Leslie Person Ryan is a farmer, propagator of unusual specimen vegetables, entrepreneur, and business owner with four decades of experience. She is passionate about community volunteerism, food activism, and doing the right thing. Born into an agricultural community on a citrus ranch, Leslie's parents owned a large lemon ranch, growing for Sunkist and the Upland Lemon Growers Association. Growing up in ranching, she developed a deep appreciation for agriculture and farming from an early age. Later as her own citrus farmer in North San Diego County, Leslie became the valley’s first to turn a non-certified grove into a certified organic grove. She experimented with natural pesticides and secondary crops to enhance water usage. Seeing the flaws in the food system, she expanded farming to Orcutt and acquired 7 additional acres in Summerland to help the community. She started a local food bank, providing food to the medically infirm and financially unstable. She also founded the Santa Barbara Agricultural and Farm Education Foundation (SBAFE Foundation), a nonprofit with the mission to educate and promote awareness of food growth, propagation, and distribution, particularly in underserved areas. In 2021, Leslie campaigned to save 7 acres of farmland from development. She innovates with water-saving inventions, grows heirloom corn, conducts permaculture and regenerative farming classes, and produces value-added products from her crops. Recently, she launched Santa Barbara County’s first closed-loop food system program, delivering farmed food on zero-emission e-bicycles. Leslie advocates for chemical-free and regenerative farming.