Board and Executive Director
Board
Barbara Finnegan, Greta Houff, Chris Pellerin, Lynn Suter, and Daniel Zimmerman oversee Abbey Agriculture & Trade’s philosophy, finances, infrastructure, and operational needs.
Main image is a group shot; names hyperlinked to unlinked bio pages
Daniel Zimmerman, PhD
Daniel Zimmerman serves as the Executive Director of Abbey Agriculture and Trade. He holds a PhD in English literature from the University of Virginia, and he previously taught English in public schools. As Director of Rockingham Abbey, he works to develop Church of the Lamb’s property into a place of rest and refuge, contemplation and work, beauty and delight. He and his wife Kara have four children.
Instructors & Curriculum
RCS Leadership
Ron Hoch, Head of School, and Aaron Cosner, Upper School Principal, develop the curriculum for Redeemer Classical School’s Common Arts program. This program exposes all 6–12th grade students to carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and automotive work, as well as practices for ecological restoration, regenerative agriculture, and farm work. They’re passionate about directing classical school students into the trades as well as into traditional college paths.
Learn more here.
Greta Houff and Jim Defnall, Instructors
Greta Houff taught agriculture classes at Elkton Middle School for ____ years, and she and her family farm extensively in Weyers Cave, VA. Greta teaches the conceptual portions of the Common Arts classes for Redeemer Classical School and oversees student work on the trade workshop and at Rockingham Abbey. She and her husband Chris have five children.
Jim Defnall is a Class A general contractor employed by Church of the Lamb. He oversees all the building and maintenance projects at Rockingham Abbey, and he serves as primary instructor for the building trades for the Redeemer Classical School Common Arts Program. He owned and operated a truss plant for decades and has built numerous homes in Northern Virginia. He and his wife Lynne recently relocated to Luray, VA, and they attend Church of the Lamb.
Land Team and Sextons, Church of the Lamb
Land Team
The Land Team advises Church of the Lamb on matters pertaining to the beautification, restoration, and agricultural production at Rockingham Abbey, and they lead the congregation to cultivate the grounds to be a space of hospitality, rest, and delight. The members are Drew Alexander, Alec Bauserman, Linda Doherty, Scott Hansen, Thomas Hayes, Joe Martin, Jed Pascarella, Cole Simmons, Grant Wiley,
Learn more here.
Sextons
Nathan Poskitt….
Joel Phillips…
**Should we even include these, given the work histories??