Rob Holland
Director of CPA
Phone: (931) 486-2777
Email: rwholland@utk.edu
Rob Holland was appointed Director of the Center for Profitable Agriculture in September 2007. Prior to his appointment as Director, Rob served as the Center’s Financial Feasibility Specialist from April 1998 to August 2007 and served as an Extension Area Specialist in Farm Management from September 1993 to March 1998 covering ten counties in East Tennessee.
Rob received a B.S. degree in Agricultural Business from the University of Tennessee Martin in 1991 and a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 1993. In 2007, Rob graduated from the Corporate Leadership Development Program at Belmont University in Nashville. He is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Maury, serves on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Council of Cooperatives, is a member of the Maury County Alliance and a member of the First United Methodist Church in Columbia.
Rob is a native of Giles County, Tennessee where he grew up on a small family farm and was a National 4-H winner. Rob has two children, a daughter named Reagan and a son named Clark. Read additional biographical information.
Megan Bruch Leffew
Marketing Specialist
Phone: (931) 486-2777
Email: mleffew@utk.edu Megan Bruch (pronounced "Brew") Leffew joined the Center in June 2003 as a Marketing Specialist. She provides leadership to the Center's programs in agritourism, direct marketing, value-added beef marketing and value-added fruit and vegetable products.
Megan is a native of Yuma, Colorado and was raised on a commercial cow/calf operation. She earned a M.S. degree in agricultural economics with an emphasis in marketing and a B.S degree in agricultural business and animal science-industry from Colorado State University. She now resides in Columbia, Tennessee with her husband, John.
Kim Giorgio
Administrative Specialist
Phone: (931) 486-2777
Email: kagiorgio@utk.edu Kim joined the Center in November 2002 as an administrative assistant. She came to CPA after working 13 years in the Maury County school system. Kim is a vital part of the Center’s ongoing educational programs and value-added projects.
Kim assists in the management and updating of the Center’s Web site and participates in many of the outreach programs, seminars and workshops the Center conducts across the state. Kim is a native of Rochester, New York and has resided in the Maury County area since 1988.
Chuck Grigsby joined the Center in June 2015 as a marketing specialist with a keen interest in helping Tennessee farmers develop their value-added and direct-marketing enterprises. He received an M.S. degree in agricultural economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in May 2015. He received a B.A. degree in economics from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2009.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Chuck worked for a community sustainable agriculture (CSA) farm in Portland, Oregon. From 2010-2013,he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica’s Community Economic Development Program where he facilitated entrepreneurial, financial, project planning, and management workshops to local business owners, youth groups, and small farmers. As a graduate research assistant at UT Knoxville, he investigated the energy use and cost of transporting locally grown produce sold in East Tennessee farmers markets.
In his free time, Chuck practices small-scale subsistence agriculture by growing peanuts, cushaw squash, and corn varieties (popcorn, blue, purple, and red).
Hal PepperValue-Added Financial Analysis Specialist
Phone: (931) 486-2777
Email: Hal.Pepper@utk.edu
Hal Pepper arrived at the Center in February 2010 as a Value-Added Financial Analysis Specialist. He conducts financial analysis for value-added projects submitted to the Center. Prior to joining CPA, Hal worked for 25 years as an Extension economist with Auburn University conducting farm financial analysis for central Alabama farmers.
Hal grew up on a family farm near Athens, Alabama, and was involved with the family's production and direct marketing of peaches. He received a B.S. degree in Agricultural Business and Economics from Auburn University and a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois.
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