Changemaker of the Month: Sawyer Lucas-Griffin.

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Sawyer works as Job Support for Farm Associate Ty Warner. She helps him evolve his skills and master more and more complex farming tasks. Sawyer is dedicated and innovative in her work to help Ty become independent in all aspects of his job, says coworker Robin Van Houten.

“She constantly develops new tools and solutions, and re-evaluates old ones so that Ty is best supported in his growth,” he says. “Sawyer exercises patience and caring, while pushing Ty to improve.” 

She really exemplifies everything good about this company, say Ty’s parents, Bill & Kathy Warner. “Sawyer has been a welcome presence in Ty’s Vertical Harvest life. She brings stability, positivity and reliability to Ty and the Warner family, says Bill.

“Sawyer has been very creative in safely navigated the Covid work crisis with Ty and been flexible with both Vertical Harvest’s and Ty’s needs.”

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Changemaker of the Month: Robin Van Houten

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TheMitchellPhotoCollection VerticalHarvest 238Robin joined the Vertical Harvest team in August 2018.⁠ He started as an integrated pest management associate on the tomato floor and has worked his way up to tomato crop manager and assistant production manager.

Robin embodies compassion, fun and curiosity and is a core part of Vertical Harvest’s inclusive culture, says Caroline Croft Estay, Co-founder and Director of Diversity and Inclusion. “He is the first one to show us his dance moves at our monthly team ‘Dance Off’ and has created an environment of empowerment through professionalism with his team on the tomato floor.”

Says coworker Ava Reynolds — “Robin is my role model for inclusivity. He makes everyone he interacts with feel genuinely valued and heard, and constantly brightens the spirit of the greenhouse with his kindness and occasional dad jokes!” ⁠

Robin loves his role at Vertical Harvest and appreciates the growth opportunities ingrained in the farm’s staff culture. “The Grow Well Model is an amazing program that often shows people they’re capable of much more than they expected. In my everyday life, the Grow Well Model inspires me to celebrate my own abilities and to push myself to strive for goals with the support of my community here at VH,”⁠ he says.

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Changemaker of the Month: Thibaud Sanchez

Thibaud Sanchez

Thibaud Sanchez

Thibaud started at Vertical Harvest three years ago as a Farm Associate in the Microgreens department. When Covid hit, he moved into a remote role as our diversity and inclusion associate, helping to facilitate trainings on workplace equity.

In this new role, Thibaud has been a champion of fairness, safety, and trying new things. He is conscious of the needs of others and strives to help all of us uncover our potential. Thibaud’s flexibility and willingness to meet any challenge is a model to us all, says a co-worker. “He is patient and kind with everyone and always keeps his enthusiasm high.”

As long as I’ve known Thibaud he has never had a negative thing to say, says Vertical Harvest co founder Caroline Croft Estay. “Thibaud is a true team player in every sense. He is patient and kind with all of his coworkers and he keeps enthusiasm high in whatever role or hurdle he is tasked with. He fights for the rights of others and the safety of the disabled community.”

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Changemaker of the Month: Taylor Eckerson

Taylor Eckerson

Taylor Eckerson

Taylor joined Vertical Harvest right when the greenhouse doors opened in 2016. She’s worked her way from volunteer, to greenhouse job support, to her current vital role juggling special projects for administration, finance, operations, and payroll. Taylor is a constant source of positive energy, a great sounding board for any idea, and knows the answer to pretty much every question.

As coworker Chris Hogberg puts it, “Taylor is the glue that helps the crew push on through!” Taylor knows what we all need before we do. We’re not sure how she does it but she knows our schedules, our next questions, and helps all of us and the company get to the next level.

“Taylor is DEDICATED,” says Co-Founder Caroline Croft Estay (adding the all caps for emphasis). “She lives the Vertical Harvest mission, she supports and empowers all of the Vertical Harvest team and creates an impact that is consistent and profound. I am grateful to have her on our team.”

She even has a Vertical Harvest logo tattoo. Now that’s dedication!

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Changemaker of the Month: Tim Mclaurin

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Screen Shot 2020 08 09 at 10.29.50 AM 1Tim joined the greenhouse crew the day we opened our doors in 2016. He’s played an integral part in building our culture and sharing Vertical Harvest pride with the world. He is an advocate for people with disabilities and very open about his story and how he finds his center through music, friends, family and dancing. Tim will pop up where least expected, getting involved in every project and program he can. He even appeared in a promotional video for the National Downs Syndrome Society. The ad, showing an all Downs Syndrome restaurant crew serving a gourmet meal to lawmakers, urges changes to the law that limits work hours for employees with this disability. View the ad here. 

During the pandemic, Tim turned a negative into a positive. Over the past seven months he’s spent several hours a week dancing in public (safe and masked up) to bring joy to the community. You can still find him boogying down all over town on mild winter days.

“Tim loves connecting with people and is one of the most friendly and personable people I have ever met,” says job support coworker Peter Estay. “Each day with Tim is a guaranteed adventure!”  As facility and delivery associates Tim and Peter deliver fresh produce to local restaurants and grocery stores every Tuesday. “All of our customers simply love Tim and his enthusiasm.” For his part, Tim loves his job, the people in his community, and and his Vertical Harvest family.

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