People

The Farm At Sunnyside Team

Nick & Gardiner Lapham. Nick and Gardiner purchased Sunnyside with other members of their family in 2006. They provide overall vision and direction and assist with marketing, financial management and operations. Gardiner has a public health background. Nick’s experience is in environmental policy. He is currently board chair of the Krebser Fund for Rappahannock County Conservation.

Michael Clune. Michael comes to The Farm At Sunnyside having previously run Sanctuary Farm (his own vegetable farm in South Carolina) and served as marketing manager for Blue Ridge Dairy, a local cheese and yogurt producer. As Director of Farm Operations, Michael oversees the production, marketing and administrative aspects of the business. He serves on the board of the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection.

Emily Cook. Emily started in February 2008 having completed a masters program in horticulture at Penn State. Previously, she managed Spring Hill Farm in Hopewell, NJ and worked for five years at New Morning Farm in Hustontown, PA. Emily is responsible for  all vegetable production. She runs the on-farm shareholder program and regularly staffs our market stands. Emily is a Certified Organic Farm Inspector.

Nivardo Loya. Nivardo has been at Sunnyside for nine years, having worked for the farm’s previous owners. He is responsible for The Farm At Sunnyside’s eight hoophouses, which produce a significant percentage of our vegetables, herbs and flowers. Additionally, he assists with all aspects of field production, including transplanting, weed management and harvest.

Alfredo Yanez. Alfredo has been at Sunnyside for more than ten years, also having worked for the previous farm owners. He is responsible for The Farm At Sunnyside’s orchard and bramble production, including the management of multiple varieties of apples, Asian pears, blackberries and cherries. Alfredo is also in charge of tractor and vehicle maintenance.




Seasonal workers. Beyond those mentioned above, The Farm At Sunnyside benefits greatly from the work of dedicated interns.  These individuals help with virtually every farm task, from seeding to selling, and bring a diversity of backgrounds and experience that enrich our farm community.

Volunteers. The Farm At Sunnyside owes a great debt to several people who selflessly give their time to help make the farm a success — in particular, Whit Wheeler for his assistance in developing our business systems, Chas Offutt for designing and maintaining our website, Nora Fletcher for creating our logo, Eddie Fletcher for providing wisdom and expertise in maintaining our infrastructure and Burks Lapham for aiding us in thinking through what it means to be sustainable.

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