(click on a name for a bio)
Year-Round
Pamela Tames, Executive Director
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 was recently elected to Town Meeting. Pam has been a member of LexFarm’s CSA since its founding. She marvels at the possibilities and challenges that come with organic farming and appreciates the local food source and preservation of historic farmland. Pam helped LexFarm become a SNAP-authorized retailer, increasing access to organic produce for people of all income levels. More recently, she led a committee exploring expansion of the farm stand. Professionally, Pam is an energetic and thoughtful leader, lawyer and team player with a passion for work that empowers people. Developing and expanding programs that impact health and well-being has defined her career. Before being hired as LexFarm’s Executive Director in 2021, Pam served on LexFarm’s Board of Directors for 4 years.
Allison Ostrowski, Greenhouse Manager
Allison in grew up in rural Vermont. An aunt and uncle lived down the road on “the old family farm.” Early spring meant gathering sap during sugar season and summer meant haying and picking wildflowers and raspberries. Farming as a career began for Allison after experiencing joy in harvesting crops and being physically challenged to get a job done while volunteering with the Boston Area Gleaners. The following summer she continued pursuing her dreams at Waltham Fields Community Farm.
In 2018, Allison joined the team at LexFarm as an Apprentice under the tutelage of Elena Colman. Allison is looking forward to growing healthy food for the LexFarm community and is interested in expanding the food access program so that it reaches more households as CSA Manager.
Miranda Lachman, Field Manager
Miranda was LexFarm’s Assistant Grower in 2021, returned in 2022 as Assistant Farm Manager and is the Field Manager in 2023. Miranda originates from NYC and spent summers growing up at her family’s farm in New Hampshire, eating blueberries and tending to the herb garden. This sparked a love of food and an appreciation for the great outdoors. At college she majored in environmental studies with a focus on food systems, and she got interested in farming while teaching environmental education to youth. Miranda has farmed at an elementary school in Lynn and on larger farms in Lincoln and the North Shore. She also worked as a compost educator, teaching folks about worms mostly, and the wonders of carbon sequestration. Her favorite farm tasks are harvesting garlic scapes, pruning tomatoes, and getting creative with mid-morning field snacks.
Chamara Sandaradura, Bookkeeper
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.
2022 Season
Rachel Curtin, Educator
Katerina Kyuchukova, Assistant Grower
Alexandra Wolf, Farm Retail Manager
Field Crew:
Gracie Jackson, Gina Maffei, Anna Slager
2023-2024
Mary Rose Scozzafava, President
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.
Mary Rose is involved in other town organizations including the Lexington’s Conservation Commission and Conservation Stewards to maintain and oversee conservation restrictions on town-owned conservation lands, the Fence Viewers Committee and the Lexington Zero Waste Collaborative.
Mark Gabrenya, Vice President
Mark has lived in Lexington since 1996. He has been on the board of directors since March, 2015 and a member of the property committee. Much of his work for the farm is focused on improving and repairing the infrastructure and cleaning up the property. His red Prius is always loaded with tools and he’ll never turn down a donation of a straight 2 X 4. He is also the owner of Brite Harvest Farm — a controlled environment agriculture hydroponic farm inside a shipping container. It’s the big green and white box located behind LexFarm. When he’s not at the farm he’s an avid cyclist and a tour leader for Adventure Cycling Association.
Mark Manasas, Vice President
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 has enjoyed learning the 400+ year history of the Farm dating back to 1642. The tenacity of the Busa family maintaining the land as a 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. The LexFarm seedling sale has been essential to expanding the crops in his family’s backyard garden!
Mark is actively involved in other Lexington Organizations including Lexington Zero Waste Collaborative, Vision for Lexington Committee, Stone Building Re-use Committee and is currently a Town Meeting member.
Tharshini Matthew, Treasurer
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 also committee co-chair of the Science Fair at Maria Hastings Elementary School and a Room parent for her son’s class. She also volunteers at Lexington Kids PMC ride which is another noble cause she and her family support.
