Max comes to this work after a career as a science teacher and a graduate degree in public policy focused on soil health policy for Colorado. After graduation, he worked with Mad Agriculture and several other partners to launch the Colorado Collaborative for Healthy Soils in order to explore a new direction for soil health. Max is now a principal of Ground Up Consulting LLC. Ground Up is working in close partnership with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado State University, conservation districts and other eligible entities, philanthropic and other partners to implement the Colorado STAR and STAR Plus programs.