AgTech X is a community platform for learning, collaboration, and entrepreneurship within Urban Agriculture & Sustainable Food System topics. We currently run New York City’s only co-working lab that is focused solely on sustainable food & agriculture issues.
As of April 2018, we are offering 3 tiers of membership to our Brooklyn-based Co-Lab, as well as digital memberships to those who have attended one of our introductory classes. We host a variety of classes, workshops, and other events at the Co-Lab, too; all of which are open to the public. Check our class list here for more.
This is just the beginning of our journey to build a more sustainable food economy. Are you interested in building it with us? Get in touch with a member of our team below.
Our Team
Ricky Stephens
Co-FounderRicky's expertise is in building and operating digital platforms focused on customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. Ricky spent four years with Red Ventures, a leader in digital marketing & sales technology, where he helped to launch and scale RV’s first international office in Sao Paulo as Manager of Marketing Analytics. Upon moving back to the US in the summer of 2016, Ricky founded res mktg, a digital marketing consultancy focused on helping emerging, sustainability-driven companies grow their businesses through paid marketing efforts. Ricky received his B.A. in History from Davidson College.
Henry Gordon-Smith
Co-FounderHenry’s expertise is in planning and operating urban agriculture projects. Since 2014, he has served as the Managing Director of Agritecture Consulting (formerly Blue Planet), a leader in the design & implementation of urban farming projects globally. Henry is also the founder of Agritecture.com, the premier website for news, events, and emerging technologies in the vertical farming space. In 2013, Henry became a founding member of the Association for Vertical Farming and served as Vice Chair for four years. He's been recognized as a "40 Under 40 Food Policy Leader" by NYC Food Policy Center and one of the "Top 10 People in Produce" by Produce Grower. Henry received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and holds an M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University.
Kate Lodvikov
Hydroponics TechnicianKate has operated a number of vertical farming systems in New York City. Most recently she has worked alongside an entrepreneur at Square Roots, assisting with multiple facets of leafy green production in one of their shipping container farms. Kate also installs a variety of indoor farming systems for private chefs around the city. She received a certification in horticulture from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the City University of New York, Hunter College.
Elyssa Rothe
Strategy AdvisorElyssa’s expertise is in clean energy finance, incentives, and legislation. She is currently employed at PACENation, the nonprofit, national advocacy organization for PACE clean energy financing. Previously, she worked as a marketing and outreach contractor for NYSERDA's energy efficiency programs. Elyssa also serves on the Board of Directors for SPARC Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides services for people with developmental disabilities in Westchester County. Elyssa received her BA in Social Entrepreneurship from New York University and holds a Certificate in Fundraising from NYU’s School of Professional Studies.
Katherine Rogers
Research InternKat is currently a student at Cornell University studying Biological Engineering and Horticulture. Kat has spent time working on two different farms in Hawaii and upstate New York, where she gained experience with organic practices for both crop and animal production. Currently, she works in Neil Mattson's lab in the Horticulture Department at Cornell modeling and quantifying greenhouse production for both rural and urban environments. Kat is interested in designing and implementing responsible technologies that further the efforts of sustainable agriculture practices.
Lila Rimalovski
Research InternCurrently a senior at New York University, Lila is in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study concentrating in Urban Sustainability and Food Systems. Her passion for equitable and regenerative agriculture arose after two years of political organizing and a summer on a permaculture farm in the jungles of Panama. Since then, she has united her experiences in community activism and sustainable agriculture to research the relationship between agroecology, justice, and urban space, most recently with The Earth Institute at Columbia University. Lila believes that agriculture can bring justice for people and the planet and is seeking to work in the field upon her graduation.