Frustrated with her career in nonprofits, Jillian got her start in agriculture by jumping into an urban farming apprenticeship program called BUFA. Since then, she has managed the demonstration garden in front of Portland's City Hall, worked with a friend to develop and manage two urban farms, WWOOFed on a peony farm in Alaska, and has worked for a 25-acre farm on Sauvie Island.

Jillian is excited to be striking out on her own with Groundswell Farm, which offers baby salad greens and related crops to fine dining establishments in Portland. She hopes to keep her farm at hand-scale, as a smaller operation allows her to to use techniques that care for the soil and produce the highest quality produce possible.