Jeremy Schley Johnson

Jeremy grew up in central Kansas where his first job was working on a dairy farm. On the farm, he developed his love for agriculture and continued working there throughout high school and college. After college Jeremy relocated to the Boston area to attend MIT graduate school. He studied engineering with a focus on energy and technology to address climate change and earned his PhD.

After graduate school, Jeremy merged his personal interests and upbringing in agriculture with his graduate work and career interests in energy and technology related to addressing climate change. He is co-founder of a small startup called Agrivida, which develops products for animal nutrition. The company is also supporting new projects to make ingredients for alternative meat companies. In this way, Agrivida is helping address climate change and how the agricultural sector contributes to that.

Jeremy joined the Board by way of Executive Director Liz Green. Through Liz he learned about the Three Sisters’ mission and vision, particularly food accessibility. As the Three Sisters organization grows, Jeremy hopes to contribute to how the organization is run, especially given his experience building a small startup from the ground up, as well as being part of the plan and logistics for making farm fresh food as accessible as possible.

Jeremy’s Fun Fact: He was only 14 years old when he started his first job on a dairy farm milking cows.

Sheila McAdams

Farming runs deep in Sheila’s family. Both her father and grandfather were dairy farmers in upstate New York. Sheila grew up on a dairy farm where chores happened before and after school. After graduating high school, Sheila attended Hamilton College and was on a medical school track after graduation. But then she moved to Massachusetts and took an elementary school teaching job in Mattapan, where she fell in love with the school, the students, and their families.

Growing up on a farm, Sheila always had fresh food to eat. As a teacher in Mattapan, she was struck by the lack of high-quality food for students, who considered a salad a treat. She became acutely aware of food insecurity of the students and their families. After moving to Ipswich, Sheila taught at Winthrop School for 18 years before becoming principal. At Winthrop, Sheila established a weekly Mobile Mart in partnership with the Open Door, normalizing food accessibility for families in need. She helped weave gardening and healthy eating into the curriculum and partnered with the USDA to create summer programs for kids to create fun and healthy food options.

Now retired from Winthrop, Sheila became more involved with the Three Sisters. She joined the Board to be part of the mission and the long-term vision of ensuring everyone has the access they need to fresh food. During her tenure on the Board, Sheila wants to continue making herself as accessible to whatever the need is and find ways to continue improving food access, educating the community on all the Three Sisters has to offer, and “just do good.”

Sheila’s Fun Fact: Sheila’s husband does most of the cooking in their household. But she does the washing and the eating of the vegetables!

Dale Welch, board chair

Dale worked in the technology and talent acquisition businesses for over 30 years around the Boston area. Along his career journey, Dale grew passionate about volunteering. On one company volunteer outing, he led colleagues on visits to homeless shelters to celebrate the birthdays of the children staying in the shelters. Dale also volunteered at various food pantries. Through these activities, Dale better understood the food insecurity problem in the Boston area.

Five years ago, Dale and his wife moved to Ipswich. He became an active volunteer with The Open Door. Dale learned more about food accessibility on the North Shore and the mission and vision of the Three Sisters. About two and half years ago, Dale got involved with the Three Sisters, applying his business knowledge and experience to help build some of the behind-the-scenes operations.

As the Three Sisters Board Chair, Dale is dedicated to helping improve local food access, partnering with other organizations so as not to duplicate efforts, and helping the Three Sisters organization continue to grow.

Dale’s Fun Fact: Retired for 10 years, Dale is busier than ever. He loves spending time with his family, including his wife, 4 daughters, and 9 grandchildren.

Sister Leonore Coan

Sr. Leonore joined the Sisters of the Notre Dame de Namur in Ipswich in 1962, when it first opened. She has spent most of her professional career in education, as a primary school teacher in Somerville, Worcester, and Boston’s North End; and as principal of the St. John’s the Baptist School in Peabody. She currently is the Mission Support Director for the Congregation, supporting the mission to develop resources for the unfunded and underfunded ministries of the Congregation. She has held that position for the past 20 years and has visited ministries across 15 countries on 5 continents.

Sr. Leonore has been part of the Three Sisters since its inception in 2015. She has been and continues to be part of its growth. She has participated in numerous community programs supporting the Three Sisters, including the Rotary, where she helped write their first grant and supported other funding efforts.

She is deeply committed to the Three Sisters mission of sustainability for the farm and the people who need fresh food but are unable to buy or access it – from underserved youth to the elderly. Sr. Leonore wants to encourage the spirit of the Three Sisters to help one another, where “the earth’s elements and human elements work together.”

Sr. Leonore’s Fun Fact: She was a multi-sport coach for the Special Olympics for over 20 years, including cycling, swimming, bocce ball, and basketball.

Tiz Hatch

Tiz has a PhD in Epidemiology from Yale University. She is a professor of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health, where her research has included dietary effects on fertility. Tiz has always been interested in nutrition and food as medicine. She is particularly enthusiastic about ensuring healthy local food gets to the people who need it most. For this reason and her interests in environmental issues and sustainable farming practices she became involved with the Three Sisters.

Tiz joined the Board about 6 months ago, although she’s been involved with the CSA since 2016. She has seen the progression and growth of the Three Sisters Garden Project since then and is excited to be part of its continued growth and outreach. She feels there’s a lot to learn about food systems and sustainable agriculture. The Three Sisters model and partnerships with organizations such as the Open Door will help nourish the North Shore even further.

Education is also a big part of Tiz’s interest on the Board. Providing fresh food to those who need it is vital, but people need to be receptive to it and this can happen through educational opportunities and expanding the outreach and access of local farm fresh food.

Tiz’s Fun Fact: She loves to unplug with her family at their cabins in northern Maine – no electricity, no internet, just peace and quiet.

 Bethe Palmer

Bethe grew up in Boxford. She earned her BBA in Accounting and Business Management from UMASS Amherst, an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, and is a licensed CPA. Over the past 30 years, Bethe has helped build a long list of startup companies from the ground up – from setting up systems to ensuring rules and regulations are in compliance.

Over the past 10 years, Bethe has taken her educational background and professional skills and experience to the local non-profit sector. As a Three Sisters Board member, she enjoys sharing her deep knowledge in finance. She has helped set up accounting system operations to create efficiencies so the staff can do what they do best.

As the Three Sisters organization grows, Bethe’s goal during her Board tenure is to continue making things easier for the staff. She has been part of normalizing processes and ensuring the right controls and procedures are in place.

Bethe’s Fun Fact: She comes from a long line of farmers. Her great grandfather was a potato farmer in Aroostook County Maine.