Pam has more than 20 years’ experience developing and leading programs across the nonprofit, health, legal, and human services sectors. Her career has been defined by passionate efforts to advance the health and wellbeing of others. As the executive director of LexFarm since 2021, she leads a community organization that provides farm-fresh certified-organic produce to residents of Lexington and nearby towns, including those in need, and educates and connects the community about locally grown food and regenerative regenerative farming practices.Pam and her family have lived in Lexington since 1998. Pam enjoys her backyard garden, growing vegetables, herbs, flowering plants and even a peach tree. She has volunteered in the schools and community organizations and is also Town Meeting Member. Pam has been a member of LexFarm’s CSA since its founding. She helped LexFarm become a SNAP-authorized retailer, increasing access to organic produce for people of all income levels. Pam marvels at the possibilities and challenges that come with organic farming and appreciates the local food source and preservation of historic farmland. Her favorite vegetables are summer and winter squash.

Miranda has been at LexFarm since 2021 and has been Field Manager since 2023. She loves planning out what to grow on the farm each year, adding new exciting crops to the plan, and incorporating new farming techniques whenever possible. Her favorite crops to grow are garlic and hakurei, which are also two of her favorites to eat. You can find her racing around the farm, fixing irrigation and eating random snacks from the field. Outside of work she loves cooking with friends, knitting, and relaxing on the beach with a giant panzanella salad.

Kat has been with LexFarm since 2022. She has carefully curated what will be in your CSAs for the last two years, and she’s excited to also be taking on greenhouse management in 2025, where she will tend to all the amazing seedlings. She is a firm believer in the power of local food systems. Her favorite vegetables are eggplant and komatsuna, and when she’s not farming, she loves dinner parties, playing board games, and swimming in the ocean (or a dunk in Mystic Lake after work with the crew).

Matt has been at LexFarm since 2023, and is now taking on the role of pest management in 2025. His passion for farming stems from a love of manual labor and working closely with a small crew day after day. His favorite farm tasks are moving tarps, using the BCS tractor, setting up irrigation, and being on wash station duty, and his favorite crops to harvest are lunchbox peppers, tomatillos, and garlic. After work you’ll most often find him in the gym, playing video games with his friends, and watching reality television.

Rachel comes to LexFarm as a seasoned educator, with many years of experience teaching in MA and CA public elementary schools as well as at Wright-Locke Farm’s forest friends preschool. Rachel’s shift to outdoor education has been personally transformative. She loves the joy and discovery involved in working with children in a beautiful place where the landscape and seasons are always evolving. As a mom of two young daughters, she is committed to building children’s comfort outdoors, as well as their sense of interconnection and care for the natural world.

Mar has been at LexFarm since 2023. Over the past two years they’ve worked in the farm store, helped with field work, and joined Rachel in teaching the Farm Scouts classes. Mar is excited to now hold the position of Farm Store Manager. You can nearly always find them in the farm stand, chatting with customers, restocking shelves, or buried in a spreadsheet. When not at the farm, Mar loves cooking, reading, sleeping, and spending time with their two bunnies, Freddie and Hummus.

Sara has been a Lexington resident since 2014, when she moved back to the area, bringing her California-born family members with her. Sara’s background is in insect ecology. For several years, her research focused on conservation biological control of insect pests in organic vegetable cropping systems.More recently, Sara has been volunteering as Big Backyard coordinator at Estabrook school, as a founding member of Lexington Living Landscapes, and serving in Lexington Town Meeting. She’s excited to be expanding volunteer opportunities at LexFarm, and finding ways to engage more members of our community with meaningful experiences. Sara’s favorite vegetable is tomato. When she’s not at LexFarm, you’ll find Sara with her family or swimming.

Chamara and his family live in Ashland, MA, and are originally from Sri Lanka. Chamara is passionate about education and non-profits. He is very excited about bringing his wife and sons to the farm, teaching his sons to appreciate nature, and exposing them to the farming environment. Chamara currently works at Framingham State University and has a Masters Degree in Business.

