Rizpah Bellard is an educator, entrepreneur, and community advocate committed to expanding opportunities for students and families. Raised on a Black Angus cattle ranch, she developed an early understanding of how food, land, and community shape people’s lives. She earned her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where she combined natural and social sciences to better understand how systems impact individuals and communities.

Through her professional work, Rizpah has supported socially disadvantaged populations and addressed issues including human trafficking, mental health, homelessness, global health, and education. These experiences helped her identify a growing disconnect between people and food systems and how that gap contributes to broader social and economic challenges.

To help close that gap, Rizpah founded Nova Farming, an organization focused on education, agriculture, and career pathways. Through this work, she connects communities to hands on learning opportunities and helps create pathways to higher education and meaningful careers.

Rizpah also brings a global perspective to her work, with experience in China, Colombia, and Nigeria. She holds a Master of Arts in International Studies from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, with a concentration in Human Trafficking and Forced Labor and a certificate in Global Health.

Her leadership has been recognized through numerous honors, including a Fulbright Scholar Award, COWGIRL Magazine’s 30 Under 30, and CAFF’s New Farmer of the Year. She currently serves as Board President of Magdalena’s Daughters, an anti trafficking nonprofit, and has been recognized for her ongoing advocacy for the unhoused community.

Today, Rizpah brings this experience home, working to ensure students have strong foundations, families feel heard, and schools are accountable to the communities they serve.