EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Amanda (she/her) grew up in the hills near San Jose, CA, where she and her family raised farm animals as pets (pigs, chickens, ducks, goats, and more!). She attended Stanford University, where she studied Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture. Her experiences working on educational farms, directing summer camps and managing nonprofit organizations have shaped her dream to start an educational community farm near Gresham, OR. Amanda just graduated from an MBA program at Yale School of Management and she is thrilled to be back in Oregon to launch Thimbleberry Collaborative Farm! In her free time, Amanda loves to cook and eat delicious food, hang out at Mt. Tabor, and spend time with family, friends, her partner Harrison, and other people’s dogs :).

FARM OPERATIONS MANAGER

Drew (he/him) took a circuitous route to becoming an organic vegetable farmer. Born and raised in Northern CA, he spent his youth skateboarding, doing street art, and generally being irksome to the authorities. After high school Drew moved to San Francisco, CA, to pursue his hobbies and acquire a degree in Graphic Design from SFSU in his free time. Throughout school he worked in health food stores and the restaurant industry where he acquired a love of fresh, local food, and became inspired by the farmers he met who supplied these industries. At the age of 30 Drew moved to Cottage Grove, Oregon, where he owned and operated High Wire Farm, a 1.5 acre vegetable/fruit farm situated on family land, from 2010-2018. Drew is passionate about teaching the skills of farming to youth, local food resiliency in the face of climate change, and building lasting relationships within his community through food and laughter. He lives in SE Portland with his son August.

EDUCATION PROGRAMS MANAGER

Jonathan (he/him) grew up exploring the woods and lakes of Upstate New York. His love of nature would lead him to study Environmental Science and Management at UC Berkeley, where he began to focus on Food Justice education. From there, Jonathan collaborated with schools in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley to support youth in connecting to natural spaces, gardens and farms; opening classroom doors to experiences in the great outdoors, as well as growing and enjoying organic foods.

Jonathan’s work with youth extends into movement and mindfulness education, having worked in Mexico, Guatemala, France and Greece with children growing up in refugee camps and extremely low-income communities, in a program called Magical Movement.

He is so excited to be able to live near family in Portland, Oregon and work with the wonderful community of Thimbleberry Collaborative Farm!

DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Michelle (she/her), our Development Manager, grew up in the Yakima Valley and moved to Portland in 2008. She received a degree in Anthropology from Washington State University, and has a background working in healthcare. She is now a stay at home parent who feels it is becoming increasingly more important to teach our children how to sustainably feed themselves by growing their own food, eating seasonally and buying local. In her free time Michelle enjoys cooking, hiking, foraging and mushroom hunting with her family! She is excited to serve and learn alongside other Thimbleberry members at the farm!

FARM APPRENTICE

Coming soon