TESSA's Bio

Tessa, raised in rural Arkansas and now a junior in the Sustainable Plant Systems program at the University of Arizona, has always been passionate and curious about plants. Her interest started as a kid, foraging with her grandpa and picking the wild onions, sumac, and persimmons that grew around the 100 acres of monoculture crops in her backyard. In high school, she was active in the Future Farmers of America, competing in Horticulture, and always kept her plant identification book on hand, in case she saw something really cool to identify. Since then, she has gained a wealth of experience in the agriculture industry, working at a plant nursery, an organic grocery store, and on farms in the Southwest and Connecticut (and in Arkansas if you count riding in a tractor with her grandpa).

 

Tessa envisions a future where everyone has access to beautiful local produce, where farmers and the climate thrive, and she is dedicated to helping build that future.