Sheila Chen Lawrence, Clerk
Sheila, her husband and two young 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. Previously, Sheila had been a long-time Waltham resident, and a member of Waltham Fields Community Farm. 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, estate planning, tax, and risk management. Sheila serves on the Boston board of Thrive Scholars, a national education non-profit that helps highest-achieving low-income minority students attend and graduate from top colleges and launch successful careers. Sheila also is a member of the Community Advisory Board of WBUR.
Karen Gill
Karen, born in Massachusetts, has lived and worked in a variety of places including Concord, Ma., Texas, Maine, Florida, and over 10 years in Asia Pacific. She is new to Lexington, was exploring how she might get involved with the town in a meaningful way and was instantly drawn to the good work LexFarm was doing for the community. Karen is currently a professional Change Manager and Workplace Strategist with a passion for our environment, education, and helping people. She wants to serve on the board, perhaps broaden the engagement of Lexington’s business community in the farm, and contribute to its ongoing success. Karen is also looking to learn more about farming and all aspects of the Lexington that she now enjoys.
Eric Helmuth
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 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 he grew last year in his front yard. Eric provides technology and digital marketing support for the LexFarm website and other online platforms. He is a member of the elected Arlington Select Board and is also a Town Meeting member. Professionally, he is a program director and consultant for technology-focused efforts in the nonprofit, health and public sectors. He lives in Arlington Heights with his husband and about 100 pounds of unmilled whole grain.
Patrick Johnson
Pat and his family moved to the Mt. Gilboa neighborhood in Arlington in the Summer of 2018 and quickly fell in love with the farm. Pat is passionate about the natural world and conservation. He worked as a field biologist studying songbirds for 5+ years before receiving a MS in wildlife management. He now works for National Grid Ventures where he is helping to develop projects that deliver reliable, clean, and affordable energy for consumers. He is a CFA Charterholder and an MBA graduate.
Sarah Krissoff
Sarah and her husband moved around the corner from the farm in 2017. Honing a green thumb since she was a child, Sarah enjoys gardening from the spring witch hazel to the winter hellebore. She eagerly awaits summer’s Pick Your Own flower and veggie options and supports the CSA. Sarah works as a Nurse Practitioner and is passionate about the role that a plant-based, local diet has on promoting wellness. Additionally, she feels the farm’s commitment to food access and serving as a community resource to all helps address key social determinants of health. As a former strategy and operations consultant, Sarah looks forward to helping optimize farm processes and growth in support of its strong mission. In her free time, she is an outdoors enthusiast and visiting all 63 US National Parks tops her bucket list. In the meantime, until travel resumes, she enjoys neighborhood walks with her Goldendoodle puppy while admiring the farm’s beauty and bounty throughout the seasons.
Nyree Bekarian Mack
Nyree has a MPH in environmental health sciences and toxicology and has been consulting in this space for 15 years. She also has experience with and worked on food start ups. Nyree believes change comes from within communities that are well informed and engaged with how ecosystems work (food, climate, etc) and she thinks a community farm is vital to that engagement. As a member of the Arlington community, Nyree feels like there is a lot of potential for people in Arlington to engage with LexFarm. She has walked by and near the farm a lot on walks around the reservation, and has long since thought it would be wonderful to see more activity on the farm without realizing that it is a community farm! Nyree would love to help figure out the right engagement strategies to raise awareness and bring more people to LexFarm, expand community engagement, and increase LexFarm’s outreach back to the community.
Maria Sagan
Lexington is home for Maria and her family since 2001. While her children attended Lexington Public School she volunteered in the Big Back Yard walks and enjoyed introducing the wonders of nature to the students. She was also involved in Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting. Maria enjoys walking in and around Lexington and hiking locally and in the White Mountains. She is an avid sourdough baker using regionally grown and milled grains. One of her favorites is rye bread which reminds her of her childhood growing up in rural Germany. Maria is passionate about the importance of real food. She strongly believes in the importance of accessible locally grown food and the establishment and expansion of local sustainable food production for present and future generations. She has been a LexFarm member since last year and volunteers during the LexFarm’s Working Wednesdays.
