Co-Founder

Morgan is the mother of three, wonderful children and an overall get-shit-done type. The vision for Commons and its decentralized and descaled Common Wealth Network emerged via her work in the birthing space, were community and communion unite and simultaneously demand the fullness of life, impartially and never hesitantly.

After a full-ride, collegiate career in Track and Field (polevault), Morgan worked as a Business Analyst in a top award-winning software development agency in Cleveland, Ohio. In this role, she operated the undulating middle-ground between software developers and real-world problems, a role that found success when the peopleness of people was kept in the fore, and even celebrated.

In 2015, Morgan left the world of high-technology and jumped headlong into human-scale and regenerative farming with her family, after her husband was diagnosed with life-altering medical conditions.

She lives in Virginia with her children, Elowyn, Tecumseh, and Sequoia, and her husband, Daniel.

Shankari Goldstein is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher, farmer, herbalist, and activist with a passion for environmental and racial justice. She manages a farm with over 100 animals and oversees 200 acres of land through her work with Wayfinder Holistics, while also developing programming and content for the Mind & Life Institute. As a Black farmer, Shankari educates her contemplative community on food sovereignty and provides tools for beginners to understand their role in maintaining ecological wellness systems. She shares her love of animals and medicinal herbs, inspiring contemporary yogis to incorporate sustainability, activism, and a connection to nature into their practice. Shankari is a visionary dedicated to amplifying the voices of the Global Majority and facilitating open and honest conversations about race and equity to effect positive change.

Shankari co-runs Wayfinder Holistics, which works at the intersection of regenerative land management and holistic wellness practices to foster thriving ecosystems, healthy communities, and food sovereignty. Wayfinder Holistics is guided by the belief that true freedom comes from the ability to grow one's own food and medicine and create one's own abundance. Wayfinder Holistics is passionate about finding sustainable ways to raise food, build homes that harmonize with the natural environment, and cultivate medicine for both our bodies and the land, all while cultivating a deeper ancestral connection with the earth.

Clara Zander is the founder and operator of The Wild Way Farm, and has been raising poultry since the age of 9. She spent her summers during high school working at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in New York, learning as much as she could about pasture based livestock production and farm to table eating. She was hooked.

During and after high school, Clara spent time traveling around the US, working on farms in Martha’s Vineyard, Hawaii, Virginia, and around New York state. She was fascinated by the intersection of ecology and conservation biology with sustainable agriculture. How do we produce food in a way that not only protects the natural world, but encourages it to thrive? How do we develop a farm system that supports our local human communities, as well as our wild ones? How do we use ecological farming practices to mitigate human related impacts to our climate?

Dan Goldstein is a Virginia native whose connection to the land and animals has been a driving force throughout his life. He majored in agriculture in Hawaii, where he studied animal and soil science and managed a tropical hardwoods business. After returning to Virginia, he started a timber frame and sawmill company, using windfalls and trees from tree trimming companies to build timber frame dwellings and furniture, and implementing land regeneration techniques. He manages Millstream Farm, which has been transformed from an overgrazed cattle brush land to a rich, regenerative farm hosting grass-fed sheep, pastured pigs, and free-range chickens. He helped create Waddle Om Farm, a model of what Wayfinder Holistics could be, and co-founded Wayfinder Holistics in 2022 with a focus on wellness, mindfulness, herbal medicine, and regenerative soil fertility alongside his wife Shankari.

Bio coming soon!

Grace Dubansky is a lifelong farmer and land steward. Growing up on her family's farm, she has always had a passion for  nurturing land, animals, and her community. She now lives and works on that very same farm, Backbone Farm in Garrett County MD, as livestock manager and general Helper Outer. 

Michael is co-founder of Foodshed Capital, and oversees the day-to-day operations as Executive Director. 

Under his leadership the organization grew from a local slow money project in Central Virginia to a region-wide loan program serving farms and food businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. Michael also led Foodshed Capital toward certification as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2020.

Michael has developed strong relationships with dozens of farmers around the region and has been involved in making more than 80 loans totaling $1.5 million since 2019. Michael began his career in banking and later honed his financial skills as a 15-year executive in the broadcast television business. He has served on the board of several food and agriculture organizations including:the Virginia Farmers Market Association; the Virginia Association for Biological Farming; and the Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience & Access Coalition (MAFRAC).

He also served on the planning team for the Food Justice Network in Central Virginia. Michael earned an undergraduate degree at Yale University and a graduate degree at Columbia University.