Mary Rose is an attorney and resident of Lexington since 1993 and LexFarm board member since 2015. She is an avid gardener, and works to bring sustainable practices into her own gardens. She is currently a Senior Fellow at The Conservation Law Foundation, where she works to support New England farmers and the local food system. Mary Rose brings her legal, conservation and farm experiences to help LexFarm achieve its mission of sustainable agriculture, community engagement and education.

Ron lives with his wife Julie in Arlington less than a ten minute walk from the farm.  Ron’s grandfather was a farmer and school principal in southern Ohio.  When Ron would visit, he would play on his grandfather’s tractor, help his grandmother tend her vegetable garden and chickens, and dodge the cow patties when walking through the pasture.  Ron’s parents also maintained a modest-sized vegetable garden where Ron plowed and disced the soil and helped plant and harvest corn, beans, tomatoes, and potatoes.

Ron moved to the Boston area to attend MIT where he holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in electrical engineering.  Ron recently completed a 24-year stint at Akamai Technologies, where he was Vice President of Engineering.  Ron’s son Ben lives in Manhattan, and his daughter Isabel lives in Virginia.

Mark and his family have lived in Lexington since 2005. His love for all things mechanical brought him to volunteering for maintenance and building projects on the farm. He is motivated by the 400+ year history of the Farm dating back to 1642. The tenacity of the Busa family maintaining the farm in the 1900’s as other farms in Lexington (formerly known as Cambridge Farms) succumbed to market pressures inspires him to help keep the farm working – as a farm.Mark was most recently VP of Engineering for Fractyl Health where he led the team developing a device and procedure for treating Type 2 Diabetes. Mark is president of the nonprofit Lexington Lyceum Advocates and is also a Town Meeting member.

A Lexington resident since 2006, Tharshini’s interest in farming started when she began visiting the farm for dirt play, and other activities with her son. Her passion developed and she and her son started a small backyard vegetable garden which they manage together during the summer. Increased interest in farming and living healthy led her to join the CSA and they have been enjoying the fresh produce for the past 4 years. Pick your own is one of their favorite parts of the CSA. By profession she is an accountant and manages her husband’s company along with her own clients. She is an active PTO board member at her son’s school, William Diamond Middle School.

Growing up in Arlington and studying environmental studies and plant and soil science at the University of Vermont, Chris has always been passionate about sustainable agriculture and the benefits of locally grown produce. His appreciation for fresh, high-quality food was deepened through a CSA share during his college years. As a professional landscaper, he understands the importance of soil health and biodiversity in creating thriving ecosystems.

Chris is particularly interested in organic agriculture and its potential to provide more sustainable systems for growing food while supporting the farmers who produce it. Now, he seeks to join the board of the LexFarm to contribute his knowledge and expertise to promoting a healthier, more resilient food system in the community. His goal is to support initiatives that prioritize soil health and biodiversity while providing equitable access to fresh, nutritious produce.

Since moving to Arlington 15 years ago Gene has lived just 2 blocks from the farm in the Mt Gilboa neighborhood. From there she takes a daily walk to the farm and the Reservoir where she enjoys being in an open, natural environment. At home she has an herb and veggie garden in her front yard, each year bringing home seedlings from the farm. After retiring from Lesley University in Cambridge in 2014 where served as a professor and administrator, she took on the role of Senior Research Partner at PERG-Learning where she conducted program evaluations for grant funded projects around New England. As an educator she recognizes and supports the life-long impact that learning in nature can have on the lives of young children, the future stewards of this land.

Eric converted his sunny Arlington front yard into a three-season vegetable garden several years ago and hasn’t looked back. His passion for local, sustainably grown food led to his becoming a LexFarm “farm founder,” gardening teacher for Arlington Community Education, and past board member of SeedMoney.org. He’s also a regional grain and artisan bread enthusiast, and mills his own flour at home – including some wheat grown in his front yard. He is a member of the elected Arlington Select Board and is also a Town Meeting member. Professionally, he serves as chief of staff for a Massachusetts state senator. He lives in Arlington Heights with his husband and about 100 pounds of unmilled whole grain.

Sheila, her husband and two children are Lexington residents and neighbors to the farm. Sheila and her family are passionate about environmental conservation and sustainable agriculture: taking action by reducing their personal carbon footprint, and participating in charitable activities in support of climate change mitigation. Some of her most vivid childhood memories involve hiking the mountains in her native Taiwan with her family, participating in the clean up of trails and public lands. She is excited to be a part of LexFarm, and for her children to grow up in such close proximity to where their food is grown.

