UP

UP Urban Pastoral (UP) seeks to build a Collective of synergistic food and agricultural businesses that will create a sustainable ecosystem. Starting with 1 greenhouse, UP will act as an anchor institution for burgeoning neighborhoods in the heart of Baltimore. As UP grows we will incorporate restaurant, brewery, and bakery concepts that will fuel our ecosystem. We will build a vibrant community that is driven good honest food.

J.J. Reidy, Business ’15 & CEO, UP

J.J. is responsible for driving the growth and business strategy behind UP.

J.J. has a dynamic professional background in international development, early-stage startups, and organic farming. He has promoted economic development and combated issues in food security through his work in Africa, South America, and the U.S. On behalf of USAID in Ethiopia, J.J. help strengthen the coffee commodities market, by implementing cooperative unions and sustainable supply chains. Leading a multidisciplinary team, in Lima, Peru, J.J. also advised the local government on poverty and education initiatives.

Currently, J.J. is completing an MBA at the Carey Business School, where he is focusing on social entrepreneurship and sustainable food systems. Prior to his MBA, J.J. spent three years in Washington, D.C. where he scaled new ventures for high-growth, e-commerce startup, LivingSocial. However, J.J. decided to leave the DC startup bustle to pursue his passion, and help run an organic farm and bakery in Vermont.

Recently, through his work with JHU CityLab and the Social Innovation Lab, J.J. is involved in initiatives that seek to revitalize the city through urban agricultural development.

Urban Pastoral is more than a company; it is J.J.’s life mission.

Julie Buisson, Business ’15 & Chief Design Officer, UP,

Julie is responsible for spurring sustainable innovations throughout UPs business processes, using design thinking.

Julie has an MA/MBA in Design Leadership from Johns Hopkins and MICA. The partnership between the two schools seeks to promote the marriage of design and business. Julie expands the conceptual process by applying human-centered design and cradle-to-cradle principles to apply to UP.

Originally from France, Julie has been living in the United States for over 11 years. After graduating with a degree in Marketing with an emphasis in Personal Selling from the University of Georgia, Julie worked as a brand consultant for the agricultural machinery conglomerate, AGCO. During her time at AGCO, Julie had the opportunity to interact with farmers from across the United States and became acutely aware of the problems facing the agricultural industry. To better understand these issues, Julie traveled throughout Southeast Asia to work on permaculture farms. Currently, Julie is involved with urban planning by promoting the use of sustainable agriculture and place making.

Mark Verdecia, Business ‘16 & Chief Scientist, UP

Mark is responsible for the nutrient science and internal operations of UP’s biological processes.

Prior to joining UP, Mark was a scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he engineered biosensors for monitoring cells and the environment. Mark began his science career at the University of California, San Diego where he earned a Ph.D. in Biology under the mentorship of Dr. Joe Noel, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Dr. Noel is a leading expert in plant metabolic pathways and his lab has contributed to ongoing efforts to improving agricultural productivity.

After graduating, Mark trained with world-renowned neuroscientists, Dr. Paul Brehm and Dr. Gail Mandel, who taught him how to use the zebrafish animal model, Danio rerio, to study the connections between neurons and muscle. This fellowship was highly influential in Mark’s career, as it was during this time that he realized how powerful the zebrafish model system was as a biotechnology solution to outstanding issues in sustainable farming. Currently, Mark is pursuing his MBA at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and he is passionate about applying his scientific knowledge to challenges in urban farming.