Born on a nut farm in Louisiana, C.J. has lived in Nashville for nearly 20 years. In 2009 he began farming in Joelton as the experimental apparatus to his dissertation on the relationship between freedom and food, slavery and agriculture. At Ecotone Farm he raised organic eggs and poultry, pastured pork, and grass-fed beef and lamb, all Animal Welfare Approved and marketed farm-to-fork. From 2009-14, C.J. served on the Board of Directors for the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and later helped develop the strategic vision of the Agrarian Trust with the Schumacher Center for New Economics. Prior to coming to TNFP, C.J. served as the Executive Director of FORGE, a community development financial institution (CDFI) in Arkansas, where he helped underserved farmers and entrepreneurs access capital and technical assistance to start and run successful small businesses. Before that, C.J. served as the curriculum director for Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food - the first culinary school in the country based on a food systems approach - and helped found the Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative. An alumnus of Hendrix College, C.J. holds a master’s degree from Cambridge University and a doctorate from Vanderbilt University. In addition to taking care of his beloved herd of cattle, C.J. enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.