FOUNDER + DIRECTOR

Jacob (he/him) has served as the Director of Jewish Life and Abundance Farm since 2013. Previously, he served as a rabbi and educator for a number of leading Jewish environmental organizations including the Teva Learning Alliance, Hazon, Adamah, the Jewish Farm School. A Wexner Graduate Fellow and former Rabbi and Assistant Director at Hillel at the University of Washington, Rabbi Jacob was ordained as a rabbi from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies where he also received a M.A. in Rabbinic Studies. He is also a graduate of Vassar College where he received a B.A. in environmental studies and religion.

FARM MANAGER

Nat (they/them) is the Farm Manager at Abundance Farm. They have grown food and taught students on a variety of community and educational farms both in the Connecticut River Valley and in Northern California. Having personally experienced the internally and externally transformative power of ecologically oriented agriculture, Nat is passionate about facilitating bountiful farm spaces where people of all ages can connect with farming, gardening, and the more-than-human world. When not at the farm, Nat can be found cooking, playing piano, and talking to trees and rocks.

COMMUNICATIONS & ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

Eliana Echols (They/She) serves as the Communications & Administrative Coordinator. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies with a specialized focus in Interpersonal, Spatial, and Crisis Communications. Eliana believes strongly in the power and importance of robust and vibrant community, and lifelong learning. Their professional background includes working with neurodiverse individuals (and is proudly neurodiverse herself) as well as working with wildlife, exotic and farm animals, and pets. Their hobbies include loitering, lollygagging, extreme porch sitting, and aimless wandering with an occasional dabble in transcendental awe.

FARM EDUCATOR

Avi Abraham (they/them) is the Farm Educator at Abundance Farm. They have worked at the intersection of Jewish community, farming, and outdoor education across the northeast, most recently at Eden Village Camp, Teva Day School Program, and The Ecology School. They delight in framing the immediate joy of hands-on experiential education with the ancestral Jewish teachings that have brought meaning to our lives for generations to facilitate moments of awe and discovery. In their free time, you can find Avi trying out a new seasonal recipe, dancing, or basking in the sun.

BAKER

BAKER

Sam (he/him) co-manages the Abundance Farm Bakery. Owner of Backyard Bread, Sam builds wood-fired ovens and teaches baking to people of all ages, toddlers through adults, with a special focus on Jewish Communities. He built his first oven as a teenager out of mud from the backyard and sold bread in the halls of his High School. Since then he has taught and built and baked throughout New England and the East Coast. He is at his happiest when there's kids running around the bakery and when building happens as a community.

DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Lindsay (she/they) is excited to talk to the CBI community about the future of the campus and what is important to ensuring the future. Lindsay has experience in development, grants, communications, and government. Lindsay has worked in Western Massachusetts for over 15 years, including in Development at Hampshire College, in the Mayor’s Office and Community Development at the City of Greenfield, as a Legislative Aide for a State Representative for the Second Berkshire District, and consulting for government, non-profits, and start-ups. Lindsay earned an MBA from UMass Amherst and a BA from Bryn Mawr College.

MAINTENENCE SUPERVISOR

Lennie McKemmie (he/him/his) serves as CBI's Maintenance Supervisor, overseeing our building and grounds with great care. He has a background in HVAC and can build just about anything. When he isn't at work, you might find him engrossed in his art, creating intricate woodburned illustrations of animals. 

A Full List of All Advisory Board Members Is Coming Soon

Elizabeth lives in Northampton with her spouse and three kids and is a palliative care social worker during the week. She has taught the pre-school age class of Alma for the past 3 years. Elizabeth worked at the Teva Learning Center doing Jewish environmental/experiential education for many years. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys making things with wool, running, spending time with family, and de-cluttering.

I moved to Northampton in 1983, but my deeply rooted Jewish journey blossomed with the birth of my beloved daughter, Madison z”l. My children opened my heart to the beauty and depth of Jewish community and tradition. I am a founding member of Beit Ahavah, our Reform Jewish community and my children grew up immersed in Jewish learning and values at Gan Keshet (with the guiding hands of Peggy Walker and Alison Morse), LGA, and what was formerly Alma.

My first connection to Abundance Farm came through my g-daughter, Molly Finch, whose early leadership in Shefa revealed to me the sacred potential of this place. Over the years,Abundance has become a spiritual home and sanctuary for me—a place of soulful prayer with Avodat Lev, sacred song with Andrew Hahn, and deep learning with the Torah Warriors. Abundance Farm holds my grief and my love. In Madison's Garden, her memory is alive—rooted in the soil, nurtured by this community. It was also here, on this holy ground, that I was betrothed in marriage. Abundance Farm is more than a farm; it is a living prayer a wellspring of solace, growth, and connection.

This rare and precious spiritual farm opens the gates of Jewish life to embrace and uplift diverse communities across the Valley. It is with profound honor and gratitude that I serve on the Abundance Council, working to steward its mission and vision, so it may continue to be a place of healing, belonging, and true abundance for all.