Allyson MacKenna, Director of Administration and Programs
Allyson brings many years of nonprofit leadership experience to the Farm. She has always worked in the nonprofit sector, helping individuals with disabilities lead independent lives, advocating for families facing financial hardship and foreclosure, and promoting animal welfare. She was drawn to the farm because of the impact it has on the community in so many ways. She is especially passionate about teaching others about the importance of sustainability so that generations to come can enjoy a healthy life and a healthy planet.
Email: admin@newtoncommunityfarm.org
Greg Maslowe, Farm Manager
Greg has been the farm manager at Newton Community Farm since 2006. He came to farming through his graduate work in environmental and agricultural ethics. Greg loves talking with people, young and old, about where their food comes from and how their answers and choices impact other life/lives. He feels fortunate to have found a way of life that allows him to be outside most of the time: a vocation that means he’s in the dirt, come rain or shine, throughout the growing season, participating in creating a better world; and time during the off-season to explore the mountains on skis, leading backcountry trips in the Green and White mountains for the Boston Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. He is on the Board of Directors of the Urban Farming Institute and on the planning committee for Eastern Massachusetts Collaborative Alliance for Farmer Training (EMass CRAFT).
Email: newtoncommunityfarm@gmail.com
Andrea Egan, Assistant Farm Manager
Andrea took a winding path before arriving at Newton Community Farm this spring. She grew up in Groton, Mass but just recently returned to Massachusetts for the first time since high school. Before becoming a farmer, Andrea worked as a physicist and then as a software engineer, including a stint working for the City of San Francisco. This is her second full year farming after an apprenticeship at Amber Waves Farm in Long Island last season. She loves spending long days picking tomatoes and bunching kale, and believes that small farms are an important piece of building community and local food resiliency. Having spent time in West Newton visiting her grandmother as a child, Andrea is excited to be back to help feed the local community.
Jeff Frisch, Assistant Grower
Jeff has a long history of working with the land. His grandfather loved to grow vegetables and had land and a tractor to fuel his passion. Jeff became interested in ecology and regenerative design for homes and landscapes. As his interest in permaculture, a design system for creating sustainable ways of living in harmony with nature, grew, he also wanted to learn more about growing. He completed a work-study program in Costa Rica on a biodynamic farm growing turmeric and ginger, among other herbs and medicinal plants. Jeff came to NCF because he wanted to continue to learn and be involved in sustainable agriculture on a farm that shares his vision.