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Stephanie is Oregon's Small Farms & Organic Specialist for the USDA's National Resource Conservation Service. Stephanie has  a passion for helping small food producers.  "“What I love the most is seeing the passion and dedication of small farmers to bring fresh food into their communities.”  A well known leader in the agriculture community locally, Stephanie couples a science-based background with years of experience working in Central Oregon's tough farming environment.  

Joe is a welder's welder with a rare combination of large company, small small, and instructional experience.  Joe spent a lot of years at Honeywell, and  his responsibilities included running the training program for new welders.  With his own professional welding operation run out of a well-equipped shop, Joe and his family, horses, and cow, live the classic Central Oregon ranch life.  If you broke it, Joe can fix it.  If you need it, Joe can make it, and he likes nothing more than passing on those skills to his neighbors.

Beth's life is one big experiment.  Before leaving her artist career and moving here from Ohio six years ago, Beth studied up on desert gardening. On arrival, she became the garden department manager at a local retailer.  When her suggestions to stock climate appropriate plants went nowhere, she started High&Dry GardenWorks, her own lab for propagating plants that can thrive with limited water, excessive sun and wind, and deer.  Under High&Dry, Beth is rehabbing her non-irrigated 10 acres with natives,  maintaining her “Wildlife Habitat” and “Pollinator Pathway” certifications, and building bluebird nesting boxes.  Beth says High&Dry is about making a difference, by sharing her failures as well as her successes.

Kaleb grew up ranching and farming  with his cowboy father, and over time became self-sufficient at home and ranch maintenance.

Kaleb spent six years in the Marine Corps, where he earned his teaching stripes as a pistol instructor.  

After 6 years in the Marines, he began a career in construction. He learned welding, equipment maintenance, basic mechanics, hydraulics and, most important to him, troubleshooting. 
Kaleb has a drive to pass on his know-how and enjoys helping people build the skills he spent years acquiring.

The first thing you notice about James is the rocks, which he quickly will point out are not just rocks, but gemstones that he and his partner found.  James is more more than just a gemstone guy, he's a highly trained mechanic who enjoys nothing more than sharing what he knows and building skills in others.  A native of Culver, James grew. In the Marines, James was trained in automotive, jet turbine and solid fuel rocket mechanics, earning many certifications along the way.  He returned to Central Oregon looking to give back to his community, share his skills and hobbies, which beyond gemstones include astronomy, another course area he's teaching.