in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, Carlos is inspired by collaborating with and uplifting land designers. Immersing himself in South America for five years guided his knowledge of community building, systems development and indigenous practices. After returning to the Canary Islands he received a degree in Architectural drafting and Project management. Soon after, he immigrated with his American wife to the US and lived at Elk Run Farm for one season. He is now the lead Project Manager and Digital Technician for Land Stewardship within DAR.

Certified as a Director with the Colorado Office of Early Childhood, Jessica has been teaching children ages 1-8 for seven years and has been a part of the Folk Farm Family since 2021. She received her B.S. in Human Development from the University of California San Diego and is a lifelong student of regenerative child raising practices. She holds the container of developmentally appropriate education through growing authentic connection, building responsive systems, and ensuring quality care.

Nelson’s degree studies are in soil health, ecology regeneration, and sustainable food systems such as agrivoltaics and agroforestry. He has dedicated his life to understanding how regenerative agriculture can serve as a catalyst for change in the face of climate change and believes that soil health is integral to this change. He lives in Longmont with his sweet cat, white German shepherd, and clinical herbalist husband and strives to embody living in a reciprocal relationship with nature through his research.

Ryan is a dedicated organization and community builder. He believes that the change we need comes from diverse communities, networked and self-organizing towards a more just and regenerative future. Colorado-born, he’s been leading organizations centered in community impact for two decades. Ryan now serves as the Director of Operations for Drylands Agroecology Research, designing regenerative systems for the organization. Ryan currently studies Systems Design through the Systemic Design Labs at ETHZürich and holds a fellowship with nRhythm and Capital Institute. Outside of work and study, Ryan loves to cook for his wife and two daughters, host backyard gatherings with his neighborhood crew, and play frisbee golf with his closest friends.

Bella grew up in Colorado and has always felt an innate connection to the non-human world. In college, she studied Sustainable Agriculture and began her career as a professional horse trainer. After an injury forced a sudden career change, Bella stepped into management roles within the service industry, while pursuing music on the side. During that period of her life, Bella felt called to use her skills to impact more meaningful change, but it wasn't until the birth of her 6-year-old daughter, that she made the choice to fully dedicate herself to forging a regenerative future. The ensuing years saw Bella navigate various ventures, from founding a poultry business to immersing herself in the intricacies of local food systems. However, a sense of alignment was elusive until she encountered DAR.

Now, Bella contributes her attention to detail and soft skills to DAR's mission of land and cultural regeneration. Additionally, she serves as Assistant Operations Manager at Yellow Barn Farm, DAR's largest land partner and demonstration site. Off the clock, you'll find Bella cooking with local ingredients, knitting, playing bass, tending to her garden, and soaking up the outdoors with her family. Nestled along Left Hand Creek outside of Niwot, CO, she shares her home with her partner, daughter, dogs, and a crew of rescued feral cats and aims to live in reciprocity with the land and all of its inhabitants.

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Anthony Levy weaves together an entrepreneurial mindset, yogic values and permaculture design principles to bring life on Earth back into resonance. With each intentional breath, he tends to the land and community, harmonizing with the natural rhythms of Earth. The sacred practices of Self Care & Earth Care intertwine infusing the world with joy and regenerative vitality, one human being at a time. Anthony holds a degree from University of Colorado's Business School and is a certified Permaculture Designer.

Sabrina is a certified clinical medical herbalist and nutritionist trained in the western vitalist traditions. She believes we all have the innate intelligence and capability to heal and uses plants to facilitate the process. Born and raised in Colorado, she feels grateful to be among communities devoted to the synergistic relationships between all living things. When she’s not sharing her knowledge of plant wisdom at DAR, she can be found wandering in the mountains or spending quality time with loved ones.

Anastacia Marie Archibeque, owner of Casita Herbals, is an Indigenous Chicanx multi-generational Coloradan. Her mission and vision for Casita Herbals is to serve/build her community, share her medicines, and reclaim ancestral knowledge, roots, and ways of living, by giving back to Mama Earth through a Decolonized Lense of Herbalism and Land Restoration. Check out more at www.casitaherbals.com

After growing up in the Tennessee Valley, I moved up to Knoxville for college. Originally, I envisioned a future for myself inside a lab, researching the way the physical world works. Along the way, I pulled on the threads of sustainability and found myself studying science through the lens of other cultures. With newfound awareness of alternative education, I jumped headfirst into Ecoversity’s Permaculture Design Certification course. Leaning into those principles and ethics have helped me find connections and community.

