Our Work

FARMpreneurs’ mission is to enhance the success, profitability, and resilience of small to medium-sized regenerative and organic farming businesses and to address the massive succession issues facing the US farming sector.  

We are like a world-class graduate business school for farmers. We facilitate weeklong, residential Strategic Sprints and other programs that deliver entrepreneurial executive education to farmers ready to build stronger businesses. We work with farmers who have 3-10 years experience of either owning land or being in a leadership role as a farm manager or director. We focus on supporting projects to bring next generation farmers onto viable land and projects that are ready to scale up, out or deep. Specifically, we aim to support projects grossing $200K+ that aspire to reach at least the $1M threshold, employ full-time staff, and grow food for humans in or on soil. We invite you to learn more about our work by reviewing the following impact reports. 

History: This program originated from Will Rosenzweig's 30 year career educating and developing social entrepreneurs and mission-driven enterprises. Will serves as the chairperson of Ideagarden Institute, the developer of the FARMpreneurs’ curriculum, and the faculty director for the FARMpreneurs program. The FARMpreneurs program originated as a collaboration with Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in 2019.

Will has served on the professional faculty of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business since 1999. He is the founder of the school’s Sustainable Food Initiative. He was also the founder and original Dean of the Food Business School at the Culinary Institute of America.

Dawnelise Rosen is the Executive Director of the FARMpreneurs program. Dawnelise is an intellectual and creative force with a gift for optimizing collective capacities for impact. Dawnelise was co-owner of both the Scopa and Campo Fina restaurant projects and co-founder of Corazon Healdsburg.  

FARMpreneurs is a project of Ideagarden Institute 501(c)3, learn more here.

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Areas of Responsibility

Program Design, Management, and Implementation (70%)

• Plan, manage and implement end-to-end course logistics to ensure seamless delivery of transformative learning experiences for farmers
• Budgeting and resource management: Develop, manage, and monitor program budgets, ensuring responsible allocation of resources and alignment with organizational goals; prior experience in budget creation and financial oversight preferred. Track expenses and proactively address variances with the Executive Director 
• Host site partnership management: Maintain healthy relationships with host site partners, and navigate pre-program details, including cohort production details and post-program gratitudes and follow up 
• Customize and execute contracts with partners, vendors, and course host sites, ensuring clear communication with all parties and alignment with program needs  
• Develop and maintain annual program calendars and timelines to ensure clear visibility of key milestones, deadlines, and deliverables
• Lead the farmer recruitment and application and selection process, including creating and organizing application materials, scheduling interviews, and communicating clear steps to our selection committee
• Track and evaluate program metrics and impacts; work with impact report consultant team to produce annual impact report and quarterly updates (to be shared with stakeholders)
• Develop internal processes to streamline program planning and increase internal capacity; preferably using tools such as Asana, Trello, or others
• Lead coordination meetings and communications with key course stakeholders to ensure all contributors are aligned, informed, and equipped for each course
• Organize and coordinate complex calendars for  presentation panels, guest speakers, and graduation guests for each program
• Create contracts and sub contracts with program faculty, vendors and host sites
• Organize program faculty scheduling and travel for Strategic Sprints

Farmer Engagement and Communication (20%)

• Work closely with farmer alumni to identify ongoing opportunities for learning and support; proactively connect them with relevant resources, services, and partnerships to help them thrive
• Coordinate consistent communication with farmer alumni to deepen network opportunities 
• Stewardship of the Mentorship program: Match and track alumni mentor relationships, report on alumni progress, including challenges and opportunities
• Alumni Faculty Guide principal contact: Create a framework for alumni faculty guides engagement and cohort connectivity 
• In specific regions, collaborate with the Executive Director on identifying and building partnerships for regional-specific programming 

Other (10%)

• Create online course extension offerings (deep dives into additive curriculum) for alumni 
• Support our Communication Consultant by sharing impact stories, photos, and videos from our courses that we can use on our digital media platforms
• Review and provide written feedback on important communication materials, including the impact report and newsletters (prepared by the Executive Director and Communications Consultant)
• Take initiative by identifying areas for improvement and designing solutions to constantly improve and continue building our programming
• In collaboration with Executive Director, attend select events or conferences and represent FARMpreneurs at these events

