Andi Chatfield first began working with Rural Action as an independent contractor in 2020 after designing and developing the website for True Pigments. In 2022 she joined the Rural Action Social Enterprise team. In the role of Social Enterprise Director, she works with the Chief Innovation Officer and collaborates with Rural Action staff to provide business analysis and support to social enterprises within Rural Action.
Andi originally came to Athens County via an Apprenticeship at Green Edge Organic Gardens in 2016. She stayed on as a field worker after the program ended, and a few years later she was managing operations in multiple areas of the farm although a shoulder injury brought her career in sustainable agriculture to an untimely end. Undaunted, she pivoted to studying computer programming, graduating from Hocking College with an associate of applied science in Website and Application Development in Spring 2020.
Most recently Andi worked at the Athens County Public Libraries as a technology trainer, teaching digital literacy. It was there she fell in love with waking up every day and trying to make the world a more equitable place through her daily work. Andi’s Core Values center around purpose and equity, and these guide her choices both personally and professionally. She originally hails from Scioto County where she grew up on a family farm that her parents still own and operate. In her free time, Andi enjoys working on her own fledgling Social Enterprise, the Appalachian Salt and Spice Company, foraging for wild edible plants and fungi, taking forest baths, and daydreaming about becoming feral.