Kenneth Dale Speetjens is the Co-Founder and CEO of Shipshape Urban Farms, an agritech company focused on the design, manufacturing, and operation of hydroponic farms built inside up-cycled shipping containers. The technology developed by Dale and the Shipshape team requires 90% less water, significantly less energy vs. conventional farming, and can go anywhere.
Dale began his career by serving in the United States Armed Forces. During this time with the military Dale was deployed, Iraq, where he served with honor. After leaving the military he began his studies at Auburn University were he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelors of Environmental Design and a masters in both Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning while working as a Graduate Research Assistant. After graduation, Dale joined Mobile’s Bloomberg Innovation Team. His work focused on the Blight Index, a project Mobile has received international attention for in several publications including; Fast Company and Strongtowns. After nearly two years with the Innovation Team, Dale was asked to teach alongside an international team of architects, landscape architects, urban designers, and planners at the Galapagos International Architecture Studio in the Galapagos Islands. His class spent five weeks developing a path for the islands to become more sustainable. Upon his return to the United States Dale was asked to join Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design, and Construction as a visiting Professor. Over the next three semesters Dale taught while planning to launch Shipshape Urban Farms.