Born and raised in Philadelphia, Kim’s earliest memory is connecting with the earth by making mud pies in her grandparent’s backyard. She honors that although the conventional name for our city is Philadelphia, we reside in Lenapehoking, the ancestral, stolen territory of the Lenni-Lenape. Kim holds an undergrad degree in anthropology from Penn and a master’s degree in education from Chestnut Hill College. A former Philadelphia preschool and public elementary school teacher, she also co-founded and directed The Reiki School + Clinic, pioneered Integrative Medicine programming at Penn Medicine, and served as Strategist and Operations Director for The Lotus Institute, an international nonprofit offering mindfulness and trauma resiliency training to changemakers. As a longtime educator, community gardener, social justice advocate, meditator, and integrative medicine practitioner, Kim brings a holistic, liberatory approach to organizational development. She is dedicated to cultivating relationships rooted in care, building sustainable operations that impede burnout, creating curriculum that builds agency, and redistributing leadership and power to those most negatively impacted by harmful systems. Kim believes that creating more access, equity and justice in the food system is a key to community healing and reconciliation.

Growing up in Philadelphia, Antoine always felt motivated to seek and understand the truths at
the roots of the issues that harm communities.

As a former youth, high school, and college athlete, Antoine shares the values he has learned from playing sports by volunteering time as a youth football coach and training former players looking to improve sports performance/wellness. He is involved with local youth-centered
organizations such as Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project and Sankofa Community Farm.

Antoine has an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from Clark Atlanta University, and is completing his Master of Public Health at Temple University.

Antoine identifies as Native African and feels a strong connection to black and brown communities working towards food sovereignty and sustainable relationship with the land. He also attributes his gravitation towards urban agriculture to a personal journey of understanding
how the food we eat affects body, mind, and spirit. Antoine looks forward to applying his educational and lived experiences towards building upon food sovereignty within his home community and empowering youth and families to get involved with urban agriculture.

Coming of age in the lush forests of Portland, Oregon, Ainhoa has always felt a sacred call to land stewardship & earth based wisdom. Being Black and queer in a white-dominated space caused them to find divine kinship with the land, as if the elements were asking them to nest in a place where they otherwise felt placeless. 

It is because of this relationship and sense of place that Ainhoa believes in the beauty that comes with generating a bond with the land, liberatory farming education, and forming autonomous communities through the creation of food accessibility. Ainhoa understands that nature has been the site of deep-rooted trauma for Black and brown folks, and yet has also sustained profound healing, joy and nourishment. Their journey into nature-based learning is inspired by this joy, and with that in mind, Ainhoa has been moved to seek opportunities teaching and learning on the land of their own community. 

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Alyssa attended Cheltenham High School where she served as the president of the organic farm club. There, she learned how to garden both outside and hydroponically and taught other students how to do the same. As she became interested in combating food waste and insecurity in her area, she began her Girl Scout Gold Award project, A Second Hand, where she worked on creating a virtual food pantry.

Currently, Alyssa is pursuing a Bachelors in Cognitive Science from Yale University with a focus in cognitive neuroscience. In New Haven, CT, she produces podcasts for the Yale Daily News and serves as a health educator at public schools in New Haven. Through these activities, Alyssa has developed a love for community empowerment and education and uses her podcast platform, Full Disclosure, to amplify marginalized voices. Through urban agriculture, Alyssa hopes that she can help to empower adults and children alike to grow their own fresh produce and feel connected to the land.

Laura Crandall has lived in Philadelphia for the last 10 years where she has directed and managed programs focused on youth development, food access, and food justice. She also has over 10 years of experience as a food and gardening educator in Philadelphia, Oakland, and Boston. Currently, Laura works as the Director of Food Security Initiatives for the Office of Children and Families at the City of Philadelphia. In this role, she focuses on both making sure people in Philadelphia can connect to food and comprehensive resources to address both immediate needs and the root causes of food insecurity. Laura is also an Ex-Officio member of the Philadelphia Food Policy Advisory Council (FPAC) and Co-Chair of FPAC’s Anti-Hunger Subcommittee. She received her Master’s Degree in Community and Regional Development from the University of California at Davis. Laura is a community gardener at Sankofa Farm and she loves cooking, preserving, sharing, and eating food!

As a public health advocate, steward of social justice initiatives, and nonprofit leader, Folasshade works across a variety of disciplines to co-create equitable, healthy organizations and communities. Her approach is rooted in appreciative inquiry and inclusive practice. Her work is informed by the lessons and legacy of ancestors and; she purposefully integrates the lived experiences and perspectives of people impacted by any change effort she supports. For more than 20 years, she has been designing programs, building coalitions and strengthening organizations that help children, youth and families. Her work spans across public schools, colleges and universities, community-centered organizations, businesses, and includes partnerships with civic and political leaders. Folasshade has a BA in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University, a MS in Organizational Development and Leadership from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, an MPH from Drexel University, and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University. Folasshade lives in Philadelphia with her daughter. She welcomes opportunities for collaboration with openness, kindness, and joy.

Kiasha Huling, MSW/LSW is a tenured social worker and environmental advocate. Kiasha serves as a capacity building and DEI consultant specializing in mission alignment and program development. She has organized and engaged communities around the issues of public health, equity, and environmentalism as a social work professional. Kiasha is a graduate of Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. Currently serving on the Steering Committee for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Tree Tenders Program, the Community Advisory Board for the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and the AccessMatters Information and Education Committee, Kiasha is committed to advocating for more environmental investment in Black and Brown communities as indicators of better health & wellness and stronger cohesion in Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Andrea Turner is a seasoned corporate finance professional with nearly 25 years of experience in Governance, Finance and Audit in multinational banks and finance companies. As a governance professional, she is currently responsible for the oversight Capital Adequacy reporting processes. As part of a strong Citizenship agenda at her bank, the opportunity to join Food Moxie came about Andrea strives to bring her energy, commitment and expertise to make a meaningful impact in service to the community as a board member and volunteer. Andrea lives in the western suburbs of Philadelphia with her husband, teen daughter and two dogs where she enjoys supporting the local music community and reading a good mystery.