Melissa Maxwell
Owner/Farmer
Melissa has been growing organic vegetables commercially since 2004. After college she started her first farm job at the Community Farm of Ann Arbor and decided that farming was the career for her. She moved back to the East coast and spent 8 years honing her farming and management skills at Appleton Farms in Ipswich, MA, a 24-acre vegetable farm. As a co-owner of Barrett's Mill Farm she is now living her dream of owning a small farm business in a community that is enthusiastic about local agriculture. When Melissa is not in the fields she is spending time with her family.
Lise Holdorf
Owner/Farmer
Lise grew up in Concord and is thrilled to now be a small business owner and farmer in her hometown. After attending college in California and serving in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria, Lise returned to Massachusetts and began her farming career in 2006. Having worked for several years as a manager at Appleton Farms in Ipswich, MA, she moved back to Concord in 2014 to start Barrett's Mill Farm with Melissa. When she's not busy playing with tractors, Lise enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, running, swimming in Walden Pond and doing crosswords.
Catherine McQuestion
Flower & Greenhouse Manager
Catherine grew up in nearby Waltham and joined the farm in 2024. From a small flower patch in her childhood backyard to now serving as a garden captain and board member for her local community garden organization, growing has long been a passion. With a background in environmental science, she spent seven years after college working in a biological research lab before making the leap to farming. She has greatly enjoyed training under Lise and Melissa and was thrilled to take on flower arranging in her second season. When she’s not at the farm, you can find Catherine spending time at the beach or cooking with her husband.