Curriculum Vitae · 2026
Drew Scott
Keske — Impact Operator & GM, Land Stewardship & Regen Ag
Impact Operator & GM · Land Stewardship · Regen Ag · Food Systems
“Building systems that connect people, land, and community.”
About
The shape of the work.
Drew Keske is an impact operator and general manager based in San Diego. A decade of work across ranch management, market gardening, nonprofit development, event production, and field operations — now focused on land conservation, regenerative agriculture, food systems, and education. He pairs hands-on field and farm work with a proven record in fundraising, program operations, and venture design, turning strategy into shipped, working systems.
Equal parts operator and writer. Comfortable on a tractor, in a spreadsheet, or in front of a room. Off the clock: disc golf, biking, climbing, hiking, music, cooking, and the long game of reading and writing.
Experience
A decade of intentional breadth.
Farmer & Handyman
FarmRanchito Milky Way + Self-Employed · San Diego, CA
Jan 2026 – Present
- Organic no-till vegetable production, CSA harvest and distribution, farm operations.
- Independent handyman services across residential clients in the San Diego area.
Ranch Manager & Handyman
RanchK Bar Ranch · North Texas
Apr 2025 – Dec 2025
- Managed family cattle ranch: livestock care, pasture management, property infrastructure.
- Ran independent handyman business managing clients and multi-site project scheduling.
Project Foreman
OpsSurv Raleigh · Raleigh, NC
Nov 2024 – Apr 2025
- Restructured field operations; built sales strategies focused on recurring revenue and retention.
- Led and mentored a 10-person team, building individual confidence and professional growth.
Associate Development Manager
DevSolana Center for Environmental Innovation · Encinitas, CA
Jul 2023 – Jul 2024
- Built development infrastructure from the ground up; cultivated strategic donor & corporate partnerships.
- Produced 40th-anniversary “Waste to Wonder” celebration with 200+ attendees.
- Led fundraising across 4 strategic campaigns, securing individual and corporate contributions.
Sustainability Experiences Director
EventsThe Momentum + Blue · San Juan Capistrano, CA
Jan 2023 – Apr 2023
- Directed startup event series for 80+ sustainability and nonprofit pros with $250K operational budget.
- Managed cross-functional team of 4 across design, copy, marketing, sales, and operations.
Business Operations Manager
OpsEpik Brands · San Juan Capistrano, CA
Sep 2022 – Jul 2023
- Oversaw finance, legal, and HR; built scalable systems with KPI tracking.
- Led sustainability initiatives including 1% for the Planet membership implementation.
Market Garden Manager
FarmThe Ecology Center · San Juan Capistrano, CA
Mar 2021 – Jul 2022
- Managed 3-person agricultural team; directed all aspects of garden production from seed to sale.
- Progression: Apprentice → Coordinator → Manager over 16 months.
Guest Lecturer
TeachingOrange Coast College · Greater LA
Nov 2017 – Oct 2021
- Four years of guest lecturing on sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and impact.
Sales Development Representative
SalesClassy.org · San Diego, CA
Fall 2019 – Fall 2020
- Exceeded 100% of sales quota; promoted to High Priority Rep.
- Won team’s “People’s Choice” award.
Executive Assistant
OpsCompassion It · San Diego, CA
Apr 2015 – Aug 2019
- Four years of executive support: event logistics, donor communications, organizational operations.
Ranch Hand
RanchK Bar Ranch · Nocona, TX
2008 – 2019
- Eleven seasons on the family ranch — the original education in land and livestock.
Role Fit
What I’m built for.
Land Stewardship & Working Lands
Strong fitStewardship associate → manager · Land steward · Conservation grazing associate · Working lands coordinator
Twelve years on a working cattle ranch — eleven seasons plus a year as manager — and current organic no-till production. Ready for stewardship, grazing, and working-lands work today; GIS and easements are the 1–2 year build.
Farm, Market-Garden & Food Systems
Strong fitFarm manager · Market-garden manager · Food hub / farm-to-market lead · Production lead
I've run the chain end-to-end: led a 3-person market-garden team seed-to-sale at The Ecology Center and currently manage no-till production and CSA distribution. Groundworks is my own working concept for local food infrastructure.
General Manager · Operations & Program Leadership
Strong fitGeneral manager · Operator / COO-lite · Site or property GM · Program manager
GM is the shape of nearly every role I've held — budget, team, systems, and outcomes end-to-end. I've run a $250K event series with a team of 4, owned finance/legal/HR at Epik, managed K Bar Ranch, and led a 10-person crew at Surv.
Development · Philanthropy · Partnerships
Strong fitDevelopment manager · Major gifts officer · Corporate partnerships lead · Development director (small org)
Nearly a decade building donor pipelines and corporate partnerships across four mission-driven orgs. Most recently stood up Solana Center's development function from scratch and produced their 200+ person 40th-anniversary flagship.
Education · Outreach · Community Engagement
Strong fitEducation coordinator · Outreach manager · Community engagement lead · Program facilitator
Four years guest-lecturing at Orange Coast College on sustainability and social entrepreneurship, plus a shipped portfolio of curriculum-shaped tools — Learning Library, Wisdom Library, Life of Notes I & II. Teaching and facilitation are core, not adjacent.
Customer Success Management
Strong fitCustomer success manager · Account manager · Onboarding & retention lead · CSM (mission-driven SaaS)
Top-performing Classy.org SDR, Surv field-ops rebuilt around recurring revenue and retention, plus years of nonprofit donor and corporate-partner cultivation. Eight HubSpot certifications back the systems side.
Skills
Ten skills, one through-line.
| Skill | Depth |
|---|---|
| Operations & Program Management | |
| Regen Ag & Land Management | |
| Fundraising & Development | |
| Food Systems & Farm-to-Market | |
| Team Leadership & Mentorship | |
| Event Production | |
| Sales & Partnership Development | |
| Teaching, Facilitation & Curriculum | |
| Brand, Storytelling & Marketing | |
| Hands-on Trades & Field Repair |
Portfolio
Live work.
Writing / Reading
7 projectsConcepts
3 projectsCredentials
Education, publications, training.
Education
BA, Sustainability — San Diego State University (2018)
- · ZIP Launchpad & Lavin Entrepreneur Program Graduate
- · E3 Sustainability Org President
Publications
Professional Development
- · Market Gardener Masterclass
- · Neversink Farming Masterclass
- · Lean Farming Masterclass
- · Whole Farm Management — Oregon State
- · Greenwave Ocean Farming
- · Wilderness Advanced First Aid
- · Compassion Cultivation Training
- · Highland Academy — Ops & Leadership
- · Business Made Simple
- · Leadership Challenge — Daily Stoic
- · SDSU Nonprofit Management
- · SDSU Social Entrepreneurship
- · HubSpot Academy
- · Anthropic Courses
- · Spanish — SDSU / ed2go
References
People who’ll vouch.
Available upon request. See LinkedIn recommendations for public endorsements.
Northstar
The 100-year mission behind the CV.
Purpose, values, a 3/5/10/20-year vision, and this year's goals — applied from Highland's Northstar framework.