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Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of experience in project or program development and management, preferably for or with food system entities
• Strong project management capabilities and event planning skills, preferably in an early-stage organization or start up
• Exceptionally detail-oriented, with a commitment to accuracy and thoroughness in all aspects of program execution
• Entrepreneurial collaborator who is able to work dynamically with others and both gives and receives feedback well with excellent relationship-building and networking skills
• Experience managing complex stakeholder relationships
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to listen actively, communicate with empathy, and adapt to diverse situations in a hospitable and professional manner
• Very strong writing, editing and verbal communication skills  
• Ability to take big ideas and distill them into actionable items 
• Experience with various applications and project management tools, including Google Drive, Airtable, Canva, ChatGPT or other AI services, Notion, Asana
• Preferred: Experience working on a farm or with farmers 
• Preferred: Experience in the hospitality and or education industries
• Preferred: Conversational or fluent in Spanish 
• Preferred: Knowledge, studies or background in food systems 

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Measures of Success

At the end of 12 months, the Program Manager will have accomplished the following:

• Developed strong relationships and connections with our farmer alumni, board, and host site partners (as illustrated from feedback from aforementioned stakeholders)
• Developed a proposal for our 2027 Strategic Sprint expansion capacity and goals
• Proven themselves to be organized, resourceful, and proactive, with a sincere and genuine care for the farmers we serve
• Organized and delivered six successful Strategic Sprints that offered a meaningful and transformational experience for farmers. The Sprints were all run on time and on budget with full enrollment capacity, and all event logistics were managed and communicated well. Farmers left the Sprints with new skills, resources, and mindsets, and a strong confidence in FARMpreneurs’ ability to support their work and potential. 

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Role Information and Benefits

• Classification: Exempt, full-time (~40 hours per week)
  
  • This position will require flexibility to work evenings and weekends for special events and will require program support outside of normal business hours during our busy season of January through March.
• Compensation: $75,000-102,000 annual salary range 
• Location: Candidates must be based in and authorized to work in the United States. California residency is preferred to allow for regular in-person co-working with the Executive Director. Non-California residents must be willing to travel to California at least quarterly for in-person meetings.
• Travel: All required work travel will be reimbursed. This role involves approximately 10–12 weeks of travel annually. Significant travel is required between January and March to support Strategic Sprints, in addition to farm visits and 2–3 events or conferences per year.
• Benefits
  
  • 401(k) plan (we are exploring a possible employer match in 2026)
  • Health reimbursement arrangement 
  • Generous and self-managed Paid Time Off
  • Sick Leave
  • Public Holidays
  • Professional Development Opportunities (as discussed and approved with Executive Director)

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Location: Candidates must be based in and authorized to work in the United States. California residency is preferred to allow for regular in-person co-working with the Executive Director who resides north of San Francisco. Non-California residents must be willing to travel to California at least quarterly.

Required Travel: This role involves approximately 10–12 weeks of travel annually. Significant travel is required between January and March to produce six FARMpreneur Strategic Sprints, in addition to farm visits and 2–3 events or conferences per year.

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How to Apply

Complete the application form here.

• Note, applicants must create a free Airtable account to access the form. This link will take you directly to the form only once you have created an account. 
• Candidates selected for the final round of interviews will be asked to provide 1-2 references.
• Applications will be accepted until June 8, 2025 (10AM PST) with a goal start date of July 16, 2025. Interviews will take place between June 9, 2025 and July 2, 2025. 
• Please note applications without all requested materials will not be considered. 

Given the anticipated volume of applicants, we are unable to reply to individual inquiries, LinkedIn connections, or conversation requests during the application screening process. We are grateful for your interest in this role and look forward to reviewing applications.  

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Overview of the application process:

• Complete Application Form
• Screening interview (15-20 minutes)
• 1:1 interview with Executive Director of FARMpreneurs
• Short take home assignment
• Final, in-person interview in Healdsburg, California. Provide references.
  (Travel expenses covered as needed)
• You will be contacted between each stage if you are invited to move forward

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Candidates will be evaluated based on: 

• Relevant experience and expertise: Experience with event production, project or program design, management and development, partnership development, and direct experience working with farmers or across the food system. Experience developing and managing program budgets.
• Collaboration and coordination: Proven ability to work independently, manage timelines, and communicate effectively with team members, independent contractors, and stakeholders. Strong ability to convene different stakeholders and distill information efficiently and clearly.
• Communication and writing skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills particularly related to partnership agreements and translating event logistics into written materials.
• Value and mission alignment: Demonstrate a commitment to farmers and sustainable food system efforts; clearly has an ability to connect with and/or relate to farmers.
• Capacity to blend big picture thinking with a laser focus on immediate goals, timelines, and deliverables
• Technical proficiency: Familiarity with key tools and platforms
• Quality of assignment

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Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We welcome and encourage proposals from diverse backgrounds and are committed to creating an inclusive environment. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.