Pawpaw Experts & Educators
Here at the Pawpaw Festival, we’re proud to feature leading pawpaw experts who bring family fun, great entertainment, and engaging educational opportunities for both our community and visitors. If you want to learn more about the wonderful, elusive—yet native—pawpaw fruit, you’ve come to the right place.
This year’s pawpaw experts include speakers such as our very own Todd McCree and author Michael Judd, each sharing their unique expertise and passion for pawpaws. For 2025, we’re excited to welcome several more special guests. Read on to discover their stories…
Meet Our Pawpaw Experts
Todd McCree
At this year’s Pawpaw Festival, we’re thrilled to welcome back Todd McCree of Great Escape Farms, who will be presenting on the fascinating world of pawpaws and other edible plants.
Todd is more than a gardener—he’s a visionary, dedicated to sustainable, regenerative practices that inspire and empower. As the owner of Great Escape Farms, he has transformed his nursery into an agritourism haven, where visitors don’t just explore—they leave energized, educated, and excited to cultivate their own green spaces. His mission? To spark joy, share knowledge, and build a more connected, earth-friendly future.
About Great Escape Farms: Nestled just outside Romney, WV, Great Escape Farms has been a family-run business since 2015, specializing in unique edible plants and serving as a showcase for Permaculture and regenerative agriculture. They propagate most of their plants onsite, offering varieties such as Elderberry, Pawpaw, Hardy Kiwi, Persimmon, and Honeyberry, among many others.
Committed to sustainability, the farm harvests rainwater for irrigation and integrates eco-friendly practices whenever possible. Beyond farming, they create educational YouTube videos on plant propagation, homesteading, and practical DIY projects—including how to set up a rainwater harvesting system.
Join Todd at the festival as he shares his expertise, passion, and insights into the hidden gems of edible plants!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@greatescapefarms
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatEscapeFarms
Bernie Coyle
Bernie Coyle grew up in western Maryland and has forestry degrees from Allegany College, West Virginia University and Virginia Tech. He worked for seven years in forest land management and wood procurement with Union Camp Corporation in Alabama and Georgia, including assistant manager of Union Camp’s timber harvesting subsidiary in Alabama, Rocky Creek Logging Company. For 30 years he worked for Westvaco and its successor companies MeadWestvaco, NewPage and Verso in wood procurement. He was the wood procurement manager at the Wickliffe, Kentucky papermill and was the last wood procurement manager at the Luke, Maryland papermill that closed in 2019.
Since his retirement, Bernie and Linda have enjoyed growing and planting trees to create an arboretum on their property on the South Branch of the Potomac River near Levels. They have a special interest in tree species that are declining or becoming less common in the area, such as butternut, bur oak and especially American chestnut. For several years they have been collecting chestnut burs from many surviving sprouts that occur on the Allegheny Front near their home in Keyser. Despite the challenges from squirrels, deer and dry summers, they are gradually establishing wild and backcross American chestnuts on their land. They have been expanding their work in the activities, demonstrations and plantings to promote American chestnut restoration. They look forward to a time when the efforts of so many people over many years once again make American chestnut a common tree of our forests. Every year, we are getting a little closer!
David Abruzzi
David Abruzzi is a veteran and registered architect who founded Cacapon Preservation Solutions, LLC in 2022 with the vision to “Protect & Preserve WV Historic Places for the benefit of current and future generations”. The purpose of his firm is to “assist property owners, municipalities, residents, and concerned citizens who want to protect and preserve historic structures navigate the historic preservation process.” In 2025, the state of WV recognized David’s work in Paw Paw, WV with the WV History Hero Award.
David earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in Architecture from Tulane University and a Masters degree in Architecture from the University of New Mexico with graduate level coursework in historic preservation. He and his wife settled in Largent in 2014 after David completed a 20-year career as an Air Force Civil Engineer Officer.
Gabrielle Marsden
Gabrielle Marsden is a Pittsburgh-area naturalist and butterfly conservationist dedicated to restoring zebra swallowtail butterflies through habitat restoration and public education. By researching historic populations, encouraging the planting of native pawpaw trees, and engaging citizen scientists, she has played a key role in the rediscovery and return of zebra swallowtails to the region after nearly nine decades.
