Board of Directors
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Julia Showalter, ChairJulia is a lecturer in the Biology Department at Appalachian State University. She also manages the sustainable gardens on campus including the Appalachian Roots Garden, the Sustainable Development Civic Garden and the Garden at the Child Development Center. She has helped in the development of the Watauga Seed Library and helps to organize the Kid’s Corner at the Boone Farmer’s Market. Her interests are dendrology, agroforestry and permaculture.
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Anne PressionAnne owns and operates Healing Springs Farm and Cabins, and is dedicated to raising Belted Galloway cattle, pastured heritage breed pigs, and pastured chickens. As a beginning farmer, Anne really appreciated the assistance, teachings, and advice that she received from Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture. She strongly believes in helping other farmers and producers to succeed. She is proud to be an advocate for beginning farmers in the High Country.
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Ms VMs. V served as an Educational Interpreter for the Deaf for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and Volunteered with Special Olympics of North Carolina for two decades. After moving to West Jefferson in 2012, she served on the Board with the Ashe County Farmers Market and started her own natural soap company with the catchphrase, “Your Skin Will Tell Your Life Story!” Ms. V says, “Many believe the phrase had to do with my soap and skin care. However, being a woman, an African American woman, this phrase has also been my motivational story throughout life. It’s been a phrase that keeps me grounded, humble, aware of my surroundings, my daily survival, courage to take on challenges; and a constant reminder that I too can help others to be great!” In her free time Ms. V likes, horticulture, collecting day lilies, traveling, cooking and a great debate!
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Jacqueline IgnatovaJacqui is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Development at Appalachian State University. She teaches courses on food security and sovereignty, the politics of sustainable development, and global environmental politics. Since joining the BRWIA Board in 2015, Jacqui has co-organized the High Country Food Summit and supported the launch of the Watauga Seed Library. Jacqui is also a member of Appalachian State University's Appalachian Food Research for Equity, Sustainability, and Health (AppalFRESH) Collaborative. She is passionate about supporting local food and seed sovereignty through her work with BRWIA.
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Edith MubandaEdith joined the board in May 2017. After a fulfilling career in public health nutrition at AppHealthCare, and adjunct teaching at Appalachian State University, she retired in 2015 to pursue projects that focus on sustainable development and help people out of poverty. Edith also is involved in community development work in Uganda, the country that raised her. Her work there aligns with BRWIA's vision of an equitable local food system and healthy ecosystem. Being with BRWIA staff and board members renews her faith in humanity, that there are people out there that want to make a difference in communities. Edith enjoys traveling, photography, the outdoors and facilitating better life experiences for families with small children.
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Grace Marasco- Plummer
Grace helps develop and manage externally-funded research and outreach projects of the Appalachian Energy Center and the Research Institute for Environment, Energy and Economics (RIEEE) at Appalachian State University. She is interested in various aspects of relocalizing the food economy and how home gardening contributes to sustainable food systems. She is also committed to connecting University expertise and resources with community needs while providing experiential learning opportunities to engaged students.
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Lizzie BrittonAfter receiving her master's in graphic design from Savanah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 2008, Lizzie has lived and worked all around the East Coast. She found her home here in the Boone area in 2014, and she now works as a graphic designer at Hospitality Mints. Along with her passion for all things design, from a young age she has had a passion for animals. In 2015, she and her husband started working on their dream of creating a small homestead. With a vegetable garden, fruit trees, two miniature donkeys, and a cat and dog under their belts, they hope to have more creatures buzzing and flocking around in the near future.
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Jessica MartellJessica is Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Appalachian State University. Research fellowships in British and Irish archives have supported her work on the impact of industrial food chains upon modern literature and culture. She also researches Irish agricultural cooperatives and alternative food economies. She teaches courses on British, Irish, American, and World Literatures as well as food studies, film, and Literature and the Environment.
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Danica Lee, Board FellowsDanica Lee is a senior at Appalachian State University studying Anthropology and Biology from Sanford, NC. As a Board Fellow for BRWIA through the ACT Office, she is excited to learn about the many different ways nonprofits can impact a community. She is interested in local, sustainable food initiatives and other issues of environmental justice. In her free time, she likes to make and eat pasta.
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Elaine Mansure, SecretaryElaine Mansure joined the board of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture in 2015, her sophomore year of high school. From a very young age, Elaine has had an appreciation for the environment and natural resources. As she grew, she became passionate about sustainability and the local food system, and through volunteering at numerous Farm Tours, she became interested in Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture. Involvement in Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture has appeased and expanded these passions. Elaine enjoys playing guitar, doing art, and dancing.
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