Louise Warner graduated from the University of Gloucestershire, England, with a bacherlor's degree in American Studies and English Literature.  Fortunately for us, Louise fell in love with the Pennsylvania countryside as an exchange student at Juniata College.

Through a blend of travel, study, and volunteer work, Louise has had the opportunity to work with teenagers from a variety of backgrounds.  She has worked with kids in her hometown of Nottingham, in an orphanage in Nepal, in Guatemala teaching English, and now, with us in central Pennsylvania.

At Longacre, Louise focuses on her two main passions, young people and horses. Louise, an avid rider since the age of five, lends her talents to the rescue and rehabilitation of horses. She proudly owns five rescue horses. She teaches Longacre students how to ride and also how to care for these amazing animals.

I grew up here on Longacre Farm. After high school I left central Pennsylvania, assumedly for good. Last spring—during a rare trip back, ten years after I left—I found myself noticing how pretty it is here: the rolling hills, the green trees and plant life. I decided to spend summer 2008 at Longacre Leadership. Half way through, I started thinking about what it would be like to live here. I had some reservations—some legitimate, others silly. Eventually the prospect was just too compelling and I decided to make the move.

Now, a year later, I love Perry County and the life I lead: the simplicity; the independence of growing vegetables and raising animals; the fulfillment of managing a herd; the support that comes from living in community; the self-esteem that comes from connecting with the earth. I’m surprised at myself, honestly. I never expected this. Currently, I’m in the process of buying land and building a house next to the farm (with Megan Gantt). I couldn’t have written the story any better. My short-term plans have somehow become medium-term plans. At the rate I'm going, I wouldn’t be surprised if my medium-term plans became long-term plans.

I am a Perry County native who started working with Longacre Leadership in 1997. I lived in several cities after college, but continued to be drawn back to the beauty of this area and the community I found in Longacre. The community offers me the chance to combine many of my passions--living and working hand in hand with nature, providing a safe place for children and teens to explore who they are, and growing things that nurture us--from animals to flowers.

My draw to this process and land continues to grow. I look forward to living in community year round in the house I am building with Matt Smith on land adjacent to the farm.

I continue my work with children in the Longacre off-season as an elementary school counselor. Helping children fills me up.

Susan and I moved to Pennsylvania 33 years ago to live and work on Longacre Farm.  Although I loved being a camp director and farmer (as well as a teacher of the mentally gifted), I found myself called to another career when I helped to start and became the first Executive Director of a participatory science museum in Harrisburg, PA.

In 1985, I  became a partner in Longacre Expeditions, an adventure travel program for teenagers that borrowed its philosophical foundation from the Farm, and my yearly rhythm again aligned with Susan's.  My partners and I sold Longacre Expeditions in 2006 and I became the Executive Director of the Perry County Council of the Arts, a local non-profit that operates a members Gallery and Community Arts Center in Newport and facilitates arts education residencies and art-related tourism promotion in much of Central PA. 

During the summer I often grab a group of Farm kids for volunteer work at the Arts  Council or find time to assist with one of the many construction projects that are on-going at the Farm.  My pride and joy are my three children, Matthew (29), Alex (25), and Courtney (17).  When not hanging with Farm kids and staff during the summertime, I can undoubtedly be found in my woodworking shop, which itself is an ongoing project.

Jake has the fortune of calling Perry County his home, having grown up two miles west of the Farm.  After graduating from Newport High School, he attended Juniata College, where he and Louise first met.  Jake also studied at the University of Lincoln in England, and during this time he and Louise traveled extensively through the UK and Europe.

After graduating with a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, Louise and Jake taught English in Guatemala.  Ultimately they settled back in Perry County, and live within walking distance of the Farm, in an historic brick church built in 1882.  When not working around the farm, Jake can be found at Carson Long Institute, a private boys boarding school, where he teaches Algebra, Geometry, and Sustainable Agriculture. He loves cooking, eating, and knowing where his food comes from.

Jake relishes the simplicity of rural life as it is balanced against honest, hard work. He believes that true sustainability must include educating and inspiring younger generations to make sustainable choices, and considers himself blessed to be part of the process.

Anna Santini graduated from Penn State University with a degree in agricultural and biological engineering. She spent summers doing what she loved - working at various farms around the state. These included a grass-based organic dairy, a small goat dairy, and three organic vegetable production farms, two of which were CSAs.

After graduation Anna worked as a research intern at the Rodale Institute's experimental organic farm (Kutztown, PA). She then traveled and volunteered at farms throughout Central America, after which she was hired as farm manager of Hope Springs Farm (Hershey, PA), a therapeutic farm for adults with disabilities. There, Anna and Brooks were married, their son Kaj was born, and they lived and farmed for two years.

Brooks Miller graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor's in aerospace engineering. He worked briefly in the aerospace industry, but soon longed for a return to the outdoors and working with his hands. Unsure of his future as an engineer, he traveled through Europe and then backpacked and WWOOFed in Mexico, confirming a love for farming.

Upon his return to the US, he moved to Hope Springs Farm with Anna, and they soon married. Brooks worked off the farm as a brewer and automation engineer at Troegs Brewing Company (Harrisburg, PA), a small, craft brewery. The couple moved to Markelsville in March of 2008, with their six-month-old, flock of sheep, goats and chickens in tow.

Kaj is quickly becoming a helpful little farmer. He assists in twice-daily chicken moves, feeding and watering baby chicks, and milking goats. He loves fresh pastured eggs, home-cured bacon, raw goat's milk, and pastured chicken meat.