Greg Sherbert
Greg Sherbert lives in Berkeley Springs, WV with his wife Carly and son Graham. After graduating from Indiana University in 2011, Greg and Carly began working on several different farms focused on grass-fed beef and dairy, forest and pasture raised pork and chicken, organic vegetables, tree fruit, and nursery production. Greg was certified in Permaculture Design in 2014 and has worked in edible landscaping, raw milk dairy, land surveying, and mobile sawmilling. In 2017 Greg and Carly moved to Berkeley Springs, WV and started Forest Shepherd Farm, a nursery focused on providing edible and useful plants for resilient landscapes and farm layout design and installation. Greg has participated in keyline and agroforestry trainings with the Regrarians, SilvoPro, and Propagate Ventures.
Forest Shepherd Farm (Also a return vendor!)
Linda Coyle
After spending her last 10 years in West Virginia, Linda Coyle still considers herself a Kentuckian at heart. She spent most of her formative years in Kentucky with a short stint in Alaska in the 60s when her father was stationed there. She has fond memories of her time as a child growing up in Kentucky including swinging on her grandmother’s front port singing “Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch”. She learned only 20 years ago that a Paw Paw was a tree with a fruit that is harvested in the Fall.
Her credentials include a Bachelor’s of Science in Safety and Health from Murray State University. Additionally, she worked as a volunteer with the Extension Service in Kentucky and West Virginia for 40 years. Recently she has achieved Master Gardener in a program through West Virginia University, has become a board member of the The American Chestnut Foundation, and become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution with the Highlands of the Potomac Chapter.
On a personal note, she has two children: Robert, an artist living in New York City and Janet, an architect living in Baltimore. Her favorite Forrester is her husband, Bernard Coyle, with whom she has been married for 15 years. Lastly, she has been spending time helping others and trying to serve Jesus for the last 60 years.
Neal Peterson
Neal Peterson is one of the foremost pioneers in modern pawpaw improvement and has devoted more than four decades to researching, breeding, and promoting North America’s largest native fruit. After discovering the exceptional flavor of pawpaw while studying plant genetics at West Virginia University in the 1970s, he began a long-term breeding program to identify superior cultivars with larger fruit, fewer seeds, improved flavor, and better productivity. His work has helped transform the pawpaw from a little-known wild fruit into a commercially viable specialty crop, and his cultivars are now grown by home gardeners and commercial orchards throughout North America and beyond. Through his research, writing, and educational presentations, Peterson continues to inspire interest in the cultivation and conservation of this uniquely American fruit.
Osier Blackthumb
Osier Blackthumb is a semi-retired Organic farmer who has been teaching foraging, ecology, and critical thinking to the public for his entire adult life. He is currently enthralled with the rejuvenation of an old homestead in Texel West Virginia, where he is establishing a permaculture nursery based largely on locally sourced seed.
Fawn’s Head Grove and Wild Notions Fiber Art Collective (also joining us as a vendor this year!)
Rodney Dever
Rodney completed his MS in biology at West Virginia University researching wild onions. His focus is on native plants. He leads nature walks in all seasons as president of the West Virginia Native Plant Society – Eastern Panhandle Chapter. These days Rodney works with Neal Peterson, propagating new and improved varieties of pawpaws.
Sam Zamarripa
Sam Zamarripa is the founder of Doghobble Wine Farm in the Dahlonega Plateau of North Georgia, where he is exploring the intersection of native fruit, sustainable agriculture, and regional identity. Before turning his attention to farming, Sam served two terms in the Georgia State Senate as the first Hispanic elected to that body, building a career in public service, entrepreneurship, and community leadership. Today, he applies that same vision to agriculture, embracing a philosophy of working with the natural landscape rather than against it. By incorporating pawpaws and other native plants into his farm, Sam demonstrates how sustainable farming can celebrate local ecosystems, regional heritage, and the distinctive flavors of North America.
Join these pawpaw experts at the festival on September 12, 2026!! Learn more about the Pawpaw Festival on our About page.