Susan Schiffer
Sue, a Lexington resident since 1993, professionally was a biology researcher in the biotechnology industry for 22 years. Since then, she 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 15 years ago. Since summer 2014, Sue has served LexFarm as a Board member and a member of both the Development and the Communications Committees, served as VP for two years and as President for 4 years. She looks forward to using her prior non-profit leadership experience, communications skills and connections to other organizations in Lexington to continue to help develop this exciting community treasure. When not volunteering for the farm, she creates jewelry at the LexArt, as a member of the Metalworking Guild.
Ping Shen
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.
Elizabeth Teague
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Teague and her family have been Lexington residents since 2013. Lizzie first connected with sustainable agriculture during a year as a farmhand at a regenerative agriculture school in Japan, and has since focused her career on sustainable agriculture as a tool for community development and climate action. She currently serves as Director of Climate Resilience at the global nonprofit Root Capital, where she leads the organization’s strategy to build the climate resilience of rural communities across the Global South. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, trail running, sailing, and generally spending as much time as possible outside with her husband and two daughters. Lizzie looks forward to bringing her nonprofit experience, especially related to strategy development and impact monitoring; her knowledge of agriculture and climate change; and her communication skills, including Spanish, to support LexFarm.
Christopher Thomas
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 th
2023-2024
Mary Rose Scozzafava, President
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.
Mary Rose is involved in other town organizations including the Lexington’s Conservation Commission and Conservation Stewards to maintain and oversee conservation restrictions on town-owned conservation lands, the Fence Viewers Committee and the Lexington Zero Waste Collaborative.
Mark Gabrenya, Vice President
Mark has lived in Lexington since 1996. He has been on the board of directors since March, 2015 and a member of the property committee. Much of his work for the farm is focused on improving and repairing the infrastructure and cleaning up the property. His red Prius is always loaded with tools and he’ll never turn down a donation of a straight 2 X 4. He is also the owner of Brite Harvest Farm — a controlled environment agriculture hydroponic farm inside a shipping container. It’s the big green and white box located behind LexFarm. When he’s not at the farm he’s an avid cyclist and a tour leader for Adventure Cycling Association.
Mark Manasas, Vice President
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 has enjoyed learning the 400+ year history of the Farm dating back to 1642. The tenacity of the Busa family maintaining the land as a 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. The LexFarm seedling sale has been essential to expanding the crops in his family’s backyard garden!
Mark is actively involved in other Lexington Organizations including Lexington Zero Waste Collaborative, Vision for Lexington Committee, Stone Building Re-use Committee and is currently a Town Meeting member.
Tharshini Matthew, Treasurer
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 also committee co-chair of the Science Fair at Maria Hastings Elementary School and a Room parent for her son’s class. She also volunteers at Lexington Kids PMC ride which is another noble cause she and her family support.
Sheila Chen Lawrence, Clerk
Sheila, her husband and two young 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. Previously, Sheila had been a long-time Waltham resident, and a member of Waltham Fields Community Farm. 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, estate planning, tax, and risk management. Sheila serves on the Boston board of Thrive Scholars, a national education non-profit that helps highest-achieving low-income minority students attend and graduate from top colleges and launch successful careers. Sheila also is a member of the Community Advisory Board of WBUR.
Karen Gill
Karen, born in Massachusetts, has lived and worked in a variety of places including Concord, Ma., Texas, Maine, Florida, and over 10 years in Asia Pacific. She is new to Lexington, was exploring how she might get involved with the town in a meaningful way and was instantly drawn to the good work LexFarm was doing for the community. Karen is currently a professional Change Manager and Workplace Strategist with a passion for our environment, education, and helping people. She wants to serve on the board, perhaps broaden the engagement of Lexington’s business community in the farm, and contribute to its ongoing success. Karen is also looking to learn more about farming and all aspects of the Lexington that she now enjoys.
Eric Helmuth
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 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 he grew last year in his front yard. Eric provides technology and digital marketing support for the LexFarm website and other online platforms. He is a member of the elected Arlington Select Board and is also a Town Meeting member. Professionally, he is a program director and consultant for technology-focused efforts in the nonprofit, health and public sectors. He lives in Arlington Heights with his husband and about 100 pounds of unmilled whole grain.