Ashley Kulik is a nature-based educator, artist, and musician who deeply believes in the need for holistic approaches to learning. Over the past 9 years, Ashley has dedicated her career to mentoring young people. In 2013, Ashley worked in partnership with Earth Guardians where she assisted youth groups in climate action and indigenous youth rights. This led Ashley and a group of environmental educators to develop The Kiva Center, an outdoor educational program designed to nurture the potential of youth in becoming ecological stewards. Ashley has also worked with organizations such as Dream Tank to engage kids in local youth-led community projects and social entrepreneurship education. Ashley specializes in working with neurodiverse children as she holds a BA in Speech Language Hearing & Communication Sciences at the University of Colorado in Boulder. You can find her playing acoustic folk music and creating digital art in her spare time. She is happy to be a new member of the Elder Child team and offer her love of expressive arts to the program!

After graduating with her BSEd in Youth and Social Innovation with a focus in Education Policy from the University of Virginia, Nina spent the past two years teaching English in Spain, most recently at a primary school working with students aged 3-11. She is excited to connect her love of the outdoors with her passion for education in this new role at Folk Farm School. In her free time she loves to read, cook for family and friends, and enjoy live music. Originally from the Midwest, Nina is looking forward to immersing herself in the beauty of the Front Range and can’t wait for the start of the school year! Ms. Nina will be teaching Monday-Thursday for the entire school year.

Madi's passion lies in connecting with youth through land based education. Through her extensive work in the outdoor education field and youth sports she's had many amazing opportunities to help kids develop strong leadership, social, and self-management skills. Her teaching style incorporates building sustainable relationships with the land, ourselves and each other, along with a healthy dose of teamwork and play each day! She's dedicated to facilitating curiosity and resilience in children, allowing their creativity and joy in life to blossom. She love s cultivating wonder and learning opportunities in everyday life and thinks that Nature provides an abundance of these moments. She's so excited to start creating memories with the community at Folk Farm! Ms. Madi will be teaching Tuesdays for Fall Semester and Monday-Thursday for Winter and Spring Semesters.

With a background in wilderness therapy, end-of-life care, and outdoor education, Bee is excited to bring a joyful and compassionate approach to teaching at Folk Farm. Her experience in wilderness therapy has honed her skills in guiding individuals through transformative experiences, fostering resilience, and building strong connections with the Earth. Her passion for outdoor education is reflected in her commitment to engaging young minds with hands-on learning and fostering a sense of stewardship for the land. She is excited to leverage her diverse experience to inspire, educate, and create meaningful experiences! Ms. Bee will be teaching Monday-Thursday for the entire school year.

I find my purpose and joy in nurturing and tending to people, especially children, and the earth. This has taken many forms throughout my career, from serving youth in the child welfare system to teaching a land-based program at a small farm. I weave my love for working with children into my other heart-centered work: farming, gardening, art, and more. I began working with Yellow Barn Farm last fall, and I moved onto the land in January. I am so excited to share my love of this land with your children, and to help support all of us in deepening our relationship to the earth, ourselves, and each other. It is my aim to honor each child exactly as they are while we discover our way through this Folk Farm school year. You can find more information about what that discovery will include in the Folk Farm Family Handbook (attached), which outlines many of the topics we will be covering.

Josie has an undergraduate degree from Davidson College in English literature, where she studied the power of story + the compulsions of meaning and body. She taught for 5 years at a creative charter school for gifted students in Thornton, Colorado where she developed some radical and enlivening curriculum, like live action role-playing (LARPing) comparative humanities (1984 v. Brave New World). During that time she also started studying Permaculture Design, launching a school-wide animal husbandry project with a flock of chicks, teaching care, simple construction, community organization, and business acumen selling eggs. She then studied at Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at USD and graduated with her Masters in the Arts of Peace and Justice, with a secret background in law. She wrote her thesis on ritual, art, and revolution; or, as it is more easily-digested in academia: liminality and structures of meaning and power. This work remains some of her theoretical backbone underlying her practices and professions.

Hailing from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Nick is a regenerative designer, farmer, and builder. Inspired by indigenous culture and ancient farming practices, he works passionately to design the future of living systems.

