The Village
Allegheny Mountain Institute
People
Executive Director
Tim Hare
Tim joins AMI by way of other education and land-based programs in Colorado and internationally. He also founded and runs Wonder: Nature Connection with his wife, Shannon. Having worked in nature-based and intercultural education for many years, Tim is eager to work with projects that build regenerative culture in a time of ecological unraveling. He believes that hyper-local, earth-based education and community-building are essential to re-weaving frayed connections.
Farm Manager
Fred Gifford
Fred brings years of hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture to his role as Farm Manager at Allegheny Mountain Institute. He oversees daily farm operations, including managing the market garden and coordinating with local farmers markets and food pantries to support AMI’s mission of food access and community resilience. His background includes managing CSA programs and working with small-scale, regenerative farms across western Maryland and West Virginia. He holds an academic background in Wildlife and Natural Resources with a focus in Agroecology, which informs his land-conscious approach to farming.
Program Director
Shannon Harriman
Shannon's love of wild spaces led her to study ecology, but it was her long journey through the landscapes of Nepal that offered an intersection between science and spirituality. Professionally trained as a teacher, she's has been a cross-cultural guide for more than two decades, facilitating international programs. Most recently her work is that of a nature connection mentor, running programs for children that foster a reverent and reciprocal relationship with the natural world.
Farm Assistant
Lindsey Hayes
Lindsey Hayes has lived in the higher Allegheny mountains of WV for the last 22 years. She moved here to work on stream restoration projects on the Monongahela NF, and has since fallen in love with these mountain ecosystems. She spends her time immersed in all things organic farming, enjoying constantly learning from the earth, growing fruits, vegetables, chickens and homeschooling her two girls. She has experience with local farmers markets, CSAs, and preparing and selling herbal remedies.
Administrative Assistant
& Bookkeeper
Rick Gatlin
Rick comes to AMI with over 30 years of accounting and business management experience. He worked with grants, capital budgets, and software implementation at UVA. He also put in many years of corporate accounting at the former Rocco, Inc. A graduate of JMU, Rick originally hails from Tidewater, Virginia, but has developed deep roots here in the Shenandoah Valley. When not trying to get on the golf course, his other passion is training, showing, and loving his herd of English Springer Spaniels.
Outreach Manager
Sarah Fitzgerald
Sarah manages Allegheny Mountain Institute's online presence, from updating the website to responding to social media inquiries. She has experience in administrative work, technology and social media presence, and a million other unrelated things. When she's not working, she enjoys reading a book while cuddling with her cat Clementine, spending time with friends and family, working on her own small garden, and attending live music with her husband, Cameron.
Board President
Kayla Maclachlan
Kayla MacLachlan is an AMI alumnus from upstate New York. After graduating from the Fellowship program in 2013, she lived on Allegheny Farm and worked as AMI's Program and Fellowship Director for several years. Since then, her passions for food, connection, and community have paved the way for her continued food-focused work in the education and hospitality industries. In addition to her role as Board President, Kayla works as the Hospitality Manager for an internationally-touring rock and roll band.
Vice President
Wendy Gray
Born and raised in Staunton, VA, Wendy spent a lot of her time in Highland County where her mother was born and her Grandfather taught in a one room schoolhouse. After attending VCU School of Arts in Richmond, she later returned to the mountains to raise her daughter. She is now working with Doniga Markegard from Kiss the Ground as part of a team hired to restore the land through soil remediation while growing medicinal herbs and mushrooms and developing products wild foraged from the land.
Secretary & Treasurer
Noah Goldstein
Noah Goldstein is a Doctor of Acupuncture, Coach, and Facilitator at Heartseed Health. He also founded Council of Fathers to support dads as they navigate parenthood. Noah is a devoted life-partner, father of three magical children, and an avid gardener, naturalist, and writer. He lives in Boulder, CO where he stewards a magical plot of land.​
Noah has returned to the AMI Board having previously been a member of the founding board, serving from 2014-2018.
Director
Bob Cantor
Bob has lived in the Washington-Baltimore area his entire life, where he is a committed organic gardener. He taught high school AP Psychology and History in the public school system, and worked for eight years as Social Studies chair at a small private school before retirement. This is Bob's second term as an AMI Board Director, having previously served in 2015, 2016, and 2017. He looks forward to reuniting with AMI and assisting them to achieve their goals.
Director
Anne Adams
Anne Adams is the owner and publisher of The Recorder, a weekly newspaper serving Allegheny, Bath, and Highland counties. She’s been a resident of Monterey since 1990. She currently serves as President of the Virginia Press Foundation; on the board of Dare to Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship Center; and the Little Swiss Fund Committee. She and her husband have six children, four of them launched, and two still at home attending Highland High School.
Founder
Laurie Berman
Laurie moved to Virginia in 1975, and took a leading role in environmental protection and community development as a Founding Board member of Highland County Arts Council and Allegheny Mountain School, and a Board member of Valley Conservation Council and Virginia Food Systems Council. She’s a naturalist, music maker, wild-crafter, and mother of three grown daughters who all share her love of gardening, stewardship, fresh cuisine, and the vision that if we nurture our land and our watershed, we can provide well for ourselves and our communities.