Ken is Associate Professor of Soil and Crop Science in the Department of Agricultural Sciences.  His research areas are regenerative agriculture, soil health, and entomology, and climate and water resources. He oversees several projects with graduate students; regenerative grazing, biological seed coating for enhanced germination in crops and grassland species, and social aspects of agriculture that create barriers and bridges to regenerative agriculture practices and achieving soil health metrics. He is PI for several USDA grants, all of them associated with SPI.  He is co-owner of SKM Homestead, a 50 acre mixed livestock, apiculture and produce farm.  He also had a 20 acre vegetable farm in central Indiana in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Angela McDermott is the Grant Director for Small Producers Initiative. She is a Grenadian American and has worked for non-profit farms for 10 years in San Antonio, TX and Atlanta, GA, including the San Antonio Food Bank and Global Growers Network. She is passionate about helping people to grow food for themselves, composting, food ways and sharing that history with her kiddo. 

Hunter serves as a Project Coordinator for SPI with experience facilitating a wide-range of professional development activities in organic and regenerative agriculture. He received his M.S. in Agriculture with a specialization in Soil Science from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he served as a lecturer and helped to establish and direct the Center for Sustainability in the College of Agriculture. Early in his career, he worked in the natural foods industry, and he has enjoyed a life-long passion for good food and the great outdoors.

With a background in development, event management, and creative marketing for nonprofits and small businesses, Loren helps lead SPI’s fundraising efforts and build strong relationships across the community. She brings people together through events, outreach, and storytelling, and her love of food, nature, and the environment fuels her work to support farmers, strengthen local food systems, and promote regenerative practices.

Kyle obtained an MS in Aquatic Resources from Texas State in 2022 where he focused on methylmercury accumulation in ducks and sharks. He has undergraduate experience in soil microbiology and ecology and brings with him extensive knowledge of technology coupled with a passion for environmental awareness and conservation. Kyle manages the Soil, Plant, Animal Health Research Continuum (SPAHRC) Laboratory.

Nosheen specializes in Crop Physiology and her research expertise spans Sustainable Agriculture, Crop Microbiology, Nanotechnology in Agriculture, Regenerative Agriculture, and IPM. Previously, she served as a Research Associate in a Pakistan Science Foundation-funded project, where she gained valuable experience bridging the gap between research and industry by supporting the commercialization of biofertilizers. She continues to explore groundbreaking research with SPI by empowering local farming communities to adopt regenerative agricultural practices.