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Katie Church
Co-Director, Director of Administration Katie Church (she/her) 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 (all pronouns) 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. 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. |
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Ezra Baptist
SJI Program Assistant Ezra Baptist (he/they) has lived in Ithaca since he was two years old and has been involved with the Youth Farm Program since 2017. He has worked in our Teen Summer Program as a crew member and a crew leader. He is now a coordinator for the Social Justice Immersion program where he teaches about farming, race, justice, philosophy and self-governance. He hopes to pass on what he learned to the next generation of Youth Farm Project leaders. |
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Gil Menda
Beekeeper Gil Menda (he/him) is our honeybee educator and mentor. Gil inherited this tradition of beekeeping education from his grandfather and kept bees with his father in Israel, where he grew his first honey business. He has a masters degree in honeybee behavior from Hebrew University and a PhD in neuroscience from Cornell. He and Naama now manage Gil’s Honeybees, a small family owned apiary in Ithaca, NY. Him and his family love to work with honeybees! They make sure the bees are happy and healthy all year-long and in return get millions of dedicated workers producing high quality pesticide-free raw honey, pollen, and beeswax. The honey they get is all natural – from the beehive directly to the jar. |
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Valerie Sykes
Bookkeeper Valerie Sykes (she/her) started with the Youth Farm Project in January 2021. Valerie has worked on numerous boards and nonprofits in Tompkins County. She attended UNC-Chapel Hill and Binghamton University, where she studied Sociology, while focusing on Africana and Women Studies. Valerie currently works in the main office at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC). She is happy to work with a team who understands the importance of being inclusive and promoting diversity, while being passionate about small farming. |
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Julia Xiong
Social Media and Communications Intern Julia Xiong (she/her) is a student at Cornell University studying human biology, health, and society with a minor in environment and sustainability. She joined the YFP team this spring as a social media and communications intern and tells her friends about the organization all the time. Her free time is spent baking, dancing on Cornell Bhangra, and trying to cut back on coffee. |
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Emma Badini
Social Media and Communications Intern Emma Badini (they/them) recently graduated from Cornell University where they focused their work and learning on Environmental, Climate, and Food Justice. They also received minors in English and Community Food Systems. They grew up in New York City and hope to offer themselves to the ongoing work of cultivating deep care, creativity, and justice in New York State food systems into the future. Emma feels so grateful to embrace the joy and intentionality that the YFP team centers in all of their relationships and work. |
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Claire de Cordova
Fundraising and Development Intern Claire de Cordova (she/her) is a student at Cornell University studying International Agriculture and Rural Development minoring in Community Food Systems and Agricultural Business. She grew up in Poughkeepsie, NY, in the beautiful Hudson Valley! Claire is passionate about food security and food justice, and believes in the statement “Work is Love Made Visible”. She is excited to work with the YFP this spring, and learn more about and contribute to the great work being done through the Youth Farm Project! |
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 |
