Conservation

The first issue of Light & Seed, a reimagined, next-generation print magazine is a capstone to my publishing career, and the result of months of intentional strategy design and implementation.

After 23 years of asking questions for a living, I did it live for the first time in a panel highlighting three leaders in the Montana food system.

In 2020, I helped Blue Bean Coffee develop a strategy for growth—their way. Three years later, after the Yellowstone River flood lapped their doorstep, the family-owned roaster has used our plan to source the "most eco-friendly packaging on the planet."

Nate Powell-Palm has been working to advance organic ag for most of his life, starting with raising his first 4-H steer at age 9. This fall, he brought the US Undersecretary of Ag to Gallatin Valley for a field day.

"At Patagonia, we make our important decisions based on wanting to be here 100 years from now." Looking back on a story I wrote for Esquire about Chouinard in 2019.

Lessons in vision and leadership from Kris Tompkins, who's protected 13 million acres (and counting). A profile I wrote for Mountain Outlaw in 2019, plus previously unpublished insights on the imperative of changing our agricultural system.

The process of bringing a purpose, vision, mission and set of values to life can be both messy and magical. If you get the chance, do this work in person.

Finding connections between food systems, wild adventure and community on a trip from Yosemite to Chattanooga and back home to Montana.

“Every one of these farms is a business and a family and a community and an ecosystem. And it's so complex to look at all of those pieces, and it's so necessary. We're not just one giant industrial machine that produces food for the world.”

My daughter's "caring for the Earth" list

By listening deeply and weaving in ideas from a broad team, we created group alignment behind what will ultimately become an entirely new publication.

While reporting this story in 2018, I learned a basic premise that I operate under now: By focusing on inclusion, you broaden the diversity of perspectives and knowledge among teams and leaders, which is key to our future on this planet.

Interviewing Chouinard, combined with the love of gardening and food I inherited from my parents, launched my exploration food and agricultural systems in Montana.