Rafael Aponte - Director 
Born and raised in the South Bronx, NY, Rafael Aponte has a deep commitment to education, food justice, and sovereignty. He brings over twelve years of experience working as a community activist, advocate, and educator in NYC. Rafael relocated to Tompkins County and established Rocky Acres Community Farm, a 10-acre farm which focuses on education and the sustainable production of local vegetables, herbs, and meat for underserved communities in Freeville, NY.
In 2014, Rafael began working with the Youth Farm Project, bringing his experience in farm operations and after-school education in facilitating workshops dedicated to equity, food justice, and livestock production. Rafael piloted and partnered with the Youth Farm Project to implement the Harvest Box program, a way to increase agency of marginalized residents of Tompkins county in our local food system. Rafael is currently the acting director of YFP where he works alongside dedicated youth, staff, and farmers to fulfill YFP's mission and vision for the future.
Ann Piombino - Farm Manager and Educator
Born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, Ann’s first brush with agriculture was in her Italian grandparent's backyard garden. She studied Restoration Ecology at Prescott College, and proceeded to live the fast lane life of farming, from market gardens to dairy farms. Her passion for on-farm education grew when she first started working with YFP in 2010, and blossomed into co-creating the Summer Program experience. She is currently the Farm Manager and Educator and oversees day-to-day operations for YFP. She strives to ensure the environment at YFP is one where all youth are safe and can strengthen their perceptions of themselves and the world we all share. Ann loves bringing games and experiential learning to YFP's programs, she is fascinated how we are more open to expressing ourselves while learning about complex social issues, like racism and our food system, free from the roles of society.  
Katie Church - Administrator
Katie Church co-founded YFP in the winter of 2009, and has been with the program ever since. Katie is currently in the role of Administrator, keeping things rolling on the office end of the program.  Katie's passion for the powerful voices of young people, and her love for the land, drive her commitment to the Youth Farm Project.  
Katie grew up in the Ithaca area, and is raising her own family here.  For much of her life, Katie's work has centered around food, from working on farms, to managing a large CSA, to working as a chef.  Katie's work with the Youth Farm Project ties all of these passions together. 
Audrey Baker - Director of Fresh Snack Program, YFP Farm to School Coordinator 
Audrey has spent the past nine years immersed in community-based school food, school gardens, and farm to school programs. She sees this work as fundamental for building a more equitable, ecologically balanced world. Audrey focuses on intersections of community food systems with public institutions, including schools and prisons. She has designed and taught experiential learning curriculum for primary and secondary grade levels, and a college course for adults, mostly in Tompkins County and surrounding areas.

In 2012, Audrey began to work with Ithaca City Schools to bring fresh, locally grown food into meals and snacks, and involving youth in every step from growing and preparation. Three years later, these farm-to-school programs were adopted by the Youth Farm Project, where we are building new synergies between schools and community, institutions and youth.
Laura Arias  - Farm and Food Justice Educator
Laura was born a warrior. From a young age she rebelled against what was expected of her and challenged herself to explore who she really was despite societal pressures. By the time she got to college she was interested in an array of subjects and decided to study environmental sciences, philosophy, and women and gender studies, which gave her an understanding of people and the earth that would later allow her to become an influential educator. While in college and after she completed her studies, she taught classes on sustainability, nature ethics, and the importance of emotional health. She has worked with students ranging from the ages of 3 and 22 in academic, farm, spiritual, and environmental programs.
 
Laura started working at the Youth Farm Project during the summer of July 2017 and is dedicated to challenging her students to think critically and deeply about the food system. She greatly believes this is what social justice work is all about; we must analyze our position, the position of others, the reasoning behind the differences between those two, and if this reasoning is just. Once we understand that, we can act.
Vanessa Wood - Manager of Fresh Snack Program 
Vanessa Wood has been managing the Fresh Snack Program for over five years.  She helped develop and establish the program when it began at Beverly J. Martin Elementary in 2009, and has helped strengthen it as it has expanded to four additional ICSD Elementary Schools. She works with farmers, chefs, students, teachers, aides, nurses, custodians, cafeteria staff, parents/caretakers, and administrators to refine and strengthen the logistics, education, and snack offerings that make the snack program nourishing and viable.
She is passionate about healthy food, healthy people, and a healthy environment.  She is always learning more about the communities and spirit that make up the Ithaca area, which she adopted as home in 2005.  She is delighted to be part of the Youth Farm Project, a longtime collaborator which took the Fresh Snack Program under it's supportive wing in 2016.