Ryan Watson serves on the NAFEX board of directors and is National Orchard Operations & Education Manager for the non-profit organization The Giving Grove. Ryan has been dedicated to community greening and garden education for over a decade. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he graduated from UCLA with degrees in Political Science and History. After leaving a career in the legal field, he found his passion in urban agriculture. A graduate of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Brooklyn Urban Gardener (BUG) program, Ryan went on to co-found and manage North Brooklyn Farms, an urban farm and public green space at the historic Domino Sugar Factory, from 2013 to 2019. He was also a founding member of the 61 Franklin Street Garden in Brooklyn, New York. In 2015, he moved to the Catskills , which serendipitously was a year of the largest wild apple harvest in a generation – where he learned cidermaking under the tutelage of Andy Brennan & Polly Giragosian from Aaron Burr Cidery. Today, Ryan lives with his wife, Ashli, at their home in the Catskill Mountains, where they run Wild Russet Farm. Together, they care for an heirloom apple orchard and produce cider and vinegar in Jeffersonville, New York.