ALLISON FORSTMANN
Founder & CEO
After twenty years of corporate experience in product development and brand strategy in areas of luxury jewelry, electronics and candy, Allison found a deep desire and a new motivation to apply her executive prowess and creative mind towards a positive environmental impact.
When Allison moved to Westchester, NY with her family, she went on a fact-finding mission to learn everything she could about organic farming. At that time, the farm Allison knew of in the area was Stone Barns. After engaging in the community, Allison was encouraged to enroll in the volunteer program. She was invigorated with purpose and totally hooked. In the process, she began to ask questions and apply her analytic business thinking to support small farms. Years of business experience has made Allison extremely adept at locating and resolving business setbacks. Regional farms were managed by young farmers, often struggling to survive in an increasingly competitive market with major core issues. The most glaring of these issues was the soil quality. These farmers were dealing with poor soil health and concurrently struggling to survive. Much of the soil was depleted and often chemically dependent from countless years of pesticides-- imagine an addiction. Allison, who at the end of the day, is always a business person, saw this as an opportunity and resolved to develop and implement a holistic strategy. Allison was determined to detox the dirt. Fertile ground is the goal; and with healthy, vibrant, nutrient-rich soil, everything is possible.
In 2015, Allison, the granddaughter of farmers, decided to marry her business savvy and her ancestral roots with her passion for the environment and founded RecultivateNY, a women-led business that creates custom, on-site compost processes for farms, corporate campuses, community organizations, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Brownfields, among others.
Allison is a CCP™ (Certified Compost Professional) from the US Composting Council and holds certification in Executive Women in Leadership from Cornell, SC Johnson College of Business.