Elli Sparks has 21 years of non-profit fundraising experience working in Richmond, Virginia with Elk Hill, William Byrd Community House, and Reach Out and Read Virginia. She joined the CCL team as a volunteer in 2011 when she started our Richmond chapter. She became our director of field development in June 2013. In that role, she coaches new volunteers as they start CCL chapters. Elli also leads our weekly Intro Call and supports the Coal Country Action Team and action teams related to agriculture and rural communities. She conducts our annual Train the Trainer program. In addition to working with CCL, Elli runs a small family farm devoted to sustainable agriculture practices. Her beef and dairy cattle, chickens and ducks, and pigs help build top soil and sequester carbon as they rotate through the pastures.