PRESS RELEASE:
Castanea Fellowship announces inaugural cohort
Berkeley, CA – The Castanea Fellowship – a multi-sector collaborative committed to shaping an equitable future that leaves a beautiful “foodprint” for generations to come – announces its inaugural Fellows.
“Despite significant progress in the past several decades, our food system remains the driver of some of our nation’s most entrenched problems: from widespread hunger to diet-related illnesses and environmental impacts like water and air pollution and devastated rural economies,” says Castanea Fellowship Steering Committee member Anna Lappé. “The transformational work needed to fix our food system cannot be achieved in isolation. That’s one reason we are thrilled that this Fellowship will bring leaders together—to more effectively address the complexity of food system change”.
The Castanea Fellowship is founded on a rich and compelling history. Inspired by the W.K.Kellogg Foundation Food and Community Fellowship Program (2001-2013) a dynamic Steering Committee formed to conceptualize a new program. These change-makers and connectors— Scott Cullen, GRACE Communications; Haile Johnston, Common Market; Navina Khanna, HEAL Food Alliance; Anna Lappé, Panta Rhea Foundation; Mark Muller, McKnight Foundation; Brett Ramey, Doris Duke Conservation Scholars; Ricardo Salvador, Union of Concerned Scientists; and Kolu Zigbi, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation – have come together in partnership with Farzana Serang, founding Executive Director to launch the Castanea Fellowship to bring about a world where food is the source of health, equity, and well-being for all.
With an outpouring of interest, the Castanea Fellowship has selected both its 2019 and 2020 cohorts. These leaders signify hope and reflect the Fellowship’s core values of racial equity, diversity, and impact. 92% of the fellows are people of color, the majority are women-identified, and all have significantly contributed to growing a more equitable, sustainable, and healthy food system. They will be joining Castanea Fellowship to further amplify their transformational work by connecting with cross-sector perspectives and learning from local, regional, and national innovation to bolster collective leadership nationwide. Castanea Fellows will have two-years to explore connections and will receive a $40,000 award in honor of their leadership once the program begins in June.
Meet the 2019 Castanea Fellows
- Erika Allen, Ecosystem Innovator, Urban Growers Collective, Chicago, IL
- Shorlette Ammons, Food Equity Educator, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, Durham, NC
- Geeta Maker Clark, MD., Activist Physician, Evanston, IL
- Leonard Diggs, Farmer, Stone Farm, Santa Rosa, CA
- Mark Winston Griffith, Cooperative Organizer, Brooklyn Movement Center, New York, NY
- Lilian Hill, Land Steward, Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture, Kykotsmovi Village, AZ
- Emily Moose, Sustainable Farm Promoter, A Greener World, Pittsboro, NC
- Martin Lemos, Farmer Advocate, National Young Farmers Coalition, New York, NY
- Eduardo Rivera, Farmer, Sin Fronteras Farm and Food, Minneapolis, MN
- Maeraj Sheikh, Community Builder, Community GroundWorks, Madison, WI
- Aileen Suzara, Culinary Connector, Entrepreneur, Berkeley, CA
- Rowen White, Seed Keeper, Sierra Seeds, San Juan, CA
“I am in awe of our inaugural Castanea Fellowship cohort,” noted Executive Director Farzana Serang. “They are a generative group that symbolizes the bold, thoughtful, and caring leadership we will need to bring about a more just food system we know is possible. I am excited to see where their collective leadership will take us.” The 2019 Castanea Cohort will participate in six learning immersions, designed to build capacity and deepen their connections to work nationwide as they foster food system innovation. They will collaboratively work to build a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food system for children, families, and all of our communities.
Follow Castanea on social media: #Castanea2019 Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn.
Learn more at: www.castaneafellowship.org
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