MANAGEMENT TEAM

Nona Yehia

Co-Founder & CEO

An architect and entrepreneur, Nona conceptualized and built Vertical Harvest, the first vertical hydropondic greenhouse in the world. Following her passion for local food and experiences growing up with a brother with developmental disabilities, Nona coached Vertical Harvest to success and continues to lead the company in bringing architectural, economic, and social innovation to communities nationwide. In 2020, Nona was chosen as a CNN Champion for Change. This award profiles 10 innovators leading the charge to a better world with new ideas and groundbreaking solutions.

Caroline Croft Estay

Co-Founder & Director of Diversity and Inclusion

Combining her expertise in behavioral health and experience in training and case management, Caroline crafted and implemented the innovative “Grow Well” employee model at Vertical Harvest. She continues to develop new approaches and modalities based on employee feedback. For her, it is a mission to bring meaningful employment to underserved populations and educate communities on how good jobs help differently abled individuals to thrive.

Arik Griffin

CFO

Bringing an MBA and a deep belief in vertical farming’s potential to revolutionize agriculture, Arik joined the Vertical Harvest pre-launch board in 2009. After witnessing the impact of the company’s social mission and the tremendous community support behind it, he joined the team full time in 2016 to develop and implement Vertical Harvest’s financial and operations systems.

Korin Matter

Director of Project and Team Development

With a background in Human Resources and start-up development, Korin helped grow a hotel company from 4 to 25 hotels in 5 years, overseeing employees in remote locations and developing universal work standards that were easily replicated company-wide. She’s brought the same organizational energy and expertise to the Vertical Harvest team.

Taylor Eckerson

Project and Executive Coordinator

Taylor has been with Vertical Harvest since the doors first 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.

Kyle Burson

Administrative Associate

Kyle combines his keen business sense (honed from a BA in business and administration) and his cool persona (earned as a DJ at a local radio station) in his role at Vertical Harvest. He not only handles various administrative, accounting, marketing and tour guide duties, he also ably heads our annual Haunted Greenhouse event during Halloween.

Lyndsay Rowan

Director of Communications & Community Engagement

As an artist and former owner of an award-winning contemporary art gallery, Lyndsay’s creativity and outreach skills are unparalleled. As a Princeton grad and former not-profit Executive Director, she understands first-hand the power community connection. These skills serve her well as she leads Vertical Harvest’s marketing, e-commerce, and direct-to-consumer programs.

Kyra Vail Foley

Marketing & Sales Associate

Kyra is the go-to professional for everything from handling outbound sales and inbound produce orders, to designing and managing digital marketing campaigns. With a BA in business administration and a background in graphic design, she oversees our social media channels, writes and develops our email newsletters, and is the creative voice behind much of our marketing material.