The Common Acre came together when artists and urban farmers decided in 2012 to work together on a shared mission of maximum social impact.
Since our inception, our team has grown to encompass doctors of medicine and science, city planners, educators, and strategists, and a great crew of multi-talented volunteers.
Executive Director
Allison has a long history of gardening and love of food dating back to her childhood, on through volunteerism and professional pursuits. She has been improving non-profit systems since managing Books to Prisoners Olympia while pursuing her BA at The Evergreen State College. After two years traveling with the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program, she dedicated herself to creating more just, effective urban farms in Seattle. She became an Alleycat Acres Farm Manager in 2013, and their first Executive Director in 2015, leading to her new role as ED of The Common Acre in 2017.
Secretary
A first-generation Ethiopian born in Moses Lake, WA, Nat graduated with a B.A. in the University of Washington’s eclectic Comparative History of Ideas program in 2015, pursuing a Master’s in Education Policy the next year. Then, as a children’s garden coordinator, he spearheaded the first racial equity team at Seattle Tilth while simultaneously running a monthly youth leadership program at the Ethiopian Community in Seattle.
Since joining the board as Vice President in the Spring of 2017, Nat has been practicing with herbs and researching plant consciousness. Deeply inspired by the mission of The Common Acre, Nat brings together backgrounds in food systems education, social justice facilitation, and nonprofit leadership in his new role as Board President.
Nat dreams of farming and philosophizing with friends, and seeks future opportunities in both doctoral and consultative work that cultivate equitable, community-based, and land-conscious partnerships. He loves flowers, books, and dancing!
President
Sheila Brown believes in personal and societal transformation, sustainability and simple living, and the arts as a way to celebrate, build and heal communities. In her work life (currently as Education Program Supervisor at Camp Long), Sheila’s passions include environmental restoration, cross-cultural and multi-cultural understanding, outdoor recreation and science. Sheila has also developed and managed programs and facilities, and promoted public-private partnerships. In her personal life, her interests include choral and acoustic music, Buddhism and other spiritual traditions, exploring awareness through the body, history and new developments in science, and spending time with friends and her border terrier. Sheila is tri-lingual and has lived and traveled throughout Latin America and Europe.
Treasurer
A partner with Social Venture Partners, Renée is also an independent consultant to non-profit organizations, coalitions and foundations focused on improving the capacity of non-profits to work efficiently, equitably and collaboratively on shared goals to measurably advance equal opportunity and strengthen communities. Prior to her community work Renée spent over 10 years in the corporate sector as a Manager and Director of diverse project teams building online media brands (Microsoft Network, Expedia) and developing the key internal and external business partnerships required for their success.
Beekeeper
Founder of The Common Acre, Bob has had careers in social service, media, arts, and agriculture. After working intensively with the homeless and mentally ill, Bob moved into the arts. Founding Program Director of the Capitol Hill Arts Center, Bob subsequently curated arts programs for the Bumbershoot Festival from 2004 – 2010, and served as Program Director of Town Hall Seattle in 2011-12. As an artist, Bob produced the theatre project “Fringe the Puyallup!”, was a writer-in-residence for the Richard Hugo House, and produced the guerilla haiku project SLUG. Bob runs the beekeeping adventure Urban Bee Company.
Beekeeper
A beekeeper since 2007, and a current board member of the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association, John Woodworth became interested in bees after taking a introductory class with his daughter at a local beekeeping supply store. Soon one hive became two, then four, then eight, then sixteen. (He is committed to keeping the number under 24!) John calls his operation Back Alley Honey — a nod to the original first hive location and his mission to provide quality natural honey to the needy. In addition to his participation with Urban Bee Company, all of the honey produced at his apiary at the Goat Hill Giving Gardens is donated to the Pike Place Senior Center. Outside beekeeping, John is a principal at a small architectural practice located downtown, specializing in affordable housing and historic preservation.
Bee Research Assistant
Will Peterman is a writer, photographer, and bee nerd. He studied pollination ecology and artificial intelligence in graduate school at UCSD, then spent fifteen years in software development before returning to entomology as the lead of the Western Bumblebee Project (beesearch.org). He is currently studying the quirks of bee vision and working on conservation strategies for native, ground-nesting bees.
Bee Research Lead
Evan Sugden, PhD earned his MA in biology from the University of Utah and his PhD from the University of California-Davis. Evan has done post-doctoral work in Sydney, Australia; worked as an apicultural development agent in Dubai; and helped detect and study Africanized bees in Texas for the USDA. Since 1998 he has taught at the University of Washington, where he also manages the UW apiary. A consultant through his business Entomo-logic, Evan is also a certified SCUBA diver and has explored marine environments on the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), around Bermuda, and in both the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.