Lia Bevins, Director

Lia started with Beardsley in 2023 as the Farm Manager and recently stepped into the Director role with the farm. She was first introduced to gardening by her grandmother in Southwest, VA, where she grew to appreciate nature, hiking through the Blue Ridge Mountains, picking buckets of raspberries every summer, and starting a garden of her own. After 5 years of farming, she is excited to step into this new role and continue the great work established at Beardsley Farm. Lia is most excited to expand the farm’s reach into the local community and help others gain access to fresh, locally grown produce right here in Knoxville, TN.

OUR TEAM

Megan Rockefeller, Education & Outreach Manager

Megan Rockefeller has been at Beardsley Farm since August 2025 starting as an AmeriCorps member. An East Tennessee native, she loves the connection and place-making that Beardsley brings to anyone that interacts with the farm. Her passions include creating welcoming spaces, sharing generational knowledge and child-like wonder of the world, connecting folks to resources, growing things, cats, dinosaurs, and all manner of fiber arts.

ANDREW JENSEN, Farm & Community Gardens Manager

Andrew Jensen is the Farm and Community Gardens Manager at CAC Beardsley Community Farm. Originally from Dandridge, Tennessee, he earned his B.S. in Plant & Soil Science from Middle Tennessee State University in 2019. Andrew is an AmeriCorps alum, having served at Beardsley in 2025, and brings five years of experience as a grower in the commercial wholesale nursery industry. Passionate about his Knoxville community, Andrew is dedicated to making fresh, healthy food more accessible and creating opportunities for people to learn and share knowledge about urban agriculture.

Farm & Community Gardens Coordinator

We’re hiring!!

Under the general supervision of the Farm and Community Gardens Manager, the Farm and Community Gardens Coordinator supports the daily operations of CAC Beardsley Community Farm and its off-site community gardens. This role is responsible for maintaining growing spaces, managing volunteers and interns, coordinating seedling propagation and distribution, and supporting community gardeners through education and resource sharing.

Barbara Price, Farm & Produce Specialist

Barbara Casasbuenas Price is originally from Bogotá, Colombia. She has previously worked with Community Schools, Knox County Schools, and Centro Hispano. Barbara started her journey as an AmeriCorps member at Beardsley and currently serves as the Farm and Produce Specialist. She is a certified Master Gardener, enjoys amateur baking, and loves creating various crafts and learning new ones. Barbara loves to travel and go on adventures in her small Honda Fit with her husband and three kids.

SAM KIMBRO, Education Specialist

Born and raised in Knoxville, Sam joins the Beardsley team from the nonprofit world, having spent the last decade serving organizations including East Tennessee Foundation, Alliance for Better Nonprofits, United Way of Greater Knoxville, and most recently, the Knoxville Family Justice Center. A lifelong learner at heart, Sam is a self-described “garden hobbit” who loves growing, harvesting, cooking, and baking with food from her own garden alongside her gardener-musician husband. She is passionate about using her garden to nourish and care for her friends, family, and neighbors and is excited to share that joy and connection as part of the Beardsley education team. When she’s not on the farm (or in the garden), you can find her practicing beginner guitar and very beginner Spanish.