Meet The Team
Matt Nesbitt
For Matt, his interest in farming began with a simple question: Where does our food come from?
After working in high-end restaurants around Birmingham, Alabama, Matt found himself drawn to the farms and farmers behind the food he was preparing in the kitchen. That curiosity grew into a new calling.
Matt transitioned to working on organic farms in Alabama, Georgia, and England, learning the many sides of growing food for local communities, from vegetable production to livestock management.
In 2019, he founded Field Culture Compost, turning food waste into a resource for farms and gardeners. He later served as Farm Director at Jones Valley Teaching Farm in Birmingham.
Now, Matt brings his years of experience, deep respect for the land, and belief in the power of local food to Armistead Farm, where he’s excited to help grow a farm that nourishes both people and community.
Farm Manager
Geoff Hartnell
For Geoff, farming is about more than growing food. It’s about understanding the connections that make healthy communities possible.
Since 2011, Geoff has worked in regenerative agriculture, managing small-scale market farms, developing CSA programs, and helping strengthen local food systems.
A passionate agricultural educator, he is endlessly fascinated by the relationships between healthy soil, the human gut microbiome, and the mycelial networks that help ecosystems thrive. His work has taken him around the world, collaborating with farmers in East Africa and Latin America to develop community-based regenerative farming systems.
Geoff holds a master’s degree in Sustainable Agriculture and brings a deep belief in the power of farms to nourish people, restore the land and bring communities together. At Armistead Farm, he’s excited to help grow that vision alongside the people and land that make this place special.
Assistant Farm Manager
Board of Directors
Jim Short
Jim didn’t choose this land. It chose him. Five generations ago!
His great-great-grandfather bought this land in 1887 and called it Westbrook Farm. His grandparents built the farmhouse in 1937. His father grew up here running through hay fields, milking dairy cows, and eating from the family's kitchen garden.
After a career in education, including teaching biology and leading national efforts to transform science education, Jim returned to the farm with a belief that learning happens best through hands-on experience.
Today, as Armistead Farm’s Executive Director, Jim is helping honor his family’s legacy by opening the land back up to the community. Growing food, creating opportunities to learn, and building a place for Franklin to connect for generations to come.
Executive Director
This land has been part of Lee’s family story for generations. Her mother, Mary Anne Short Warren, grew up on the farm in the home her grandparents built in 1937.
Lee spent her career in education and counseling, including roles at Vanderbilt’s Susan Gray School, Alpha Omicron Pi International Fraternity, and Williamson County Schools. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Lambuth College and a master’s degree in Professional Counseling from MTSU.
Outside of Armistead, Lee is a wife, mother, and grandmother of five, and a lifelong gardener. Whether she’s sharing vegetables and flowers from her garden with her grandchildren or dreaming over a seed catalog in the middle of winter, Lee finds joy in growing things and sharing that joy with others.
Board Chair
Lee Boone
Dorinda has spent her life surrounded by the land, agriculture, and community that make Armistead Farm so special.
Born and raised on the farm next door, she has deep roots in the area and a lifelong appreciation for the connection between the food we grow, the land we care for, and the people who call this community home.
From her love of fresh-from-the-garden produce to her decades of leadership in business and civic service, Dorinda brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to stewardship.
As Board Treasurer, she helps support Armistead Farm’s mission to nourish the community and preserve a connection to the land for generations to come.
Board Treasurer
Dorinda Carlisle Smith
Craige has built his career around creating places with a strong sense of belonging. Spaces shaped by community, land, and the stories that connect us to both.
As co-founder of Character Development, he has spent years bringing thoughtful, community-centered projects to life.
Most recently, Craige led the development of Southall, a 450-acre farm-based resort in Franklin, giving him firsthand experience in what it takes to thoughtfully steward land and build something designed to last.
At Armistead Farm, Craige helps tend to the bigger picture, from financing and partnerships to programming and long-term planning. His work helps ensure the farm grows thoughtfully, in step with the community around it, while staying true to the land and the mission at its heart.
Board Member at Large
Craige Hoover
Marc brings a thoughtful legal perspective and a strong connection to the Short family to his role as Board Secretary at Armistead Farm.
As a partner in the firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, PLP, he represents the Short family, ArmisteadTN, LLC, and the not-for-profit Armistead Farm entity on various legal matters, helping guide the work that protects the farm’s legacy and supports its future.
A Georgia native and longtime Williamson County resident, Marc lives in Westhaven with his wife, Allison, and their two daughters. He is actively involved in the Westhaven and broader Franklin community, and he brings that same spirit of connection and stewardship to his work with Armistead Farm.
Marc is an alumnus of Emory University and Georgia State University College of Law.
Board Secretary
Marc Bussone
A fourth-generation steward of his family’s Williamson County farm, Bill Short has spent his life caring for the land his ancestors first cultivated in 1887.
Today, Bill (lovingly nicknamed “Bilbo” by his friends and family) is helping shape the next chapter of that legacy through Armistead Farm. Serving as the nonprofit's Board Vice-Chair, he’s transforming his family’s historic farm into a place where fresh food, education, and community can flourish for generations to come.
Currently, Bill is enjoying his 51st year at Rhodes College in Memphis, where he is the Associate Director of the Barret Library. With his institutional memory, he is also the college's archivist.
Board Vice-Chair