The University of Wyoming and Vertical Harvest Partner to Advance CEA
June 13, 2025 
The University of Wyoming (UW) and Vertical Harvest, an urban hydroponic grower, announced a new partnership to foster innovation and workforce development in the CEA industry on June 12. This collaboration formalizes the company’s commitment to be part of the UW CEA Network that brings together the industry, academic institutions, and communities to further establish Wyoming as a CEA hub in the U.S.
Carmela Rosaria Guadagno, director of the UW Plant Growth and Phenotyping Facility sees the partnership as “essential not only for developing innovative, resource-efficient farming solutions but also for preparing and empowering the next generation of producers. Educational institutions and the private sector must work hand in hand towards a resilient CEA ecosystem and long-term economic growth.” Both organizations share a core mission of accelerating workforce development, research, and innovation within the CEA sector in Wyoming. Vertical Harvest CEO Nona Yehia underlines how “aligned we are on the role CEA can play ensuring food and nutrition security for different communities across the state.”
Vertical Harvest exemplifies the initiative’s commitment to community, sustainability, and locally-grown food. In addition to feeding locals through organizations like the Food Bank of Wyoming, Jackson Hole Food Rescue, and St John’s, the company’s customized employment model and focus on disability employment is a good fit for UW’s prioritization of workforce development for the CEA sector within the state.
Vertical Harvest Co-Founder Caroline Croft Estay sees potential in the initiative’s educational goals and how Vertical Harvest “can support programs that create diverse and culture-inclusive learning environments specific to CEA. Not only is this an opportunity to grow industry knowledge in-state, but it’s also a chance to expand opportunity in cutting-edge, green technology careers within the disability community.”
As part of the UW CEA Network, born from the efforts of the Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) program, Vertical Harvest will actively participate in key aspects of the initiatives including:
- Engaging in joint research projects and facilitating knowledge exchange between Vertical Harvest and University of Wyoming faculty and researchers.
- Providing Wyoming students and communities with hands-on experiences, internships, and valuable exposure to CEA.
- Actively participating in Network-hosted meetings, workshops, lectures, and webinars.
- Sharing data, research, and findings related to CEA.
- Collaborating on joint grant proposals and the development of educational curricula and credentials for the CEA field.
Arik Griffin, chief of farm systems for Vertical Harvest, is thrilled to share knowledge with partners around the initiative’s core science components.
“Exploring how the environment, plants and microbes interact in hydroponic systems to increase yield is a key aspect of establishing cost efficiencies and positive unit economics for the industry,” he says. “This is essential for Vertical Farming 2.0, and CEA overall, to move into its next phase of growth.”
This partnership will create meaningful impact for stakeholders to see as well as scale. The initiative is also open to philanthropic support via the University of Wyoming Foundation (a 501c3). If an investor would like to further this strategic public-private model to help this flagship partnership scale, the UWYO Foundation can provide reporting aligned to impact goals, as well as opportunities for naming, joint recognition, and collaborative project design for anchor partners at [email protected] or [email protected].