Joel Brockmyre, Founder
Joel created J.Appleseed by combining his two areas of expertise: custom home building and organic gardening. Appling his inventiveness from 20 years of crafting beautiful homes, he developed an extensive experimental garden and became an expert in high yield organic permaculture. This lead to a business constructing raised beds, installing custom gardens, and teaching others how to grow their own food. Thus was formed the essence of J.Appleseed Food Garden Company. Joel presently serves as the manager of operations, product development, and public education programs.
Christopher Gibney, Co-Founder
Christopher is a life-long entrepreneur adept at articulating vision, goal setting, and team building. He joined J.Appleseed to clarify its mission and re-engineer its business plan. Under his direction, the company was transformed from a local garden installation and maintenance business to a synergistic blend of product marketing and gardening information services with national scope. He created the Green Thumb Club™ internet subscription service, developed the website store, and greatly expanded the consultation services as the new foundation for the business. Christopher is now pulling together the team and developing the strategic relationships that will make grow J. Appleseed to its full potential.
Robin Parisse, Marketing & Business Development
Robin brings to the J. Appleseed team over 15 years experience in product development, management, and marketing for a diverse range of companies with national sales. Creative and results oriented, she has a special talent for establishing teams, matching resources to projects, and achieving objectives on time and to budget. She will help us implement immediate promotional tactics while developing a long-term market strategy within an overall business plan. With Robin’s guidance, J. Appleseed will introduce its full range of products and and reach the ever-growing number of people who want to grow their own food.
Wendy Anderson, Horticulturist
Wendy is a highly trained horticulturist and versatile educator specializing in permaculture growing methods. She has for 30 years researched, applied, and taught sustainable organic vegetable and fruit production. Her experience includes the design, implementation, and maintenance of public showcase gardens, as well as residential and commercial edible gardens. She has taught for many years in both elementary schools and college lecture halls. Her command of, and passion for, her subject make her an exceptional instructor and motivator. Wendy brings her extensive gardening knowledge and teaching skills to the development and delivery of J. Appleseed’s information services and educational programs.
Katherine Gibney, Accounting & Business Management
Katherine has worked in management, accounting, finance and human resources in many industries, from small family stores to large corporations. Her 30(+) years of business experience includes aviation, finance, retail, real estate development, education, healthcare, manufacturing and non-profit. Katherine has worked on management teams for a number of start-up companies, helping to build them into fully operational organizations. She has also helped established companies with management and procedural restructuring, and has served as a corporate officer and on boards of directors. Her excellent communication and people skills make her an invaluable J.Appleseed team manager.
Mark Potampa, Website Design & Development
Mark is a multi-talented website developer and graphic designer with over 20 years experience helping companies create their identities and deliver their messages. His mastery of up to the moment computer technology and refined artistic sensibilities have made him an award winning website creator. He has overseen the production of websites for every kind of enterprise, from intimate presentations for boutique stores, to highly complex systems for the State of California. Mark has brought these talents to the development of the J. Appleseed website and will ensure that it remains on the leading edge of effectiveness and user friendliness.
Timothy Gibney, Installation Management & Product Development
Timothy is a general contractor and independent inventor. During many years of creatively solving all kinds of construction challenges, he developed his gifts for material inventiveness. He always finds imaginative ways to better design it, manufacture it, and build it. Timothy joined J.Appleseed as a garden installation manager and became a key contributor to our raised bed design innovations. His abundance of ideas will become available in a steady flow of new and improved J.Appleseed products.
Craig Buxton, Advisor, Board Member
Craig is a Harvard MBA holder with over 25 years in senior management positions for industry leading companies. He has extensive first-hand experience in using promising information technologies to build out new products, services and global markets. His charge has always been to bring new products and services into a profitable market lead. Craig is currently a co-founder of a new enterprise called CleanseAll Inc., a company that develops and applies the latest scientific advances in Green Chemistry. In addition to cleaning up hazardous waste, Green Chemistry products also provide highly effective and environment-friendly ways of improving soil quality, enhancing plant health, and non-toxically reducing pest problems. Craig is contributing his vast experience and talents to J.Appleseed as an advisor, a member of our board of directors, and as a strategic business partner.
Eric Boudier, Advisor
Eric is a successful entrepreneur with extensive business experience, including a leadership role in the ground-up development of large scale retail chains for a multinational corporation. He presently owns and operates Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply, one of the first firms providing supplies to the organic gardening and sustainable agriculture community in the USA. He has built the business up from a small local store to a broad spectrum sales and distribution outlet with a sizable workforce, and has expanded sales nationally through the effective use of their catalog and website. Eric’s business building success, sales and distribution track record, and organic industry experience make him an ideal advisor for J.Appleseed, as well as an essential strategic business partner.
Rosemary Yates, Advisor
Rosemary is a multi-faceted MBA business visionary with more than 15 years experience as a successful marketing strategist and senior brand leader. She has directed business development initiatives in diverse corporate environments from start-up ventures to Fortune 500 companies. A highly-skilled negotiator and deal-maker, she provides decisive leadership skills in communications, interpersonal relations, product development, marketing, operations, and finance. Her broad business experience includes the founding, ownership, and directing of a highly successful landscaping design and installation company. Combined with her proven track record in helping companies grow, her expertise in the gardening industry makes Rosemary an ideal J. Appleseed advisor./