Dee is a lifelong entrepreneur whose ventures have ranged from automotive and construction businesses to software and land development. After selling a high-tech consultancy, he founded the 825-acre Sunrise Valley project—an innovative community integrating permaculture principles and a working farm inspired by A Pattern Language. Since completing Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Design Certificate in 2014, Dee has combined his training in nutrition and permaculture to champion nutrient-dense, locally produced food. His recent work includes designing and implementing a model farm at a Kenyan rescue mission, now feeding over 500 children daily and serving as a regional center for agricultural education.

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After a career in software development, I transitioned to agriculture and have spent the past nine years working at Red Acre Farm in Cedar City, Utah. My work there has focused on vegetable production, soil health, and community-based food systems. In 2024, I was honored with the Utah Soil Health Partnership’s Biological Cultivator Award, recognizing my commitment to improving Utah's soil and farming methods. I have served as a board member of Red Acre Center, where I still play a smaller role supporting education and advocacy around local food and agriculture policy.

In addition to farming, I continue to lend my technical expertise to both Red Acre Farm and Red Acre Center, bridging the gap between technology and agriculture. I am now in transition and exploring the next chapter of my journey: starting my own farm operation. I look forward to building on the skills, relationships, and experiences I’ve gained over the past decade to contribute to Utah’s local food movement.

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Symbria spent a lifetime working in the nonprofit sector. After her daughter started an organic farm, she and her late-husband saw the possibilities and left their employment to work full-time building a sustainable farm. Their focus was to make local food accessible and to create a community educated about healthy food and responsible sources. As her experience grew, so did her vision, and she saw the need for an organized effort in promoting and protecting farmers, farms, and local food economies. She and her daughter started another adventure, while continuing the first, and co-founded Red Acre Center in the midst of farming. She says she has never worked a day in her life. "I always find myself engaged in a cause and loving what I do!" The mother of four and grandmother of nine, she loves, to walk, read, farm, eat good food and be anxiously engaged in a good cause.

Steven Rosenberg is the Founder and Good Food Evangelist at Liberty Heights Fresh; a nationally award-winning neighborhood good food market in Salt Lake City, UT, founded in 1993.
Prior to founding Liberty Heights Fresh, Rosenberg worked in his family’s Southwest Michigan fruit orchards and vegetable fields; as a street fruitier; wholesale produce merchant; biotech marketer; flower importer; and filmmaker.
A good food movement activist; Rosenberg has served on numerous non-profit, trade association and local government boards committees. Prior speaking engagements include: Borad Bia (Irish Food Board)
Specialty Food Conference, Adare, Ireland 1999. Oldways Olavita Conference, Puglia, Italy 2006. American Cheese Society Presenter/Panelist, Louisville, KY 2006. Numerous live television appearances –KTVX, KUTV, FOX13, and KSL (1994-present).
Rosenberg obtained a BS in Food Marketing/Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University (1983); studied filmmaking at the Vancouver Film School (1990-91); and has completed the Babson College Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, Salt Lake City (2013).

Working USU Extension and Utah TOPP to support current and transitioning organic farmers and ranchers through mentorship, technical assistance, and community building.

I am an organic and sustainable food systems advocate with experience working in diverse agricultural, small business, public service, and non-profit settings. I have a decade of experience in agriculture as an organic crop inspector, food hub manager, farm worker, food system’s researcher, and extension agent. I have dedicated my life to seeing farmers succeed and communities gain greater access to healthy local food.