October 12, 2017

Dear Members of the Waltham Fields Community,

We are excited to announce the selection of Dr. Lelia Elliston to serve as Waltham Fields Community Farm's Executive Director starting on November 1.

The Board of Directors voted for Lelia's appointment, following an extensive search process led by its Executive Committee. Lelia will succeed Shannon Taylor, who led Waltham Fields for two years of growth and prosperity.

Everyone who met Lelia during our search process was struck by her collaborative nature, strategic expertise, charisma, and passion for fostering environments in which staff, volunteers, and members can thrive. What comes through right away is her terrific energy and the sense of joy she instills into the enterprise of growing food and educating people. Moreover, she is able to merge that compassionate human touch with a data-driven, strategic leadership philosophy--a combination that has made an outstanding impact on every organization with which she has been involved during her career.

Lelia served for five years as a Trustee and as Executive Director of Land's Sake in Weston, MA. Land's Sake is a farm similar in many ways to Waltham Fields, with its CSA, education, and hunger relief programs. At Land's Sake, Lelia directed farming operations, internships, forestry, public workshops, and educational programs. After Land's Sake, Lelia worked at The Cambridge School of Weston as Director of Alumni Relations and Prospect Research. There, Lelia developed strategies and software systems for increasing constituent giving.

Lelia earned an Associate degree in Horticulture at MassBay Community College. She continued her studies in the sciences, earning a Bachelor's degree in Biology at UMass Boston, then entering the Masters Program in Environmental Biology. She matriculated into the Doctorate program in Conservation Biology, also at UMass Boston, earning a PhD in Environmental Biology in 2006. Lelia also holds Massachusetts Certifications in the areas of science education (grades 6-9), conservation, and timber harvesting.

"I am honored and humbled to be named the next Executive Director of Waltham Fields," says Lelia. "Community farming and education was - and is - my life, my passion and my love. So much so that I have started a small community farm for hobby farmers on my own property in Weston. I take the responsibility of leading this vibrant and caring community extremely seriously, as we work together to build the food systems that our world so desperately needs."

Please join us in welcoming Lelia to Waltham Fields. Our community will have much to celebrate in the years ahead, as we salute both Shannon's accomplishments at the farm and the start of a wonderful partnership with Lelia.