SEMAP
Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership

Jay Coburn, Executive Director

Education

B.S.  Human Development & Family Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 1986

Background

Jay's path to Executive Director of SEMAP is a slightly unusual one.  He grew up on a small hobby farm in Northwestern New Jersey where he and his family raised a herd of dairy goats.  Jay became a licensed dairy goat judge while a senior in high school and started college at the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.  Other interests led him to graduate from Cornell's College of Human Ecology and spend a dozen years as an activist and lobbyist on AIDS and adolescent health issues.  

In 1997, Jay and his partner John moved to the Outer Cape and dove into the restaurant business.  For nine seasons they ran CHESTER, one of the Cape's most highly rated restaurants, and were early members of SEMAP's B2B Network.  Jay served as the restaurant's executive chef and developed a passion for using local ingredients and supporting local farmers.

Jay lives in Truro on the Cape and is thrilled at the opportunity to help lead SEMAP forward in the organization's second decade.