Meet Our Team

Julie oversees the development and expansion of on-site facilities, district farm-to-school efforts, the regenerative organic farm, community partnerships, and the DREAMS Campus educational programming (Design, Research, Engineering, Art, Math, and Science). She is inspired to provide real-world, project, and place-based learning opportunities at Farm Lab that deepen student understanding of health and wellness, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. 

She began her career in EUSD in 2000, and has been a classroom teacher, intervention coordinator, International Baccalaureate Coordinator, and Summer Academy Principal. She has presented internationally on behalf of EUSD, and holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. 

Nina Cooper is the Farm Lab Operations Assistant. Although she is new to the district, she has lived in Cardiff with her family for 15 years. Nina's professional background includes roles in student services and, more recently, communications. She is excited to be at the Farm Lab to lend her support to both the education and farm teams.

Nina Nelson is the ToSA at Farm Lab. She is a wife, mother of four, and a grandmother. She loves surfing, cooking, hiking, being in nature, spending time with family, and teaching. Sometime around 2017, Nina was looking for a way to bring agriculture and environmental stewardship into her classroom in Florida. In scouring the internet for ideas, she came across a magical place in Encinitas, California called the DREAMS Campus. Nina loved everything that she saw, including the Farm Lab initiatives, farm-to-school program, and real-world hands-on sustainability education. Nina and her team teacher even printed a picture of the DREAMS Campus sign and hung it up in one of the Florida classrooms. She thought that it would be a dream to work at the DREAMS Campus. All of these years later it has come to pass! As a teacher at the Farm Lab, Nina’s goals are to create experiences for the students of Encinitas that will inspire them to love learning and live fruitful lives, as well as to be a support and encouragement to their teachers, families, and the community at large.

Carrie Herndon joins the Farm Lab Education Team with over 15 years of STEM teaching experience from the K-college level. Originally from the Midwest, Carrie earned the Heartlands Conservancy Greenleaf Award for engaging students with nature, was named STEM Teacher of the Year by the Illinois Science Teacher Association and won the National Science Teacher's Association's Innovative Teacher Award. As an Avid grant writer, Carrie has secured over $100,000 in funding to support innovation in the classroom.

Upon moving to Southern California, Carrie opened a family friendly maker space and was awarded the Business Star Innovative Leader Award by Poway Chamber of Commerce. When Carrie's small business experienced a devastating flood, she gladly closed her business and returned to the classroom as a teacher at Farm Lab. As a Montessori trained teacher, Carrie finds joy in working to empower students to make the world a better place to live.

Emily Miethke is thrilled to be the Lead Farmer at Farm Lab! Emily grew up in Vista, CA and attended Mira Costa Community College where she received her AA. She transferred to UC Santa Cruz where she earned her BA in environmental studies, sustainable agriculture, and agroecology. She brings over 10 years of experience working in a variety of agricultural and outdoor settings. Her previous experience includes: managing 4 farm sites in Vista, teaching environmental stewardship at Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, and working local farmers markets.

She is passionate about educating others on local food systems in San Diego, and growing food for EUSD. She looks forward to engaging with the community and passing on her curiosity about plants and agriculture! In her free time she loves to roller skate, cook, and go to the beach.

JJ was born and raised in Colorado, but moved to LA to pursue an education in the fashion industry directly out of high school. After obtaining her degree from FIDM, she became a stay at home mom for over 10 years.

With her love for the outdoors and a desire to learn how to grow food, she found Wild Willow Farm and completed all of their Farm School courses. She was hired on as a farmer after volunteering for an extended time. JJ worked there for three years as a Harvest and Farm Lead. She then worked for BeeWorthy Farms flower farm before coming to Farm Lab!

When she’s not farming, JJ loves being with her kids, dancing, camping, thrifting, and being a goofball!

Mary and Virgil drive for the YMCA and transport all 5000 EUSD visitors to the DREAMS Campus each year! Additionally, they stay on site each day to support with supervision and learning rotations.