Peggy Sechrist

Peggy Sechrist, a student of holism and practitioner of Holistic Management for 25 years is also a Certified Educator in Holistic Management since 1992; and resides in the Hill Country of Texas near Fredericksburg with her husband, Richard.

Through application of Holistic Management, Peggy and Richard were the first ranchers in Texas to create a certified organic, grass-fed beef operation in 1995 adding production of pastured poultry in 1998. She has advocated for and served sustainable agriculture for many years in collaboration with numerous agricultural and wildlife agencies including Texas A&M University, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Dept of Agriculture, NRCS, served on the SSAWG Board of Directors (Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group), and the USDA/SARE Administrative Council.

Peggy continues to provide training and coaching in Holistic Management throughout Texas. Currently she is the Hill Country Advisor for the Soil for Water Initiative, a project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology focused on educating landowners about ways to increase the water holding capacity of their soils.

Kara Kroeger

Kara became a Certified Herbalist at the Rocky Mountain Center of Botanical Medicine in 1999, and a Certified Nutritionist through the American Health Sciences University in 2003. Kara also began training as a chef in 2009 and has had a private chef and catering business ever since. Kara continues to passionately study agriculture and food. She received a Bachelor of General Agriculture in May of 2018 from Texas State University, and currently works to spread knowledge about sustainable agriculture to local food producers through her work at NCAT.

Kathy Harris

Kathy Harris is Program Director and Professional Certified Educator for Holistic Management International, where she works with a global community of educators to help farmers and ranchers regenerate our lands, revitalize the economic integrity of their businesses and communities, and improve their personal well-being. She embraced Holistic Management principles in the late 1990’s to rapidly transition her young family from a hi-tech life in the suburbs to a more self-sufficient lifestyle on a small family farm. Her passion for health, nutrient dense food, and biodiversity led to raising dairy cows and goats; grass-fed and finished beef and lamb; chickens, ducks, and turkeys for eggs and meat; honeybees; nut and fruit trees and berries; and vegetables. Study of Holistic Management opened her eyes to the connections and relationships in nature and a fascination with soil, plant, animal and human biology and energy. Thus began her journey of 20 years of field experimentation with composting, compost extracts, Effective Microbes, paramagnetic rock/dust, and making soft and hard cheeses, sourdoughs, Lacto-ferments, and probiotic brews (Kombucha and kefir).

Colin Mitchell

Colin received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in Government with a minor in Geography and the Environment. He is a Texas Hill Country native hailing from Boerne, TX. Colin received formal sustainable agriculture training during his 9 month project management internship at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia and is a PRI certified permaculture designer. After completing his internship, Colin went on to work on and manage sustainable agriculture and development projects in Central Texas and in the western United States. His passions and interests include intensive livestock grazing, agroforestry, perennial polyculture food systems, soil health and conservation, agricultural methods of carbon sequestration, utilizing landscape earthworks to increase water availability, intensive annual crop production and more.

Mike Morris

Mike Morris’s work at NCAT focuses on demonstrating local and sustainable food, water, and energy alternatives, in collaboration with grassroots groups, state and federal agencies, communities, utilities, and university researchers. His current and recent projects have included “Beyond Fresh,” “Soil for Water,” “Is Organic Farming Risky?,” “Energy Training for Agriculture Professionals,” and the “Subtropical Organic Agriculture Research (SOAR) partnership.” Mike currently directs NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, and he previously led NCAT projects in Montana, California, and North Carolina. He earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh and has taught at many colleges and universities around the country.