In 2003, I joined the Air Force. The Air Force broadened my horizons by allowing me to travel and talk with people from all walks of life. When I separated from the Air Force in 2013, my job did not transfer to the civilian world. I was fortunate to be able to look for a new career that was more than a career, but something that also fed my soul. In 2017 , I went to Costa Rica for a permaculture course at Finca Terra. There, I learned a whole new relationship with being a steward of the land, creating a symbiotic relationship between man and the land. When I came back to America, I participated in the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and traveled working on various types of organic farms. In 2018, I stumbled upon a book called Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shepard, which took my understanding of the possibilities of caring for the land to a different level. RestorationAgriculture is a book that lays out the principles of agroforestry integrated with key line designs with the primary focus being to control the water on the property. In traditional farming, we are taught to get the water off the property as quickly and efficiently as possible, but with keyline design it slows the water down, allowing you to direct your water and soak it into the ground to replenish groundwater and fill your ponds that are integrated into the system. I believe this is such an important step especially as we see longer and harsher droughts across the world. By installing a keyline system to work with the land, we’re making the land drought-proof.

Since reading Mark Shepard’s book, I went to a water workshop he was hosting in Ohio and was able to make a connection with him. He has become my mentor and I have worked with him on several projects. In 2020, I lived in North Carolina and became the land manager of 100 acres that was to be placed into a Mark Shepard system. That 100 acres quickly grew to nearly 300 acres, but in 2022, I moved to Oklahoma, separating from that position to work with the C-Corp. The C-Corp is a corporation that helps to fund carbon projects such as wetland mitigation banks, agroforestry projects, oil well capping, and many more to come.

I founded Keystone Conservation Group to assist restoration projects to come to fruition. From wetland mitigation banks to restoration agriculture, we are here to facilitate restoration projects for a better tomorrow.