Our Team

Growing up in Butler, Maryland, Grace Leatherman raised sheep and was immersed in 4-H. After studying history and horticulture in college, she pursued her master’s in history, going on to become a history teacher. Grace later became the Maryland History Day Outreach Coordinator for Maryland Humanities, and in 2019, the Executive Director of the National Council for History Education(NCHE). Throughout her career teaching history, Grace never stopped engaging with agriculture. She researched the history of farming, worked at Butler’s Orchard on weekends and in the summers, volunteered with 4-H and the Damascus Community Fair, and worked as secretary for the Montgomery County Farm Bureau. She gardens and keeps chickens. Serving as Executive Director of Future Harvest allows Grace to come back to the farming community, bringing a knowledge of the complex history of rural Maryland and experience in nonprofit management. She firmly believes that supporting sustainable agriculture can change the world.

Deb Dramby joined our team in 2019, after six years at Willowsford Farm, a well-known agri-hood in Loudoun County, Virginia. At Willowsford, she built and co-managed a bustling Farm Stand, pick-your-own garden, a large CSA, and helped launch several farming enterprises including laying hens, broilers, pasture-raised pork and most famously, a herd of weed-eating goats.

Before production farming, her drive to learn about agriculture led her to the University of Maryland’s Institute of Applied Agriculture, where she graduated from a program for Sustainable Agriculture and played a pivotal role in the creation of the UMD Community Learning Garden. After the university allowed the use of Eco-Goats to clear the hillside that became the garden, she fell in love with the goats and their mission, became an apprentice, and eventually started her own herd: 56 Hooves.

Deb’s interest and ability to engage people in meaningful conversations about food and farming led her to Future Harvest. Through her role here, she hopes to meet as many farmer in the region as possible, connect them to additional customers and resources, and continue to serve the local food movement. You may also find her helping out at local farmers markets and/or finding ways to engage the next generation in agriculture.