In 2015, Nick began farming on a barren and desertified 14 acre parcel of land in rural north Boulder County, now called Elk Run Farm, and the pilot research project for Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR). Today, Nick is working to develop climate change solutions through regenerative farming, working with private and public landowners across Boulder County.

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Brett serves as the city of Boulder’s Senior Policy Advisor for Climate Action and leads the City’s NaturalClimate Solutions team. He is also the Director of the Center for Regenerative Solutions (CRS)—a national initiative to expand natural climate solutions nationally that is co-sponsored by the UrbanSustainability Directors Network.Brett’s primary responsibility is the ongoing evolution of the city’s climate action initiatives. Over the past two years, Brett has coordinated cross-department/multi stake holder efforts in soil regeneration and sequestration research on agricultural lands and an urban forestry expansion campaign at a local, regional and national level.

Hailing from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Nick is a regenerative designer, farmer, and builder. Inspired by indigenous culture and ancient farming practices, he works passionately to design the future of living systems.

In 2015, Nick began farming on a barren and desertified 14 acre parcel of land in rural north Boulder County, now called Elk Run Farm, and the pilot research project for Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR). Today, Nick is working to develop climate change solutions through regenerative farming, working with private and public landowners across Boulder County.

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Hailing from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Nick is a regenerative designer, farmer, and builder. Inspired by indigenous culture and ancient farming practices, he works passionately to design the future of living systems.

In 2015, Nick began farming on a barren and desertified 14 acre parcel of land in rural north Boulder County, now called Elk Run Farm, and the pilot research project for Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR). Today, Nick is working to develop climate change solutions through regenerative farming, working with private and public landowners across Boulder County.

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Rosalind Wiseman challenges us to understand the power of dignity to build courage, connection, and community.  She is a speaker, writer, advisor, and thought leader on leadership, culture, conflict, and young people. Currently, she serves as the senior leadership consultant at the US State Department’s Office for Overseas Schools which serves over 195 schools throughout the world and is supporting Professor David Yeager at the University of Texas on a forthcoming book on young people and motivation. She is the author of nine books including the multiple New York Times Best Sellers: Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World—the groundbreaking book that was the basis for the movie and Broadway Musical Mean Girls, and Masterminds & Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World, which was awarded Best Parenting Book by Books for a Better Life. Her ninth book, published by Chronicle Books in the fall of 2022 with co-author Shanterra McBride, is Courageous Discomfort: How to Have Brave, Life Changing Conversations about Race and Racism. She is currently revising Queen Bees & Wannabes for a 4th edition to be published in 2024 in time for the 20th anniversary of Mean Girls. Rosalind also co-founded Cultures of Dignity, an organization that partners with communities to reimagine how to bring dignity and social and emotional learning to all.

Colleen McClosky Is a registered Occupational Therapist with a love for the healing powers of the great outdoors.  After many years working with children in a variety of settings she became inspired to bring therapy outside of the typical four walls. After landing at her new home on the Starhouse land in Boulder, this vision became even more clear.  The vision is to create a space for children and families to be supported in a highly individualized way while navigating the ups and downs of neurodiversity in the home life and educational  journey.  

Colleen has 20+ years working with children as an early childhood education teacher, behavior therapist, mindfulness educator and school based occupational therapist.  Colleen loves the joy and creativity that sparks from deep presence and connection with children.  She is a competitive athlete, ski instructor for special needs children, spiritual seeker and yoga lover!

As a mother and grandmother, Lisa takes the responsibility of being human into action for the quality of life and the sake of the Earth. Born in Ohlone Territory (now called Oakland, California), she has worked and raised her family in various bio-regions in what is now called the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, awakening her curiosity and appreciation for the intersection of nature and culture. Since leaving corporate positions with Apple, Time Warner, and DK Publishing, she has worked extensively in leadership positions with local and regional nature-based organizations, developing a keen awareness and appreciation of the benefits of deep nature connection for all ages. Today, Lisa serves on the Leadership Circle of the Nature Connection Network and as President of the Board of Directors for the Guelph Outdoor School and as Board Member of the Kiva Center She shares a home and garden with her favorite human, two cats, one dog and several squirrels, on the traditional territories and unceded homelands of the Cheyenne, Ute and Arapaho nations and many others (now called Boulder, Colorado USA), where she is grateful for the inspiration and protection of the Flatirons.

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