Maxson Hence

The Farmers' Community Food Hub; Chair and President, Ayers Foundation
Westerly, RI

Max Hence is a professional farmer and forester and currently involved in three sister companies, including The Farmers' Community Food Hub, Hillandale Farm, and the Ayers Foundation that he and his wife operate. These entities were developed and modeled in a manner that allows them to operate synergistically in the spirit of improving access to fresh healthy whole foods while helping people reconnect with their bodies and the environment through local food and organic farming. Mr. Hence, with over 30 years experience as an entrepreneur, is a nine-year veteran of the U.S. military and received a BS in Forest Management from Oregon State University in 1994 and has since developed or otherwise been actively engaged in multiple businesses including organic farming, food aggregation & distribution, e-commerce, international log procurement, “for-profit” fundraising, non-profit fundraising, non-profit educational programming, and others. Mr. Hence was also a consultant in the bio-energy sector for over 5 years. During this time, he performed services for Dynamotive Energy Systems, Africa Biofuel and Emissions Reduction LLC, Westshore Bioenergy, and Atlantic Ethanol. Services rendered included: identifying and securing long-term supplies of feedstocks for biomass-conversion plants in the United States and Canada; negotiation of overseas contracts related to the validation of biofuel(s) and their off-take; biomass market research, and the facilitation of project financing. Mr. Hence lives on an historic family farm in Westerly, Rhode Island with his wife and three children.