Joseph Brinkley, who holds a degree in Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University, was working for the Federal Reserve in Richmond, Virginia when he realized he would rather work the land than work in an office. He went back to school, the second time attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Horticulture in 2003. Following graduation, Joseph worked with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm while complementing his education with workshops at Virginia’s Josephine Porter Institute, an internationally acclaimed educational facility that advances education and research in Biodynamics. “I was enjoying learning the details of farming land, including best practices for compost and soil management—and gaining insight to anything that contributed to the overall health of the farm,” Joseph remarks. When the opportunity arose to travel to Napa Valley for a three-month harvest internship at Grgich Hills Estate in 2006, Joseph jumped at the chance to apply his growing knowledge of Biodynamic vegetable farming to vineyards. California came calling again in 2008, when Grgich Hills Estate lured him back to Napa Valley with a full-time position, which he held for three years. Joseph later consulted for a variety of celebrated wineries including Spottswoode Estate and Roederer Estate before working for Rios Farm Management and later joining Bonterra Organic Estates, a leading U.S. winery with 100% of its estate vineyards in Mendocino County, California Regenerative Organic Certified at the Silver level. Beyond Bonterra Organic Estates’ doors, Joseph is a recognized speaker and panelist on topics related to soil health, regenerative organic farming and responsible business practices. He is instrumental in shaping and driving Bonterra Organic Estates’ policy positions on climate-smart farming and business practices, and has advocated lawmakers for climate action and healthy soils legislation in California and Washington, D.C. Joseph is a member of the Ceres Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy Network’s Healthy Soils Working Group, and in 2023 was awarded the Ceres BICEP Climate Smart Agriculture Groundbreaker Award. In 2021 he was named a Wine Industry Leader of the Year by Wine Business Monthly. He is currently the Organic Trade Association's Sustainability Council Chair.