Sheila is Partner and Senior Client Advisor at Ballentine Partners, LLC, a wealth management firm in Waltham. Sheila provides strategic advice to clients on philanthropy, estate planning, investments, tax, and risk management. Sheila serves on the Boston board of Thrive Scholars, a national education non-profit that helps highest-achieving low-income students of color attend and graduate from top colleges and launch successful careers. Sheila also serves on the Community Advisory Board of WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station.

Brian has been pursuing a career in agriculture since 2017 while living in East Arlington. Brian’s agricultural career has spanned apprentice field worker to farm manager to small technical assistance provider geared to small scale regenerative growing practices. Brian worked at food-based nonprofits in Lowell and Lancaster, Mass and is excited to bring his experiences to LexFarm – agriculture in his immediate community.  He is looking forward to learning more about how non-profit farm organizations work, as well as advocating from his experiences on the ground as a farmer. He joins the board with a lot of passion for local food, local land, and making the skills learned farming available to those interested. Brian hopes to become a small farmer one day and loves opportunities to share his  experiences with others.

Maria became a LexFarm Board member in 2022 and is an active volunteer at the farm since. As a registered nurse, Maria understands the integral role that nutrition plays in health and well-being. She is strongly committed to accessibility of locally grown and sustainable food, and believes in the critical importance of expanding local food production for the benefit of current and future generations.

Maria and her family have called Lexington home for over 20 years and became engaged members of the community. During her children’s time at Lexington Public Schools she volunteered with the Big Back Yard walks. Maria also played an active role in Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Maria enjoys exploring the trails of Lexington, hiking in the White Mountains, and venturing further afield. She is also a passionate sourdough baker, using regionally grown and milled grains. Her favorite is rye bread, a comforting reminder of her childhood in rural Germany.

Sue, a Lexington resident since 1993, professionally was a biology researcher in the biotechnology industry for 22 years. Since then, she has held leadership positions on a number of Lexington non-profit boards. Sue became hooked on cooking farm-to-table dinners for her family when the Lexington Farmers’ Market started over 20 years ago.

Since summer 2014, Sue has served LexFarm as a Board member and a member of the Development, Communications and Events Committees, served as VP for two years and as President for 4 years. She looks forward to continuing to help develop our exciting community treasure. When not volunteering for LexFarm, she creates jewelry at LexArt, as a member of the Metalworking Group.

Ping, a Lexington resident since 2000, is a software engineer and an avid gardener, gardening in her backyard for more than ten years and in the Lexington community garden for the past four years. She is passionate about organic and heirloom gardening. During Lexington’s 300th anniversary celebration, she won first prize for the tastiest slicing tomato in the vegetable growing competition. She cares deeply about the environment and sustainability. She has helped high school students participate in the annual Charles River clean up and volunteers at the Lexington seed library where she got connected to LexFarm. Raised in China, Ping missed lots of the Asian vegetables she grew up with which motivated her to start her own vegetable garden after moving to Lexington. While gardening, she also learned a lot about ecosystem and environmental issues. She believes that we need to return to the basics, get connected with nature, and take care of our environment before it is too late.

Erin is a musician, gardener, and problem-solver. She received bachelor degrees in Music and Cognitive Science from MIT and a masters in Arts Administration from BU. After working briefly in academia and the start-up software industry, Erin settled into financial services as an analyst, developer, and project manager. She currently works as a Solutions Architect for NEPC, LLC, an investment consulting firm in Boston.
Erin is a lifelong musician and has studied piano, violin, voice, and gamelan. She is an active performer and charter member of Gamelan Galak Tika, a Balinese gamelan orchestra in residence at MIT, and with them has performed throughout New England, at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and in Bali, Indonesia. She supports many nonprofits as a volunteer and occasional fundraiser, including Blue Heron, Cambridge Youth Gamelan, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Food Link. Erin lives with her family in Arlington, where she maintains the family garden in a way she hopes would make LexFarm proud.

Mariel Vandersteel