Our Board of Directors
Kathy Cain
Marsha Lindner
Andrew Ritch
Robert Edmiston
Our People
Robert G. Edmiston
Executive Director
One of Robert’s guiding tenets in life is stewardship—the responsible management of something that has been entrusted to one’s care. So it is only fitting that in 2013, at the insistence of Turner Farm, Inc.’s founder, the late Bonnie Mitsui, he stepped into the role of Executive Director. Robert continues Bonnie’s strong belief in the stewardship of the land, which extends to ourselves, our loved ones and our community. Robert is also a practicing attorney. A graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law, he began private practice in Cincinnati in 1981. In 2001, he established his own firm and is also Of Counsel with the firm Cors & Bassett.
Cathy Cordes
Adminstrative Assistant
After graduating from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, Cathy moved to Philadelphia with her husband and worked as veterinary technician in a busy small animal practice in Delaware. In 2006, she moved to Ohio to be closer to her husband’s family, and happily resides on the Cordes Compound.
She is currently the Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Civic Orchestra where she plays french horn, IT and Membership coordinator for the Wyoming School Music Association, and the fourth member of Zinzinnati Alphorns. Her daughters are also very active in sports, music, and other various activities which keeps her quite busy.
Mary Joseph
Director of Facilities
Born and raised on a family farm in eastern Ohio, Mary’s first career was as a licensed nurse. While taking time to raise her own children, she started keeping bees at home and eventually relocated her hives to Turner Farm. Then she joined our meat CSA, and before long, became a welcome fixture around the farm. In 2011, she officially joined the team to manage our summer camp program, and in 2016 transitioned to her current role, where she heads up all things at Turner Farm.
Daniel Losekamp
Livestock & Pastures Manager
While deployed to Iraq’s Anbar province as an Arabic linguist with the Marine Corps, Danny noticed the locals had no topsoil and no agriculture, and they were bombarded by dust storms. Upon returning to the states, he started growing food and interning at farms. Then after nine years in the Corps, he moved home to Ohio and began pasture raising animals on his own small-scale farm. Danny joined Turner Farm in 2015 and takes a regenerative and humane approach to managing our animals and pastures. He is a member of the American Solar Grazing Association.
Abby Lundrigan
Chief Operating Officer & Crop Production Manager
A Cincinnati native, Abby began her career in agriculture in Chicago after graduating from DePaul University. She worked on several urban agriculture projects in Chicago and an organic dairy in Santa Fe, New Mexico before arriving at Turner Farm as a garden crew intern in 2015. She was the farm's Crop Production Manager from 2016 to 2021. She then spent two years working for Real Organic Project, a grassroots effort to create an add-on certification for soil and pasture based organic farming and raise public awareness around organic integrity. She has also served a term on the governing board of the national Organic Farmers Association. Abby returned to Turner Farm as the Crop Production Manager and Chief Operating Officer in 2023.
*Picture above shows Abby (left) and Gabe Speffen, Assistant Crop Production Manager (right)
Alan O’Bryan
Event Coordinator - Meshewa House
Alan's background and passions are a perfect blend for us. He brings extensive hospitality experience from his tenure with The Cincinnati Country Club, Queen City Club and The University Club of Cincinnati. Alan is no stranger to farm life, having grown up in the rolling hills of Northern Kentucky, he has worked the tobacco fields, put up hay, grown gardens, raised cattle and sat in many a tractor seat. Alan's artistic background from the Art Academy of Cincinnati affords him a unique lens to share with our events and day to day business activities. He and Chris celebrate over 30 years of marriage and enjoy doting over their two adult daughters, Alex and Courtney. The sporting life that he cherishes and the land conservation that comes with it have given Alan an appreciation for the need to protect and share the beautiful resources that are Turner Farm.
Jill Gunter
Event Coordinator - Barn Studio/Teaching Kitchen
& Director of Marketing
Growing up in a small town in Indiana, Jill joined Turner Farm with over 20 years experience in event planning, marketing, sales and accounting.
Along with spending time with her 3 children, she enjoys horseback riding, volunteering as a Make-A-Wish Grantor, traveling, golf, running, bicycling and helping others. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, her true passion lies with creating memorable experiences for others through event planning which makes her a perfect fit for our Barn Studio & Teaching Kitchen event space!
She has a true love for the farm and enjoys utilizing all her skills to market the farm and also encourage healthy living.
