Profile
Dr. Sobel founded the Fertile Earth Worm Farm in 2009 and brings a depth of knowledge and experience in both business and science. Born in Washington, D.C., she earned a business degree at the University of Virginia in 2000 and became a serial entrepreneur, first in real estate and then in sustainability consulting for the hospitality industry. While in this business, several waste audits for her clients led her to discover the massive impact food waste is having on the ecosystem.
Upon realizing there were no commercial options in South Florida for disposing of food waste except to landfill, she decided to create an option. Thus was born the Fertile Earth Worm Farm (FEWF). To date, the Company has diverted over 12 million pounds of food away from the landfill, transforming food scraps into animal feed and compost. Dr. Sobel is a certified permaculturist and certified commercial composter. In 2018, she earned a master’s degree in forest pathology and a doctorate in plant medicine from the University of Florida, and in early 2020, she returned to South Florida to focus on re-starting a state-of-the-art earthworm farm. In 2021, Dr. Sobel joined the faculty at Earth & Life University in Mexico, teaching the first Spanish-language doctoral-level course on circular economies in the world.
As of 2022, the Company continues to grow its clientele for food-waste disposal and focuses on producing the highest quality compost, vermicompost, organic fertilizers, teas and soil blends in South Florida. Dr. Sobel also co-founded the Fertile Earth Foundation in 2008, South Florida’s only environmental non-profit organization focused on compost education.
Sessions