A BIPOC Panel Discussion on Regional Food Systems: Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group

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Panelists

Alivia Moore, co-founder of Eastern Woodlands Rematriation Collective

Alivia Moore (she//they) is co-founder of Eastern Woodlands Rematriation Collective. They are a two-spirit member of the Penobscot Nation, parent, auntie, and mover&shaker in community. They are committed to restoring balanced relationship with the earth, and they support all aspects of work being done within the Collective in Wabanakiyik– including the coordination of the Wabanaki Community Apothecary, Rematriation School & Indigenous birthwork reclamation.

Living in & reconnecting to her traditional territory in so-called Northport, ME she is rebuilding food forests, wild harvesting foods & medicines for community access, and striving to be a conduit for traditional knowledge mobilization. She dreams of living collectively on the land and of building a space for the community apothecary.

They also organize with Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance, and serves on the board of Wabanaki REACH. Alivia is dedicated to child welfare system abolition and fosters native children.

Angel Mendez, Executive Director of Red Tomato

Angel Mendez is an Executive Director who works with Red Tomato, a small Food Hub Based in Providence, Rhode Island. Hence, after working with Red Tomato for 20 years from the startup phase, Angel has deep knowledge in strategic planning, finance/metrics, non-asset-based distribution systems & ERP software.

Angel holds a BS in Finance and Accounting from Northeastern University in Massachusetts. Angel spends his free time enjoying his family and summer mornings in his garden, which he refers to as his farm. In addition to his leadership at Red Tomato, Angel serves on the Boards of Farm Fresh Rhode Island, OKE USA Bananas, Urban Farming Institute, and RI Food policy council.

Dr. Ashley Gripper, founder of Land-Based Jawns

Dr. Ashley Gripper was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. Her work focuses on Black people’s connections to Earth and reclamation of land-based living and organizing practices. She has been active in food and land justice movements for a decade and as a result, has built strong relationships with urban and rural growers around the country.

Ashley is a community builder and the Founding Organizer of Land Based Jawns, a spiritually-rooted organization that supports Black Philly women, non-binary, and trans folks who want to grow deeper in their relationships to land, food, and ancestral spirituality. Land Based Jawns offers workshops and education on agriculture, carpentry, land-based living, and safety with a focus on self and community healing. Ashley began her formal farming training at Sankofa Community Farm in Southwest Philadelphia. She is also a member of Soil Generation and is working with the team to design Philadelphia’s first Urban Agriculture Strategic Plan, set to be released this summer.

Ashley’s research is transdisciplinary and uses mixed-methods to explore the associations between urban agriculture, mental health, spirituality, and collective agency, particularly among Black agrarian communities.

In the fall, Ashley will begin as an Assistant Professor at Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health with the Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements, and Population Health Equity. Her work and scholarship will help to advance the Center’s mission and impact.

Dr. Heber Brown, founder of Black Church Food Security Network

Dr. Heber M. Brown, III is a community organizer, ordained reverend and budding farmer who has been a catalyst for personal transformation and social change for more than twenty years. For nearly 14 years, he served as pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. While there, he launched Orita’s Cross Freedom School in 2012; an educational program that celebrates African heritage and develops hands-on skills in youth. In 2015, he launched the Black Church Food Security Network which supports African American congregations in their efforts to establish gardens on church-owned land and partners them with Black farmers in order to pipeline nutrient-rich produce from soil to sanctuary. He is the recipient of numerous awards and is currently working on his first book which explores the historic relationship between Black churches, Black farmers and faith-based food sovereignty.

Moderator

Rebekah Williams, NESAWG board member and co-founder of Food for the Spirit

Rebekah Williams is an organizer, trainer, facilitator, and strategic planner from Western New York and founder of Food for the Spirit and the Buffalo Food Equity Network. With over twenty years working in nonprofits in Buffalo, Rebekah has experience encouraging youth leadership, social and racial justice, environmentalism, and the arts. In 2018, Rebekah joined a cohort of 10 individuals in the HEAL Food Alliance School of Political Leadership (SoPL), a national alliance working to create inclusive, democratic food and farm systems. As part of HEAL’s SoPL, Rebekah focused on bringing the Good Food Purchasing Program to Buffalo and developed a greater understanding of relationships between race issues, policy, food, farming, and ecological justice.

In 2022, as Food for the Spirit’s Co-Founding Director, Rebekah is actively engaged in supporting the development of a cooperative enterprise for Black farmers in NYS, she is supporting BIPOC farmers in the Genesee Valley and Western New York to reach new markets and marketing support, and she is serving as project manager for two teams of Buffalo-based food systems activists: the first team is developing a popular education workshop as part of the Buffalo Farm to School Initiative and the second team is participating in Race Forward’s Policy Innovation Lab.

Rebekah is a board member of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, a steering committee member for Black Farmers United NYS, and a committee chair for the Good Food Buffalo Coalition. She has a degree in Social Structure, Theory and Change from SUNY Empire State College; and has completed training with the Buffalo Montessori Teacher Education Program, Center for Economic Democracy in Boston MA, HEAL Food Alliance and Movement Generation in Oakland CA, North American Students of Cooperation in Chicago IL, and Training for Change in Philadelphia PA.

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