Board of Directors
WES and KELLY ADAMS have been farming and ranching with best biological methods since they began Adams Blackland Prairie Farm in 1986. They have grown legume seeds, grass seeds and grains as well as native seeds for many years supporting the local need for regional ecotype cover crop seed and forage seed. They specialized in their own brand of grass-fed beef that has been sold directly to customers and to the Whole Foods Market when they were members of the Grassfed Livestock Alliance. Wes and Kelly have held a Conservation Security Program contract from the Natural Resource and Conservation Service for the past 15 years, requiring that the farm has no erosion. They created a Holistic Resource Management goal in 2002. Adams Blackland Prairie Farm has been certified organic since 2009 by Nature’s International Certification Services. Their motto is Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants and Animals = Healthy People. Kelly currently serves as the Council’s President of the Board, and Wes serves as Treasurer.
HALLIE CASEY is a dedicated food systems practitioner committed to building strong, trusting relationships that make space for meaningful change in Texas and across the Southwest. Her ancestors have been ranchers, farmers, grocers, and meatpackers in Central Texas since German migration in the 1800s. Rooted in Austin, Texas, Hallie holds a master’s in agricultural development from UC Davis and a bachelor’s in agribusiness from Texas State University. She continues to work for a future where food systems are more equitable and sustainable for generations to come.
CHAZ DAUGHTRY is a first generation farmer and agriculture entrepreneur. He is the founder and operator of Sweetwater Farms HTX, a 6-acre urban farm located in Houston, Texas. His farm sells seasonal veggies and teaches youth about agriculture and entrepreneurship.
Chaz is also the founder and CEO of Soulfitgrill a low sodium spice and sauce company. Today, Soulfitgrill has become one of the largest healthy food product companies in the world. When he is not making healthy food blends and urban farming he serves as the co-founder of TWEF, a non-profit that has impacted over 100,000 lives. Chaz holds a B.S. in economics from Texas A&M – College Station.
TERESA DAVENPORT joined the CHFS Board in 2024, having served as director of communications for CHFS and FARFA, 2016-2023. For both organizations, Teresa designed and launched new websites; initiated new marketing initiatives to expand awareness, memberships, and grant funding; and worked to strengthen existing and identify new alliances and partnerships to amplify organizational impact.
Previously, Teresa was director of communications at Morven Park, a 1,000-acre historic site in Virginia; at The Seeing Eye, the oldest and most established guide dog school in the world; and for a private K-12 school in New Jersey. During her career, she worked with media and entertainment notables that include Disney, Sesame Street, Farm Aid, the Westminster Dog Show, and ABC News to promote employer and client programs and events. At Morven Park, two experiences convinced her to spend the remainder of her career supporting the work of small-scale farmers: 1) After working with the White House to have the pardoned Thanksgiving turkeys live out their remaining days at the Park and then volunteering as one of their caregivers, Teresa witnessed the painful and brief lives that resulted from their breeding, clipped beaks, and early overfeeding, and 2) being convinced by the Park’s groundskeeper to read Mark Shepherd’s Restoration Agriculture after about her millionth attempt to get him to plant more English-garden-type flowers instead of the natives of which he was so fond. It’s never too late to learn!
THOMAS LOCKE joined the CHFS Board in June 2026. He founded Bois d’Arc Meat Company, a diverse livestock farm, in 2014 with his uncle Gordon Locke. Today, the farm is primarily a grass-fed beef operation on land the family has owned since 1850.
Thomas’ writing on regenerative agriculture is published by the Dallas Morning News, his work was featured on the Netflix documentary “You Are What You Eat” and he is a frequent contributor on radio, local news and various podcasts. He and his wife Gillian are both Austin College graduates, and live on the farm with their son, Bishop.
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