EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alison wears many and all hats at Backyard Growers. As our Executive Director, she serves as a leader for our team and within the greater Cape Ann community.

Alison has worked at the forefront of social justice and small-scale agriculture for over 15 years. She is deeply committed to leveraging food and agriculture as a catalyst for changing the world and her career exemplifies a deep understanding of food systems on both community and global scales.

Alison’s work has spanned both coasts, most recently as the Director of Small Farms Initiatives at Apeel Sciences and as Director of Operations at Good Land Organics, both in Santa Barbara, California. Throughout her career, Alison has consistently applied equity and social justice principles to her leadership style and her approach to organizational management. In 2017 Alison received her MBA in Sustainable Business Systems from Presidio Graduate School. She is a published food culture and gardening author, an ocean enthusiast and a total goofball.

She lives in Gloucester, MA, with her family.

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Katy leads fundraising at Backyard Growers, building key relationships within our community and maximizing the impact of donations, corporate sponsorships, and grant funds.

She brings rich leadership and sales experience to the team following over fifteen years at Village Silversmith, where she acted as Chief Operations Officer and also led sales and marketing. She is gifted at inspiring and engaging others and has deep roots in Gloucester, where she lives with her husband and two children.

DIRECTOR OF FARMERS MARKET OPERATIONS & ENTERPRISE

Alexis oversees the development, implementation, and management of The Backyard Growcery (a weekly farmer’s market launching in June 2024), in addition to facilitating direction and goal-setting for Backyard Growers’ enterprise projects.

Alexis has always had a strong attachment to how and where our food is grown as well as the footprint our food systems create and what they leave behind.

She is committed to the functioning ecosystem of a community. As the current owner of natural wine shop Helen’s Bottle Shop in Manchester, MA, she fosters relationships with farmers and food producers across Cape Ann and Essex County.

COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH DIRECTOR

Courtney manages marketing and community outreach. She has worked in communications for almost 15 years at both global PR agencies and as an independent consultant. Courtney started out volunteering for Backyard Growers after moving to Gloucester in 2017.

Courtney got her first taste of growing food while living in London, UK, where she was part of a group that founded an urban community garden inspired by the Transition Network.

She lives in downtown Gloucester with her family, and they grow their own food at Burnham’s Field Community Garden.

SCHOOL PROGRAMS MANAGER

Meg oversees and implements all of Backyard Growers’ school garden programs in Gloucester Public Schools, engaging 2,000+ students in vegetable gardens and the cafeteria every year. She has a Masters of Education in Early Childhood and a B.S. in Natural Resource Studies. She is licensed to teach Pre-K through 2nd grade and is currently a member of the board of directors at Halibut Point State Park, where she has also previously been employed as a Park Supervisor and Park Interpreter.

She is a mom of three, a member of the West Parish PTO, and formerly a West Parish school garden parent volunteer.

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS MANAGER

Susan oversees and implements all of Backyard Growers’ community programs in Gloucester, including the Backyard Garden Program, GrowBag Garden Program, and six community gardens in the Community Garden Program, empowering hundreds of residents to grow their own food each year.

EMAIL SUSAN.Susan has over a decade of experience building community and working with the land. For seven years she was a Co-Farm Manager & Trainer at The Food Project, in addition to serving as the Farm Kitchen Program Manager at Appleton Cooks and a Farm Educator at Appleton Farms. She is a passionate volunteer coordinator and youth development educator who values the skill of listening and ultimately learning together as a community.

DEVELOPMENT & PROGRAM ASSOCIATE

Campbell supports all fundraising and both community and school garden program implementation at Backyard Growers. He is a gifted writer, artist and chef.

Campbell has worked on three different New England based agriculture operations including Appleton Farms as an Environmental Educator and most recently at Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment in Freeport, ME as a Dairy Intern. He has also worked as a manager at Fisherman’s Wharf Gloucester.

He is a recent graduate of Smith College with a degree in Creative Writing.

He lives in Gloucester, MA