Gretchen Garth, 21 Acres President

Community activist, philanthropist and 21 Acres visionary, Gretchen is a committed volunteer serving 21 Acres in many capacities.

Gretchen also serves as Board Chair of HumanLinks Foundation, which focuses on Sustainable Agriculture, Health Care and Education Reform.  She helped create the Woodinville Farmer Market in 1994, which was her introduction to issues surrounding small family farms. Serving on a search committee to find a permanent location for the Farmers Market, actions led to the purchase of 21 Acres from King County in 2004.

Dale Nelson, 21 Acres Board Member

Dale brings to the table 25 years experience in the food industry and a true passion in the artisan food environment. Dale serves as a volunteer on the Board of Directors. 
     Dale is owner and founder of Food Concepts, Inc.  (a full-service specialty food development company in Washington State) and Woodring Northwest. Founded in 1991, the company drew upon Dale's expertise in product innovation, new product development and a desire to create a quality specialty food experience, establishing the diverse organization that exists today.

Claire Thomas, 21 Acres Board Member

Claire serves on the Board of Directors in hopes of strengthening our farming operations at the 21 Acre site. The future plans regarding advisory help for small farmers in our region will help to keep our  small market farms economically viable and give much needed encouragement to new farmers. Claire serves as a volunteer on the Board of Directors.
     Claire is the General Manager of The Root Connection
CSA farm, which she started in 1986. The Root Connection uses sustainable intensive farming practices and now feeds over 600 families with 8.5 acres under cultivation. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Sammamish Valley Alliance, and the Management Committee of FARM, LLC which owns and farms The South 47 farm.

 Ron Wheadon, 21 Acres Board Member

Ron is the Dean for Student Learning at Cascadia Community College and as such is responsible for all professional, technical and distance education including Environmental Technologies and Sustainable Practices program and Business Information Technology.

Deanna Burnett Keener, 21 Acres Board Member

Deanna is the Small Business Counselor at Green River Community College's Small Business Assistance Center. Prior to coming to Green River CC,  Deanna was an award-winning lender in the banking community. During her 15 years as a local small business lender, she worked successfully with  hundreds of small business owners to overcome obstacles as they started or  expanded their businesses.

 To contact the Board of Directors, Advisory or Programs Committee  or Consultants e-mail: generalinfo@21acres.org