Jon Sauer
Executive Chef & Culinary Manager
Chef Jon is a New York native that spent every summer and winter of his childhood on his grandmothers Poultry farm and homestead in a small town in central Sweden. His mother, and her mother, both avid gardeners and nature lovers, also helped fuel his passion for permaculture. This tied in with his love for cooking.
After working in a wide variety of restaurants he went for his Associates in Entrepreneurship at SUNY Rockland where he was named to “The National Society of Collegiate Scholars” upon graduation. His hunger for learning led him to the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park where he received not only his Associates in Culinary Arts, but his Bachelor’s Degree in Food Business Management with a concentration in American Food Studies and a minor in sustainable agriculture. He completed his last semester at the CIA campus in St. Helena, Ca where he also studied wines and worked on multiple organic vineyards and culinary gardens, as well as sous chef for multiple high-end restaurants. He loves connecting people in underserved areas with fresh local food they may not have direct access too, and has a long term goal of getting local farm fresh foods into school districts around the country.
Gretchen Weiher
Farm Market Manager
Gretchen was a collegiate track and cross country athlete, and her love of running led her to Atlanta after college to work at the famed running shoe store Phidippides. While there, she volunteered at an assisted living facility and saw firsthand how gardening enriches life. This prompted her to apprentice at the organic farm Serenbe before returning to her home state to intern at Turner Farm in 2011. Gretchen manages our on-site Farm Market and assists in crop production.
Rachel Hampton
Horse Program Manager
I started farming with my husband in 2014 on my family farm Hampton Ridge Farm in Glencoe Kentucky. Our focus was on direct marketing grass fed beef and pastured pork. We got turned onto heritage breeds and a big part of our mission was to work on breed conservation.
I was offered the opportunity to serve on the board for the Gloucestershire Old Spots of America which is an association serving GOS breeders across the country. I’ve volunteered with them for about 5 years now and am currently serving as the treasurer.
I graduated in May with a degree in Sustainable Agriculture with a minor in Draft Animal Power Systems from the Wendell Berry Farming Program of Sterling College. I’m very passionate about draft power, I think it’s a very underutilized resource even in sustainable or regenerative circles.
Dave Lemen
Grounds & Equipment Manager
In high school, Dave volunteered at a local farm as part of a community service requirement. Then, after attending college and working as a firefighter/EMT, he was drawn back to agriculture. In 2007 he joined Turner Farm as an assistant. Now, drawing on his many years of experience and knowledge, Dave maintains our 230-acre property and manages our workshop, including the upkeep of the tools and equipment used to farm our land by both draft horse and tractor.
Peter Huttinger
Community Gardens Manager
A vegetable gardener for over 35 years, Peter is also an experienced community organizer passionate about healthy food access. He coordinated the Civic Garden Center’s Community Garden Program from 2007 to 2014, and he previously worked as the Garden Manager of The Gardens at Village Green, and as a land overseer at Homeadow Song Farm. He is a graduate of Sunbridge College’s Administration & Community Development Program. Peter joined Turner Farm in 2014 to oversee the Turner Farm Community Garden Program with an emphasis on traditional organic farming techniques and regenerative agriculture practices.
Leevi Stump
Assistant Livestock & Pastures Manager
Leevi joined the livestock team at Turner Farm in the fall of 2023. As a native of central Ohio, Leevi discovered his passion in agriculture while attending Wilmington College. After learning about livestock production, he became curious about where his food came from and how an animal's existence can impact our health and the land around us.
Through his education and professional career Leevi has become extremely passionate about the role regenerative agriculture plays in the sustainability of our ecosystems, environment, and the well-being of future generations. Regenerative agriculture leads to healthy soil, capable of producing high quality, nutrient-dense food while simultaneously improving, rather than degrading, the land.
Leevi is a member of the Ohio Cattlemen's association, Ohio Farm Bureau, and Young Farmers Accelerated Program through Farm Foundation.
Melinda O’Briant
Adult Education Director
After growing up on a farm, Melinda earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in education from Indiana State University. She worked in flower shops and greenhouses from Indiana to Denver to North Carolina, and was a tenured associate floriculture professor at Vincennes University, before joining Turner Farm in 1996.
Melinda managed our crop production until 2014 and continues to bring a lifetime of practical growing experience to our classes, in addition to handling our flower production and Flower CSA.