FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT

After growing up in the family steakhouse business, Rick earned a degree in business administration from Southeastern State University. Rick has over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry and is the owner of Wells Hospitality Group, which co-owns Rick’s Chophouse and Harvest Seasonal Kitchen in Historic Downtown McKinney. Rick has a rich past in philanthropy including serving as the President of the Samaritan Inn and President of the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools. In 2018, he was awarded two inaugural awards, the Cornerstone Ranch LaFerney Community Hero award and the Cultivating Land and Community Award from Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. In 2019, Rick was honored as Distinguished Alumnus of Southeastern State University.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lenda is a co-owner of Fields of Fidelis, a lavender farm located in Anna, TX. She’s a U.S. Army National Guard veteran and attended Dallas Baptist University for both her undergraduate and master's degrees in business. Lenda is a Collin County Master Gardener, member of the Collin County Rotary Club and a past President. She’s married to fellow U.S. Army National Guard veteran, AJ Fidelman, has two boys, and enjoys gardening, traveling, and volunteering.

BOARD MEMBER

Raised in Dallas, Andrea Shackelford graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2007 and embarked on a career committed to the farm to table movement. After honing her skills alongside notable chefs Tom Colicchio, Jeff Harris, Tim Bevins, and Graham Dodds, Andrea joined Wells Hospitality Group/DFA in 2012. Under her direction, Harvest was named one of the Best New Restaurants of 2014 by the Dallas Morning News and featured on the cover of D Magazine’s Best Restaurants of 2015. Andrea is a Master Gardener and founding member of the Seed Project Foundation.

TREASURER

Vicki has been a member of the board of directors since 2016. As a volunteer and employee, Vicki has served in leadership roles on several non-profit boards and is currently the Executive Director for the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the students, faculty, and staff of the Lovejoy ISD. Previously she worked as the office and finance manager of the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation and as a software engineer at Raytheon. She has a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

BOARD MEMBER & FOUNDER OF MCKINNEY ROOTS

Carissa co-founded McKinney Roots in 2017 and joined the board after McKinney Roots merged with the Seed Project Foundation in 2020. Her love of gardening began while working in her grandmother’s garden as a child, and is now being passed along to her own children. She graduated from the University of North Texas in 2009 with a Bachelors of Fine Art and worked as a letterpress printmaker before founding McKinney Roots.

BOARD MEMBER

Michael leads global integrated communication campaigns at RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies), one of the largest aerospace defense companies in the world. He previously led integrated comms for the multi-billion-dollar Global Spectrum Dominance business unit at Raytheon. With more than 20 years of public affairs experience in the private sector, non-profits, and the federal government, Michael is a storyteller and strategic thinker with a passion for helping people understand complex topics. He is a relationship builder who makes unexpected connections and brings people together to find fresh approaches to old problems. Michael is also a founding member of Texan by Nature's Advisory Board, and he is the chair of the Staff Parish Relations Committee at First United Methodist Church in downtown McKinney. He is an amateur naturalist and gardener with four young children, and he is proud to say they are 9th-generation Texans. Michael is happiest when he has found just the right words or his hands are in the soil.

BUSINESS EXECUTIVE, ADVISOR, INVESTOR, VOLUNTEER

Steve Lambouses is a former Executive for Texas Instruments with over 20yrs of experience creating and growing businesses generating over one-billion dollars annually. Throughout his career, Steve has built several global organizations that have outperformed their peers by focusing on teamwork, diversity, a relentless drive for continuous improvement and a mentality of work hard ~ play hard.

As a passionate leader, Steve has severed on several industry advisory boards, while also spearheading multiple corporate level initiates, such as executive sponsor for the United Way at TI and the executive sponsor for TI’s Employee Diversity Initiative, an organization dedicated to awareness-building and skill development.

Steve earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts. As the son of an immigrant and the first in his family to go to college, he’s no stranger to hard work. In his spare time, he likes outdoor activities, spending time with family and entertaining friends. Although he and his family currently live in Parker, Texas they call New England home where they can get some real clam chowda and where the seasons are not just hot and hotter.