Alexis Campbell | Executive Director
Alexis Campbell grew up in Berks County, just outside of Reading, PA. Before leading the Horn Farm Center, Alexis served as the Associate Director and head of Communications for the Berks History Center. She also co-founded and served as the Operations Director of Permacultivate Inc. and Reading Roots Urban Farm. Alexis is a permaculture practitioner, educator, and longtime student of regenerative agriculture. She holds a B.A. in Letters, Arts, and Sciences from Pennsylvania State University where she explored human systems, politics, and ecology. She is trained in Commercial Urban Agriculture (2010) and holds certificates in Permaculture Design (2009) and Teaching Permaculture (2012).
With over 10 years of non-profit experience, Alexis is passionate about cultivating organizational systems that foster creativity, growth, and innovation. She believes that resilience begins with connection: to oneself, to others, and to the earth. Alexis is a Master Watershed Steward, a Master Well Owner Network Volunteer, Center for Progressive Leadership Fellow and a member of the Rotary Club of York, the Junior League of York, and the St. Xenia Philoptochos Society of Reading.
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Jonathan Darby | Farm & Agroforestry Manager
Jonathan Darby is dedicated to educating people about the intersection of farming and ecology, to growing tomorrow’s farmers, and to building community resilience in uncertain times. Jonathan is a wild foods enthusiast and educator, former owner and operator of Sterling Farm, and has been active in the local farming community for over fifteen years.
Jonathan has been involved at the Horn Farm since 2008 when he volunteered on the committee that conceived and created the Incubator Farm Project. Since then, Jonathan has served the organization in varying capacities for over 15 years, including as Farm Manager, Education Director, and even as a member of the Board of Directors. Today, Jonathan serves as Farm & Agroforestry Manager, leading Horn Farm Center’s demonstration projects and training programs. Jonathan received his Permaculture Design Certification in 2011 from Susquehanna Permaculture and in 2014 completed his Permaculture Teacher Training through Dynamic Ecological Design.
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Andrew Leahy | Education & Outreach Specialist
Growing up in a rural town called Sweet Valley, just south of Ricketts Glen, Andrew spent his life fostering a love for the PA wilds. He attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown and majored in English Literature and Music Composition, exploring regional ecology, slow food, composting, gardening, permaculture, foraging, and wildcrafting in the spaces between. After graduating college and moving to the Lower Susquehanna region, Andrew spent a year working with the Dickinson College Center for Civic Learning and Action. Soon after, he joined the staff at the Horn Farm Center, affirming his intention to make environmental stewardship a professional path and lifetime passion project. As Education & Outreach Specialist, Andrew is responsible for developing programs, coordinating volunteers, managing social media, crafting educational content, and supporting marketing and development projects.
Beyond his work with the Horn Farm, Andrew currently participates in the Lancaster Composting Co-Ops, volunteers as a land steward with the Lancaster Conservancy, and spends Saturdays selling produce at Green Circle Organics in Lancaster Central Market. In his free time, he can be found botanizing along local trails, camping, backpacking, gardening, biking, experimenting and fermenting in the kitchen, and enjoying his time as a student of the land.
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Tamara Shertzer | Production & Marketing Coordinator
Growing up and continuing to reside in Lancaster County, Tam began fostering her attunement to the natural world from a young age; A flourishing garden was always present at her childhood home, and both parents instilled in her a profound appreciation for the natural world. After traveling, volunteering abroad, and earning a Pastry Arts Certificate from the PA School of Culinary Arts, Tam got in touch with her roots, and got her hands back in the soil.
Beginning with a year-long internship in 2016, Tam has spent the past 8 years of her career at Lancaster Farmacy, an organic medicinal herb and flower farm located in Millersville, PA. Here, she discovered her love of sharing land-based skills, the healing properties of plants, and the importance of regenerative agriculture practices.
An ever-growing list of hobbies and passions keeps Tam anchored in striving for a lifestyle rooted in nature, connection, and resilience. In her free time, she enjoys exploring food preservation, gardening, foraging, camping, rock climbing, hunting/ fishing, road-tripping, reading, and above all, learning. Tam is grateful to have the opportunity of living and working in such close proximity to the mighty Susquehanna River, where she encounters an endless abundance of healing, adventure, and inspiration
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Avary Sassaman | Community Engagement Coordinator
A Pennsylvania native, Avary grew up in rural Adams County and has spent her adult life in the Blue Mountains outside of Harrisburg. After completing a B.S. in History and International Studies at Concordia University Irvine, she went on to pursue a M. A. in Communication from La Salle University in Philadelphia. Over the last 8 years, she has worked as an instructor in higher education, empowering students to find their voice as public speakers. In addition to her time at the college, she has worked in public media and other community based organizations, supporting local nonprofit initiatives through training and development.
Outside her role coordinating programming and events on the farm, Avary spends her time rehabilitating wildlife as a volunteer at West Shore Wildlife Center, helping to reduce feral cat populations through TNR with Steelton Community Cats, and voraciously reading in preparation for hosting her next book club. At the Horn Farm Center, Avary is responsible for coordinating programs and outreach projects.
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Lori Webster | Financial Assistant
Lori Webster grew up southern York County. After retiring from 29 years of service with Johnson Controls in their Customer Service Department, Lori spends her time exploring her passion for gardening, outdoors, traveling, and photography with her partner, three children, and dog, Joy.
At the Horn Farm Center, Lori applies her extensive background in accounting, billing, and customer service to support the Horn Farm Center’s financial administration.
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Sarah Womack | Seasonal Land Steward
Sarah grew up in Carlisle, PA. She earned a BA in Anthropology from the George Washington University, where her studies included the cultural impacts of public gardens and green-spaces, and culturally specific garden forms and practices.
She began her career on Capitol Hill in non-profit programming and communications, working for organizations advocating for public health and early childhood development and education at the national and state levels.
In the early 2010s she felt the call to begin a fine art practice, and quickly found her penultimate medium in ornamental gardening.
In 2021, pursuing a growing interest in permaculture, she spent an afternoon volunteering at Horn Farm to plant young trees. Reflecting on her time at the farm, she realized she was not living in alignment with her values. A short time later, she quit her job at the distribution center of a multi-trillion dollar company to begin her green industry career, with the ambition of designing, installing and maintaining ecologically beneficial ornamental gardens for a living. A permaculture novice, she is thrilled to have the chance to learn and grow at Horn Farm.
Sarah’s responsibilities at the Farm Center include mowing, trimming, weeding, watering and various other landscape maintenance tasks.