The People Behind the Project
GrowGood is a community-driven project, brought to life by a diverse group of people who are passionate about building a better food system. Our core team brings together a unique blend of skills and experience, from the farm to the code.
Technology
Leo Gaggl - Project Initiator & Lead
With a background as an agricultural engineer and a lifelong passion for regenerative and local food systems, Leo brings a unique perspective to the project. He has spent years working in software development, building the kind of database-driven web applications that are now called “full-stack.”
For the past eight years, his focus has been on leveraging low-cost, long-range sensing technologies (LPWAN) to support sustainable and regenerative agriculture. As an active member of the Internet of Things (IoT) and open data communities in Australia, he was one of the first initiators of The Things Network in Australia, a global, open, and decentralized IoT network. His work has always been driven by a passion for open and collaborative efforts to create public infrastructure networks.
His work is driven by a desire to create tools that not only improve farm operations but also help to account for environmental externalities and build greater trust and provenance in our food system. He has contributed to discussions around Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) and agricultural technologies in South Australia through the Growing Data Foundation, always with a focus on open-source principles.
Watch this space for some unique integrations of sensor networks in GrowGood, as Leo brings his passion for open-source IoT to the world of regenerative agriculture.
Economics
Leanne Ussher - Economist, Ph.D.
Leanne is an independent economist specializing in the design of local currencies and accounting systems that support place-based, regenerative economies. She holds a PhD in Economics from the New School for Social Research, known for its heterodox approach. Her publications span agent-based modeling, monetary design, token economics, and the history of economic thought.
Leanne spent two decades teaching and critiquing mainstream economics—connecting theory to praxis—at universities including Queens College CUNY, UMass Boston, and Bard College. Prior to academia she worked as Securities Analyst at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Since leaving academia, she transitioned to hands-on community practice, collaborating with a wide range of corporate, NGO and grassroots initiatives including Consensys, French Development Agency (AFD), Wolfram Blockchain Labs, Valueflows, Grassroots Economics, ThriveOn!, Hudson Valley Current, and the Economic Space Agency.
Globally, Leanne works with communities and funders to co-design post-capitalist, Web3 regenerative protocols. She co-develops “living labs” with local groups, creating programmable currencies that incentivize ecological restoration, cooperative economics, and decentralized coordination.
She is currently a Fellow at Bard College’s Center for Civic Engagement, Associate Editor of Frontiers in Blockchain, and Director of Bowralea Farm in Australia, where she is actively engaged in local ecological initiatives.
Accounting
Lynn Foster & Bob Haugen - ValueFlows & REA Accounting
Lynn and Bob are key figures in the development and application of the ValueFlows vocabulary and the REA (Resources, Events, Agents) accounting model that underpins it. Their work has been foundational to the GrowGood project.
Bob Haugen, a retired ERP and supply chain programmer, has been instrumental in extending the REA model beyond traditional enterprise accounting to be used in complex, multi-company economic networks. His work provides the blueprint for how to think about economic activity in a networked, collaborative way.
Lynn Foster is the core contributor to the ValueFlows project who has been a leading voice in explaining how the REA/ValueFlows model can be applied to build a “new economy.” Her focus on moving beyond traditional double-entry bookkeeping to a more holistic view of resource flows has been a guiding light for the project.
Together, their work on ValueFlows provides the open-source vocabulary that allows GrowGood to model the flow of resources not just within a single farm, but across an entire economic ecosystem. It is the language we use to describe the interconnected, regenerative economy we are all working to build.
Community Management
Alexia Montague
Alexia is the heart of our community, the person who reminds us that regenerative systems are built on relationships. With a Bachelor of Arts in Classics and Ancient History and as a qualified Alexander Technique Teacher, she brings a unique understanding of human patterns and systems to our work.
She is a dedicated land and waterways steward on a small farm in New Zealand, and a passionate localist focused on nature, food, and health in resilient bioregional communities. As Michel Bauwens describes the “Localist,” Alexia is one of the “roots of the system.” She is grounded in the practical realities of growing food, running community programs, and building local networks.
While the rest of the team often focuses on the global, abstract nature of the project, Alexia ensures that we stay connected to the land and the people we serve. She is the one who asks the crucial question: “Does this actually work for the farmer on the ground?” Her role is to ensure that GrowGood remains a practical, human-scale tool that empowers local communities and helps to build a more resilient and connected world, from the ground up.