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Katie Church
Co-Director, Director of Administration Katie Church co-founded YFP in the winter of 2009, and has been with the program ever since. Katie works as development coordinator and provides administrative and jack-of-all trades support for all programming. Katie comes from a small-farming background, and has worked in the local food system for 20+ years. 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. |
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Astrid Castillo
Co-Director, Director of Education Astrid Castillo works fluidly and consistently to educate the youth and the community in the history of ancestors and the legacy of our interconnectedness to the land. Her connection to land movements was stoked by a childhood full of stories from her grandfather who was a farmer and part of the Campesinos Sin Tierra movement in his pueblo in the Dominican Republic. She comes to Ithaca via a vibrant community in NJ and has worked on farms in the Finger Lakes region and Montana. Astrid dove right in, running and assisting in various programs, including the Ithaca Waldorf School Farm Classes, The Social Justice Library, The Summer Youth Program and our Farm to School Field Trip Program. She kicked off the Social Justice Intensive, an after school program for Black, Indigenous and teens of color, and works with the teens in GIAC's Conservation Corps each week. Her warm heart and careful preparedness have been felt by all! In working with the younger members of our communities she hopes to inspire a sense of responsibility and empowerment so that they may be the leaders of manifesting a resilient and exuberant society. By acknowledging their power in becoming stewards of the natural and social environment, she helps the youth transform ideas into action. |
past core team members
We are grateful to those who have been part of our core team over the years and showed love and dedication to the Youth Farm Project and its mission:
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Ann Piombino, Co-founder, Farm Manager and Educator, 2009 - 2020
Natalia Rathbun, Assistant Farm Manager, 2019 - 2020 Christa Nunez, Manager of Fresh Snack Program, 2018 - 2020 Laura Arias, Farm and Social Justice Educator, 2017 - 2019 Rafael Aponte, Executive Director, 2016 - 2018 Vanessa Wood, Manager of Fresh Snack Program, 2010 - 2018 Zale Hutchington, Assistant Farm Manager, 2018 Rayna Joyce, Assistant Farm Manager, 2017 Joseph Amsili, Assistant Farm Manager, 2013 - 2014, 2016 Simon Warhaft, Assistant Farm Manager, 2014 - 2015 |