Pam Hess
Executive Director
Pam has more than 20 years of experience in conservation and environmental education management, non-profit management, and strategic planning. She has a passion for the outdoors, which she attributes to spending most of her early days "outside running around exploring" and working on a farm in Pennsylvania. For 13 years, Pam was the Director of Youth Engagement and Education for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). Before joining AMC, Pam served as a refuge manager and outreach specialist for over a decade with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Most recently, Pam was Executive Director of Healthy Waltham. Pam holds a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont and a M.S. in Environmental Education from the University of Wisconsin.
Erik Baum
Farm & Forestry Manager
Erik was born and raised in Eastern Massachusetts, and has been farming since he was 16. He has worked at Lindentree, Land’s Sake, Heirloom Harvest, Mainstone Farm, and most recently left his own farming operation, Three Oak Farm, to join us once again at Land’s Sake as Farm Manager. He has experience in all aspects of farming including livestock, vegetable production, forestry, and maple sugaring. Erik has a self-admitted, “unhealthy” obsession with growing hot peppers and a soft spot for antique tractors. In his spare time Erik can be found fishing, reading, or canning hot sauce (made with all those hot peppers).
Hannah Degner
Garden Manager
Hannah was born in Houston, TX and moved to the East Coast to study English at Wellesley, graduating in 2015. While in college, Hannah heard a professor refer to the farm at Land’s Sake as the area’s local “pocket of sanity.” From her first visit, Land’s Sake became the place she went to get away from it all. After graduating, Hannah decided on a change of pace and applied for a job as assistant grower. She has been working full time as a farmer and forester at Land’s Sake ever since. As of fall 2019, Hannah has become a student again, this time of landscape architecture. Luckily, she’s staying close, and her new role managing the pick-your-own gardens at Land’s Sake will allow her to keep her hands in the dirt, part time. Personal interests include gathering free tote bags and avoiding over-caffeination. Hannah strives every day to be neither too hot, nor too cold.
Heather Hilton
Farmstand Manager
Heather is so excited to become a part of the Weston community through Land's Sake Farm as this season’s new Farmstand Manager. She is a Massachusetts native from the neighboring city of Waltham and has also spent time living in San Diego, CA and Austin, TX. Having experience in retail, illustration and floral design, she’s hoping to bring her creative flare and inspired love of the outdoors to the Farmstand. She has a growing interest in organic farming and looks forward to expanding her knowledge exponentially here at Land's Sake Farm. The Land’s Sake community has been so welcoming, and she is looking forward to continuing to meet everyone throughout the season!
Marga Hutcheson
Administrative Coordinator
Growing up in Weston, Marga enjoyed participating in GreenPower and walking in conservation land. She has a B.A. in Religion and Environmental Studies from Mount Holyoke College. Her first job after college was making concertinas at the Button Box in Sunderland, MA; she then went on to work at several non-profits, all with a gardening and community development bent. In 2015, she received a M.A. in Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy at Tufts University. She is happy to have recently moved back to Weston and loves her ten minute walking commute through the woods to the Land’s Sake office at the Melone House! On the weekends she enjoys running, knitting and sewing, as well as making bread, pickles, and yogurt.
Katie Metzger
Education Manager
Katie is descended from generations of midwestern farmers and has been fascinated with the natural world practically since birth. Her passion for the outdoors has driven many of her most defining life experiences, from studying wildlife ecology in Ecuador to teaching natural history for seven summers on Cape Cod to earning her master’s degree in Outdoor Education from the University of Edinburgh. She first became involved in the world of farming while teaching at a city farm in Scotland. After returning to the U.S. and working the 2016 season as a beginning farmer in Lincoln, Katie is so excited to combine all of her experiences into this one amazing job at Land’s Sake.
Katherine Pater
Education Coordinator
Katherine was born and raised in Wisconsin, but her interest in farming began long after she left the Dairy State. After graduating with a B.A. in Political Science and Religious Studies from the University of Wisconsin and an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School, she was called to serve with a small organization in rural El Salvador. Through her work to build relationships between Central American subsistence farmers and non-profit organizations in the United States, as well as amplify the stories and struggles of her Salvadoran friends and colleagues, she became aware of how her own nation’s broken food system was causing suffering for people elsewhere. She returned to the USA in 2016 and enrolled in the Learn to Farm program at The Farm School in Athol, MA, where she learned to drive tractors, plant kale, and rethink how to grow, prepare, and eat food. In her spare time, she enjoys reading science fiction, playing the guitar (poorly), and spending time with her dog, Gus.