About Think Regeneration

Ryan Erisman grew up on an innovative Illinois organic farm and left after college to for the challenge and adventure of the Marine Corps. In 2007, a decade into what was supposed to be a four-year plan, Ryan deployed to Iraq for a second time to lead 170 Marines in combat and counterinsurgency between Fallujah and Ramadi, Iraq. Ryan’s Marines engaged their minds before their weapons and treated Iraqis with respect and dignity, forging relationships with villagers -including former low-level insurgents- driving out Al Qaeda together. After the Marine Corps, Ryan came back to farming and founded Odyssey Farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin where he raises acorn-finished pastured pork, grass-fed beef, and small grains using regenerative practices. While farming and working for a state agency, Ryan earned a Masters degree from Edgewood College in Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership.

 Leigh Fonseca brings over 15 years of experience as a product and analytics leader leveraging data to help businesses understand their customers. She recently embarked on a new chapter focused on regeneration when she and her husband purchased their forever home and sanctuary on 6 acres in northwest Washington. In 2022, Leigh launched Love & Greens, a microfarm growing sustainable produce, flowers, and reviving heritage fruits and berries leading with soil health and following organic principles. This complements her husband's counseling and end-of-life planning services through Drake Living & Dying Design. Together, they are cultivating a healing space on their property to give back through community and regenerative practices. Passionate about sustainability, data-driven innovation, and fostering human connections, Leigh joined the Think Regeneration board to advance their mission of promoting regenerative systems, resilience, and human thriving in harmony with nature. 

  Jenni Harris is the fifth generation of Harrises working and farming the land her family has owned in Bluffton, Georgia, since 1866. Like her father, Will Harris III, Jenni was born and raised in Bluffton. She spent her early years as her father’s shadow, attending 4-H conferences to sell cattle, riding horses, and being strapped to the front of her dad’s four-wheeler. When she was nine years old, her father dramatically changed the family’s agriculture practices, moving from the standard practices of “big ag” to more responsible and sustainable methods of raising cattle. She returned to Bluffton in 2010 and began working as the marketing manager for White Oak Pastures. She shares an office with her father, where their desks sit side by side. The farm employs eighty-five people and has its own cafeteria to feed visitors and employees. Along with cattle, there are chickens, turkeys, ducks, sheep, goats, lamb, pigs, rabbits, and an organic vegetable garden. Jenni lives in the house where her father was raised.

  Abbey Kingdon is a regenerative leader and facilitator with more than twenty years in Holistic Management, including a decade at the Savory Institute—rising from Global Network Coordinator to Global Network Director—where she grew a global network of 60+ Hubs and 300+ Accredited Professionals. She is co-founder and Co-Director of UVE, a regenerative agriculture organization serving 57 land bases across six western states, 232,000+ monitored acres, and partnerships with Tribal Nations throughout the region. She holds an M.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a B.S. from Cal Poly, and is a Savory Accredited Professional in Holistic Management. A mother, former foster parent, and lifelong advocate for rural and Indigenous communities, she believes the health of the land and the health of the people who steward it are one and the same.

 Matt Woodson is a long-time avid amateur gardener living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since 2009, Mr. Woodson has worked as a surgical nurse, and after working with countless patients and removing/amputating numerous gallbladders, appendixes and diabetic limbs, he has turned his focus towards addressing the root problem of metabolic disorders. As the founder of Front Yard Farms, he is using his connections in his community to help reconnect neighbors to healthy food by learning how to grow vegetables and fruits in a simple, effective way. The goal of Front Yard Farms is to provide as many people as possible the sacred experience of cultivating food. “I've determined that the root problem can be best avoided and fixed with roots,” he says.