Patrick Johnson
Pat and his family moved to the Mt. Gilboa neighborhood in Arlington in the Summer of 2018 and quickly fell in love with the farm. Pat is passionate about the natural world and conservation. He worked as a field biologist studying songbirds for 5+ years before receiving a MS in wildlife management. He now works for National Grid Ventures where he is helping to develop projects that deliver reliable, clean, and affordable energy for consumers. He is a CFA Charterholder and an MBA graduate.
Sarah Krissoff
Sarah and her husband moved around the corner from the farm in 2017. Honing a green thumb since she was a child, Sarah enjoys gardening from the spring witch hazel to the winter hellebore. She eagerly awaits summer’s Pick Your Own flower and veggie options and supports the CSA. Sarah works as a Nurse Practitioner and is passionate about the role that a plant-based, local diet has on promoting wellness. Additionally, she feels the farm’s commitment to food access and serving as a community resource to all helps address key social determinants of health. As a former strategy and operations consultant, Sarah looks forward to helping optimize farm processes and growth in support of its strong mission. In her free time, she is an outdoors enthusiast and visiting all 63 US National Parks tops her bucket list. In the meantime, until travel resumes, she enjoys neighborhood walks with her Goldendoodle puppy while admiring the farm’s beauty and bounty throughout the seasons.
Nyree Bekarian Mack
Nyree has a MPH in environmental health sciences and toxicology and has been consulting in this space for 15 years. She also has experience with and worked on food start ups. Nyree believes change comes from within communities that are well informed and engaged with how ecosystems work (food, climate, etc) and she thinks a community farm is vital to that engagement. As a member of the Arlington community, Nyree feels like there is a lot of potential for people in Arlington to engage with LexFarm. She has walked by and near the farm a lot on walks around the reservation, and has long since thought it would be wonderful to see more activity on the farm without realizing that it is a community farm! Nyree would love to help figure out the right engagement strategies to raise awareness and bring more people to LexFarm, expand community engagement, and increase LexFarm’s outreach back to the community.
Maria Sagan
Lexington is home for Maria and her family since 2001. While her children attended Lexington Public School she volunteered in the Big Back Yard walks and enjoyed introducing the wonders of nature to the students. She was also involved in Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting. Maria enjoys walking in and around Lexington and hiking locally and in the White Mountains. She is an avid sourdough baker using regionally grown and milled grains. One of her favorites is rye bread which reminds her of her childhood growing up in rural Germany. Maria is passionate about the importance of real food. She strongly believes in the importance of accessible locally grown food and the establishment and expansion of local sustainable food production for present and future generations. She has been a LexFarm member since last year and volunteers during the LexFarm’s Working Wednesdays.
Susan Schiffer
Sue, a Lexington resident since 1993, professionally was a biology researcher in the biotechnology industry for 22 years. Since then, she 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 15 years ago. Since summer 2014, Sue has served LexFarm as a Board member and a member of both the Development and the Communications Committees, served as VP for two years and as President for 4 years. She looks forward to using her prior non-profit leadership experience, communications skills and connections to other organizations in Lexington to continue to help develop this exciting community treasure. When not volunteering for the farm, she creates jewelry at the LexArt, as a member of the Metalworking Guild.
Ping Shen
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.
Elizabeth Teague
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Teague and her family have been Lexington residents since 2013. Lizzie first connected with sustainable agriculture during a year as a farmhand at a regenerative agriculture school in Japan, and has since focused her career on sustainable agriculture as a tool for community development and climate action. She currently serves as Director of Climate Resilience at the global nonprofit Root Capital, where she leads the organization’s strategy to build the climate resilience of rural communities across the Global South. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, trail running, sailing, and generally spending as much time as possible outside with her husband and two daughters. Lizzie looks forward to bringing her nonprofit experience, especially related to strategy development and impact monitoring; her knowledge of agriculture and climate change; and her communication skills, including Spanish, to support LexFarm.
Christopher Thomas
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 th
