Nick Thompson
Nick learned to protect the native landscape of East Tennessee from a very young age. Born andraised in Knoxville, he comes from a long line of Appalachian land stewards who taught him theimportance of caring deeply about the land and its people. Take a walk with Nick and you’ll endup…
Erica Lisowe
Erica’s favorite pastime as a young child was creating a “garden” wherever she was, out ofwhatever materials she could find. Now she is in the business of creating gardens, and shecouldn’t be more thrilled. Originally from Raleigh, NC, Erica studied Biological Engineering at NC State University.Wanting a more hands-on experience,…
Femeika Elliott
Femeika started her health foods brand Meik Meals, in 2019 and continued to pivot in theentrepreneurial scene to address major health crisis within the black community such as mentalhealth, postpartum, medical and food apartheid becoming the founder of The Lotus ProgramExperience and the Rooted East Knoxville Collective. Femeika retired from…
Ben Conaway
Ben has worked as an athletic trainer in the Knoxville area since moving here in 2010. He is currently employed by Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic and has recently taken on the full-time role at South Doyle High School after previously serving in the same capacity at Fulton High School. In 2018,…
Chris Battle Bio
Chris Battle, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, is an alumnus of Morehouse College and holds Master’s degrees in Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and in Hebrew Bible from Cincinnati Bible College. He has served as pastor in several cities including Bowling Green, KY, Hackensack, NJ, Cincinnati, OH, and Knoxville,…
Caesar Stair III Bio
L. Caesar Stair III is one of the founders of the Knox County CommunityGardens and Growers’ Alliance. After retiring from practicing law, he became a Master Gardener in 2017.In 2020 and 2021 he served as President of the Knox County MasterGardeners and in 2022 and 2023 as Past-President. Inspired by…