Longtime Island Grown Initiative (IGI) volunteer and board president Sarah McKay stepped into the interim executive director position on July 1. Ms. McKay will stay in the position for one year. After her term expires, she will help pick a permanent candidate for the position, according to a press release.
Keith Wilda, IGI’s Farm Hub program leader, held the interim position for the past ten months. Mr. Wilda will now focus full-time on Thimble Farm, the hub of IGI activities.
Ms. McKay told The Times it’s too early to tell whether she’d throw her hat in the ring for the long term.
Ms. McKay will manage a staff of 25, including six full-time employees. As the executive director, she will work with the board and represent IGI to the Island community.
“A lot of it is trying to make sure everyone knows what’s going on in the organization, and that there are clear systems and processes to get things done,” Ms. McKay said.
In a conversation with The Times, she credited her previous job as Cronig’s store manager with her knowledge of the local farming landscape. Ms. McKay began as a volunteer with IGI, and was asked to join the board after her service. She said she was hooked.
“It’s such a great organization to be a part of. It’s so grassroots, and has grown so quickly and impacted so many people,” Ms. McKay said.
On the 41-acre Thimble Farm property purchased in 2012, IGI operates a 30,000-square-foot hydroponic and aquaponic greenhouse, inside which are vegetables as well as two tanks of trout. The water from the trout tanks is used to feed a portion of the nearby plants, and the trout are for sale to local businesses. IGI has 30 acres of tillable land, available for Island food production. IGI leads four core programs: Island Grown Schools which provides food to Island schools; a mobile poultry slaughterhouse; a gleaning program that produces 23,000 pounds of food a year; and a multifaceted farming program.
As for her plans, Ms. McKay said that as executive director, she will focus on organizational leadership. Ms. McKay told The Times that IGI will continue to run its major four programs without any foreseeable changes in the next year.
