Our Land to Your Hand

Her entrepreneurial spirit was sparked by her work as a business angel, helping startups in Europe and the US. She has a legal background working in international mergers and acquisitions, in France and the US. When not working on River Organics, she promotes arts initiatives in rural Virginia through the Cook Foundation, and the Gloucester Arts Festival.

Ryan Cross is the Operations Manager, and has held that position since the business began. Managing the extraction and product creation aspects of our business, his work involves everything that is needed to turn the flower harvested from our field into the product you hold in your hand. Ryan has a B.S degree in Biological Sciences, and worked in the field of natural resources prior to joining our team. His interest in hemp stems from his work in natural resources, and the positive environmental impact hemp’s soil cleaning properties provide. When he’s not at work, Ryan spends the majority of his time in the outdoors hiking, hunting, or fishing. At home, he is a dog dad to two Labrador retrievers named Maggie and Samson.

Rex is a Production Specialist at River Organics where she assists with the formulation and production of CBD products. She works to analyze and refine production methods to create products of the highest quality. Working alongside the growing and processing teams, Rex also helps with the harvest and extraction of hemp. From crop to finished product, Rex is committed to maintaining the organic integrity and quality of the River Organics product line. Rex’s previous experience includes working as a historian and conducting agricultural research. Rex graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Longwood University. In her free time, she enjoys being on the water and spending time with her family.

John has a varied career with large companies in the packaging and promotional display industries. He is happy to be working today with a dynamic team, making a product that is good for customers, and helping to restore and preserve part of Earth’s goodness. When not working, John aspires to spend more time “simply messing about in boats”.

Melanie is the Packaging and Fulfillment Coordinator at River Organics, but she does so much more. When she is not fulfilling orders, she can be found planting seeds, extracting CBD, bottling products, setting up wholesale accounts, or helping with various degrees of company marketing. She especially enjoys helping to create new products, caring for the seedlings in the greenhouse, and meeting people at events.

Originally from western Pennsylvania, Melanie moved to Virginia in 2005 after living in Hawaii for 4 years and spending a year in Iraq as a member of the Army Reserves. She received degrees in business from Hawaii Pacific University and Chaminade University of Honolulu.

Melanie managed an animal hospital in Yorktown, VA for 12 years before leaving to spend more time with her family. During this time, she became more interested in plants and completed the Extension Master Gardeners Course. She loves the opportunity to put these skills to work each day on the farm.

When not at work, Melanie enjoys spending time with her husband, son and two dogs. She is often found hiking with her son's Boy Scout troop or riding her mountain bike. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, reading and scrapbooking.