Joshua Humphreys is Co-Founder, President, and Distinguished Senior Fellow of Croatan Institute as well as Director of the Institute’s Soil Wealth program. A historian by training, Dr. Humphreys is a leading analyst of the social and environmental consequences of finance and an outspoken advocate for resilient rural places. He also chairs the Institute’s Investment Subcommittee and Board of Directors. Currently, Dr. Humphreys serves on the Advisory Board of Rodale Institute’s Southeast Organic Center and on the Finance and Investment Committee of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Dr. Humphreys lives on an old farmstead in Oaks, North Carolina, where he also operates Pont Reading Farm, a diversified agroforestry farm. With other agroecological family farms he helped found Piedmont Agrarian Collaborative, which runs a farmer-led food hub in central North Carolina.

Nikki Jefferies is an Ancestral Land Guardian, leading the care and development of The Park 3512, a family-owned farm and forest rooted in land stewardship, soil health, and generational legacy. She works to help families protect their land, stay connected to it, and carry forward the legacy of those who came before them.   

Dawn E. LeBeau is the Senior Program Officer with Akiptan. Dawn provides leadership in the development and management of Akiptan’s Programs Department. She works intricately with the Executive Director and program team to oversee and expand the initiatives, and services that Akiptan offers to support producers across Indian Country.

Alton Perry is the Director of Roanoke Cooperative’s Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project. Alton is retired from the NC Forest Service; he served in Wake County from 1982 until 2006, and he served as Outreach Coordinator in the state office in Raleigh from 2006 until his retirement in 2012. 

Tyrone Williams, a lifelong resident of Enfield in Halifax County, has dedicated his life to public service, agriculture, and strengthening his community. A retired North Carolina Department of Commerce employee with more than 30 years of state service, Tyrone spent his career supporting economic growth and opportunity across our state. Alongside his wife, Edna, a retired Halifax County Schools educator, he operates a minority-owned century farm that provides fresh produce and agricultural-based educational opportunities to individuals and families. Through workshops, seminars, and farm tours, he helps neighbors better understand where their food comes from while promoting conservation, preservation, and land stewardship. Tyrone’s leadership and service have earned statewide recognition, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the Governor’s Award for Excellence, Halifax Community College’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award, and honors as Farmer of the Year and Lloyd Wright Small Farmer of the Year.