About Lisa Beneman
Lisa first came to Chewonki in 2005 as an Outdoor Classroom participant. She returned in 2008 as a semester student where her interest in sustainable agriculture took root. She joined the farm crew for portions of the next two summers and has been working full-time on Chewonki’s farm since January 2015. Lisa loves integrating agriculture and education and finds the fast pace and numerous programs at Chewonki an endless learning opportunity. Working alongside semester students, camp boys, and outdoor classroom participants, she finds there is as much to learn from the varied participants in Chewonki programs as there is to teach.
Before Chewonki
A native Mainer, Lisa left the state for college, heading to Whitman in eastern Washington where she managed the school’s organic garden. After graduating, Lisa traveled to Italy to work in the gardens at Tenuta di Spannocchia, an agro-tourism destination. She then returned to the west coast to pursue other agricultural and outdoor education related opportunities, working as Field Manager for Whitman College’s Semester in the West Program and as an intern at Deck Family Farm in Oregon raising pasture-based livestock.
In the Community
Besides farming, Lisa enjoys carving wooden spoons, talking politics, and a good novel. You can often find her in the Wallace Center playing board games before dinner or pulling out her cross-country skis or sneakers to explore the woods of Chewonki Neck on the weekends.
