Fusion Farms

Kendell Lang is the Chief Executive Officer of Fusion Farms, an innovative hurricane-protected indoor vertical farm solution for the re-utilization of vacant PRIDCO buildings in Puerto Rico. Fusion Farms has been in the formulation stages for decades, starting from Mr. Lang’s Bachelor of Science degree in biology from college where he completed his senior thesis on aquaculture. That early exposure to technology innovation applied to nature has kept alive the vision and passion which today has culminated in Fusion Farms. As a seasoned leader, Mr. Lang brings a unique approach to building teams. He is a life coach with a focus on people, process and tools. He has broad industry success in accounting, finance, real estate, construction, brokerage, professional services, product design, high-tech manufacturing, e-commerce and information technology.

Lisa Jander is a Certified Life and Relationship Coach, Public Speaker and Author of a book titled, "Dater's Ed," for parents. Becoming an author was a by-product of the passion she has for mentoring teens and young adults and has parlayed into her responsibility for the educational foundation and Community outreach opportunities for Fusion Farms. Lisa is a self-confessed "handyman" and loves every kind of power tool. As a former kitchen designer for Home Depot, Lisa has extensive design, project management and construction experience which lends to her many contributions to not only the startup of Fusion Farms but the efficient and effective ongoing operations. As a Co-Founder, Lisa provides overall project management and task tracking to organize all the myriad parts of this amazing puzzle.

Danielle is the Co-Founder of Garden Pool and Operations Director. She overseas the day to day operations of the Garden Pool Store and our Local Programs. She is our resident animal expert. She grew up on a farm in the mid-west and loves growing veggies, herbs and fruit trees in the desert!

Dennis is the founder, a designer, and a teacher at Garden Pool. Dennis invented the Garden Pool, wrote the book, developed and manages our web presence. Dennis has also designed several other Garden Pool systems, including the Fantasy Farm, and created many unique GP innovations, such as the 5 Gallon UV Sterilization Bucket. Dennis is the project manager of volunteer builds and is the course instructor for the GP Certified Designers. Dennis believes that sustainable food production helps improve entire communities. Dennis, a full-time volunteer, is the primary researcher and serves as the President and CEO of Garden Pool.

Dr. McGee owns and operates Caribe Fisheries Inc. a tropical aquaculture farm in Lajas, PR. He is involved in all phases of aquaculture and particularly those which may be important to improving productivity and quality of life in PR. Most recently he introduced a new aquaculture species to this hemisphere, the Basa catfish. Puerto Rico is currently the only nation in the western hemisphere to culture this food fish. Exports from Vietnam to other countries of the world are over $1,000,000,000 a year and there is good potential in all tropical regions of the western hemisphere to culture this valuable species. He also offers training and workshops related to aquaculture. He is working with Fusion Farms and other institutions to increase awareness of aquaculture in PR. Caribe Fisheries was established in 1989 by Dr. Michael McGee. The main business is ornamental fish for wholesale distribution in Puerto Rico and for export. In addition, Caribe Fisheries produces fish and shrimp seeds for sale to other aquatic farms. Caribe Fisheries continues to work with governments, universities and individuals as consultants to help develop aquaculture in Puerto Rico, Central and South America. Dr. Michael V. McGee has extensive experience and training in the areas of aquaculture, aquatic ecology, water chemistry and fisheries science. For the past 18 years he has successfully developed and operated his own aquaculture-agriculture business Caribe Fisheries Inc, located in the Lajas Valley. Caribe Fisheries produces ornamental and food fish species, freshwater shrimp, aquatic plants, vegetables and herbs for sale in Puerto Rico.

Fusion Farms has been working with Sadhu Govardhan, founder of Govardhan Gardens to focus on the unique challenges of growing tropical fruits native to tropical ecosystems in and around a CEA facility. Sadhu Govardhan is an independent thinker, eco-organic farmer, tropical rare fruit connoisseur and researcher. Sadhu will provide inputs into crop selection for maximum diversification, as well as recommendations for the outdoor living canopy on the property around the building.

Dr. Shane C. Burgess, MRCVS, FLS has worked around the world as a practicing veterinarian and scientist. His areas of research expertise include cancer biology, virology, proteomics, immunology, bioinformatics and computational biology. He has 188 refereed publications, trained 38 graduate students and has received nearly $55M in competitive funding since 1997. Dr. Burgess is currently Vice President for Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension, Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Director of the Arizona Experiment Station at the University of Arizona. The division has a total budget of $135M with over 3,900 students and more than 1,700 employees. He currently serves on the Agri-Business and Water Council of Arizona Executive Committee, the Board of Directors for Arizona Farm Bureau, the Governor’s Agricultural Best Management Practices Committee for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the BIO5 Institute Deans’ Advisory Board, Tech Launch Arizona’s Internal Advisory Board, Arizona STEM Diploma Project Advisory, Flinn Foundation’s Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, Reid Park Zoological Society Board of Directors, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Board of Trustees, Pima County Agricultural Science Advisory Commission, Farm Foundation Round Table Steering Committee, and is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Dr. Burgess also serves on a number of university-level planning and strategy committees.

Rene Esteves, PhD is currently serving a dual role as the Extension Leader for the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Sea Grant College Program which is headed by Dr. Ruperto Chaparro. Dr. Esteves is also the Aquaculture Specialist for the UPR Agricultural Extension Service. Previously he’s served as Puerto Rico’s Fisheries Liaison for the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dr. Esteves is a coral reef fish ecologist whose research interests have focused on larval connectivity of commercially important fish species, changes to coral reef fish community structure due to disturbances and fisheries independent assessments. His double role in the UPR is in part meant to strengthen informal education in small sustainable recirculating aquaculture projects that would both increase food security and offer alternative income for low-income rural coastal communities.

Agriculture is a business that develops in a competitive market system, in which success is measured to a large extent, based on the maximization of profit. To achieve this goal we must recognize that knowledge about technical aspects of crop or animal production is not a sufficient condition for the farm to make a profit. Education in managerial aspects of agriculture or agricultural business is essential to promote the development of competitive agricultural and agroindustrial enterprises. The management that is being done, through NuCeDA, sharing information and knowledge with farmers and potential farmers, is of greater importance, when we recognize that the operation of an agricultural business is somewhat different from that of other types of companies. Puerto Rico Sea Grant achieved college status in 1989 and is based at the University of Puerto Rico. Their mission is to fund scientific research to address the priorities of Puerto Rican communities. During September 2017, Puerto Rico was devastated by back-to-back major hurricanes that resulted in the worst natural catastrophe affecting the region in a century. Fishing facilities or “villas pesqueras” including boat ramps and piers were in many cases completely destroyed, boats were lost, gasoline and diesel fuel were nowhere to be found, and there was no electric power. In addition, many fishers’ houses and communities were flooded and/or destroyed by the storm. Puerto Rico Sea Grant actively assisted fishers by providing guidance about available post-hurricane assistance and benefits from federal, state and private entities.