Mike Sands
Senior Advisor
With over 40 years of experience in sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation and community-based economic development, Mike has worked on a broad range of innovative projects around the world. Mike's current interests focus on the integration of economically prosperous, ecologically sensitive farms and high-quality nature into vibrant protected, working landscapes. He is committed to onfarm research and field education activities needed for the development of economically viable and environmentally regenerative pasture-based systems in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In his role as Senior Advisor to Dietel & Partners, Mike works to guide the philanthropic investments of our clients in rural community development projects.
As owner/operator of Bean Hollow Grassfed in Flint Hill, VA, Mike spends his spare time stringing electric fence, fixing water lines and watching lambs being born. Bean Hollow Grassfed started with 100 Dorper/Katahdin ewes and 25 weaned Angus steers to demonstrate that livestock can be an effective tool to restore soil health and plant diversity. Mike is also a part-time Senior Associate at the Liberty Prairie Foundation, a private operating foundation, based in IL.
Mike was a member of the first class (70F) at Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, and went on to receive an MS and Ph.D. in Animal Science from Cornell University. He is married with two sons, born in Kenya and Panama.