By Jessica Leigh Hester
on October 29, 2015
She changed her path from policy to planting.
Meredith Heuer
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Susan Paykin was working as an environmental policy wonk when it hit her: She wasn’t just interested in issues related to the earth; she wanted to plunge her hands in the stuff. Three years and three agricultural internships later, Paykin manages the nonprofit Common Ground Farm in Beacon, New York.
“We donate or sell, at a very reduced cost, produce to people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it,” says the petite 26-year-old.
“My two full-time apprentices are also young women who aren’t very tall. People tend to be surprised that it’s just us on the farm,” adds Paykin with a grin. “It’s fun to be defying a few stereotypes.”
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