Meet Our Team
Liz WhitemanOperations Director
liz@brwia.org 
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Liz grew up in northern Minnesota, spending summers helping her parents dig potatoes and carrots in their backyard gardens. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Liz followed her passion for regenerative agriculture and food sovereignty to urban gardens in New Orleans and tropical farms in rural Ecuador.
She spent 5 years in Washington DC working on federal farm policy, focusing on increased funding for sustainable agriculture and strengthening nutrition programs such as WIC and SNAP. In 2019, Liz found her way to Western North Carolina, spending a season working for Tumbling Shoals Farm in Wilkes County. Drawn to the High Country by the impressive local food economy, Liz is excited to work with local farmers and community members to continue striving for a vibrant, equitable, and sustainable food system. |
Dave WalkerDevelopment Director
dave@brwia.org 
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Dave grew up in the North Carolina Piedmont and would visit his grandparents' home places in Watauga County each summer to camp and hike. Dave previously worked as the Program Manager and Grant Writer of High Country Local First's entrepreneurship program, Ascent Business Network.
He holds a MA in Appalachian Studies and Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Sciences from AppState and a BA in American Studies from Sewanee: The University of the South. Dave's Masters Thesis concerned how first-generation farmers become successful in Blue Ridge Appalachia, and he counts himself amongst them as he started Daffodil Spring Farm, in the spring of 2017. Dave also held an internship with AppState's Edible Schoolyard where, he mapped Watauga County's community gardens and encouraged a network amongst the shared growing spaces. When he is not working with BRWIA, you may find him in his garden, fly fishing in Wilson's Creek, or spinning really, really fast at a contra dance. |
Shannon CarrollFinance Coordinator
shannon@brwia.org 
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Shannon grew up in the Piedmont area of NC and moved to Boone in 1983 after spending a year teaching Biology on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.
She has 30+ years of experience providing leadership and support for instructional technology for Watauga County Schools. She retired from Watauga County Schools in 2013 and is currently dividing her time between three part-time positions - being the Finance Coordinator for BRWIA, helping with the Lettuce Learn at Parkway School, and helping her husband, Terry, with his SunCatcher Passive Solar Greenhouse business. She also recently earned her Master Gardener certification. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, traveling to visit her sons, and going for long walks. |
Kelsey CrawfordPrograms Coordinator
kelsey@brwia.org 
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Kelsey grew up with her hands in the soil of her Mamaw's garden. She left her small hometown in the Ohio River Valley to complete her Bachelor of Science degree at Florida Southern College. Alongside her studies, she bred a passion for rural organizing and regenerative agriculture. On the day after her graduation, Kelsey took a plane (or five) to Homer, Alaska for a year of commercial vegetable and flower production. And a lot of really cool hiking.
Throughout her travels, her mind remained somewhere in Appalachia, and Kelsey was drawn to the High Country by its vibrant farming community and drive toward a fair and sustainable food system. Whether working in knee-deep mud, inches of snow, or sweltering heat, she was inspired by her farming mentors and their contribution to our intricate local network. |
