Meet Our Team
Will Harris
Founder
Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great grandfather settled in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia's School of Agriculture, where he was trained in the industrial farming methods that had taken hold after World War II. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics. They also fed their herd a high carbohydrate diet of corn and soy.
These tools did a fantastic job of taking the cost out of the system, but in the mid-1990s Will became disenchanted with the excesses of these industrialized methods. They had created a monoculture for their cattle, and, as Will says, "nature abhors a monoculture." In 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great grandfather had used 130 years before.
Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grass-fed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration.
Will lives in his family home on the property with his wife Yvonne. He is the proud father of three daughters, Jessi, Jenni, and Jodi. His favorite place in the world to be is out in pastures with his herds, where he likes to have a big coffee at sunrise and a 750ml glass of wine at sunset.
Dale Caldwell
Executive Director
Dale brings over fifteen years of experience working with federal, state, and local government agencies, non-profit organizations, and higher education institutions. He specializes in environmental education, advocacy, and enforcement of the federal Clean Water Act.
Before joining CFAR, Dale served as a Regional Director for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper while teaching Environmental Studies at the University of North Georgia. His earlier roles included managing coastal watershed programs, overseeing regulatory compliance, and contributing to policy development with Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources; leading longleaf-pine ecosystem restoration efforts with Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and implementing agricultural best management practices with Georgia’s Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
Dale holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from the University of Georgia. Outside of his professional work, he enjoys exploring the great outdoors with his girlfriend, Michelle, and participating in high-performance driving.
Lydon Olivares
Education Coordinator
Lydon Olivares is originally from Kernville, located in Kern County, California. Livestock production, the food system, and the environment have been significant to Lydon since his youth, as he attended an environmental magnet school as a child and was an active member of 4-H for a decade and both FFA and FCCLA throughout high school. Lydon bred, raised, and showed beef cattle, dairy goats, market sheep, poultry rabbits, and cavies. He feels strongly that having a close connection to the food you nourish your body with is vital to having a good life.
For college, he found himself in Providence, Rhode Island, earning a B.S. in Sustainable Food Systems with a focus in Environmental Sustainability at Johnson & Wales University. During his senior year, Lydon participated in the Farm and Animal Production Internship at White Oak Pastures, where his passion for regenerative agriculture grew fiercely.
After graduating, he moved to Bluffton, Georgia, where he now works as the Education Coordinator for the Center for Agricultural Resilience and White Oak Pastures. Lydon feels grateful to work and live in a community of like-minded individuals who strive to improve how we produce food, consume food, and care for the ecosystems around us.
Board of Directors
Taylor Gosman, Chair
Leeward Renewable Energy
Taylor has been fortunate enough to have an eclectic career spanning Finance, Tech, Renewables, and Regenerative Agriculture. After spending almost two decades in renewable energy, Taylor is passionate about bringing awareness and a return to regional-based food systems utilizing regenerative management, stacking benefits to local communities. Taylor has always believed that FaceToFace is the new FaceBook (has the web presence to prove it), and that the culture of convenience is killing us and our planet. Taylor is driven in both his professional and personal pursuits by a belief that returning to a regional-based regenerative management of our ecosystems and lifestyles provides the greatest opportunity to reverse the impact we've collectively inflicted on this planet.
Jose Perez
Oak Avenue Holdings
Jose is an investment professional at Oak Avenue Holdings, a family-backed investment vehicle. Prior to joining Oak Avenue, he was the Chief Financial Officer at Naveos, a healthcare data analytics company. Before that, he was an investment banker at Barclays Capital where he worked on Latin American Mergers and Acquisitions. Jose received a BSc in Finance from Boston College and his MBA from Harvard.
Jenni Harris
White Oak Pastures
Jenni Harris, Will's middle daughter, is a member of the fifth generation of the Harris family to tend cattle at White Oak Pastures. After living on the farm her entire life, Jenni went to Valdosta State University and earned a degree in Business Marketing, graduating in 2009. She remained intimately involved in the family business throughout her studies.
After graduating, Jenni set out to learn the industry. She moved to Atlanta where she interned at Buckhead Beef, a SYSCO company. She put in time in every department, from shipping and receiving to the cut shop, and was later hired to work as a sales associate.
In June of 2010, Jenni returned home to Early County to work for White Oak Pastures full time. As the Director of Marketing, Jenni spends her time focusing on the balance of ecommerce growth and wholesale relationships. Jenni is the proud mother of Jack & Lottie Harris and wife of Director of Specialty Products, Amber Harris.
Cole Allen
Grass Fed Valley
Cole is an experienced generalist working and studying across the fields of finance, business development/strategy, real estate, health and nutrition, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and, most recently, agriculture. He currently works as business Development/Strategy manager at a Fortune 500 real estate company, while separately, but simultaneously traveling across the U.S. meeting with agriculture providers, suppliers, and experts who primarily focus on regenerative practices. Prior to his current role, Cole worked at a middle market investment bank as an equity research associate. He graduated from the University of Virginia with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, is a current CFA charterholder and is studying to be a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
Harvey Scott
Redmond Life
Harvey Scott is an entrepreneurial business executive with experience in Corporate Development and M & A. Mr. Scott spent seven years with Rolls-Royce, Plc., and finished his time there as Vice President of M&A & Corporate Ventures. He has lived and worked all over the world. Mr. Scott currently serves as Chief Development Officer at Redmond, Inc.Mr. Scott also has also served in the public sector. He worked with the British Foreign Office and UK Trade and Investment on a trade and development assignment at the British Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. He spent two years at the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development as Director of International Trade & Diplomacy. Mr. Scott graduated from Cornell University with two masters degrees, a MBA and a MPA focused on International Economics. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Southern Virginia University with a minor in Mandarin Chinese. He is married and has five children and lives in Genola, UT.
Julia Johnson
Compassion in World Farming
Julia Johnson works with major U.S. food businesses, supports strategy development, and manages the production of food business assets, all with the central objective of driving improvements in farm animal welfare and environmental sustainability in our food system. She is particularly interested in regenerative agriculture, transitional farming, and ensuring biodiversity in our ecosystems. She holds a Master of Science in Anthrozoology from Canisius College, a Master of Divinity from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.
Outside of her work with Compassion in World Farming, she is an equestrian at heart and lives in Michigan with her family and paint horse.