Staff Directory
Katherine Kelly
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Katherine works with the board and committees, strategic planning, program development and a whole bunch of other stuff!
Favorite vegetable: Okra, roasted to crispy goodness!
Alicia Alferman
Office Manager
Alicia keeps the office under control, deals with paperwork, is a master schlepper. She knows a little about a lot of it, but not a lot about most of it. She’s happy to hear from you and point you in the right direction.
Favorite vegetable: Cabbage (so underrated.)
Sam Davis
Site Manager, Juniper Gardens Training Farm
Sam takes care of all things related to operations and maintenance of the farm – he’s the one making sure the farm actually functions. Many of the current and graduate farmers tend to call Sam first whenever they need help or have any questions. Sam is also the farm guardian and watch-dog, he’s always checking in on the farm to make sure everything’s in tact.
Favorite fruit: Watermelon
Lana Dominguez
Program Manager, Food Access
Lana manages our Nutrition Incentive programming to help folks access locally grown fruits and veggies at farmers markets through Double Up Food Bucks and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program. Lana also collaborates with community partners to increase food access, provide outreach, and creates testimony on state and federal policies.
Favorite fruit: Her mom’s garden-grown tomatoes!
Semra Fetahovic
Program Manager, Juniper Gardens Training Farm
Semra co-manages the New Roots for Refugees program by assisting the refugee farmers on-site – basically making sure everything at Juniper Gardens runs smoothly!
Favorite fruit: Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplants – all the summer crops!
Kathleen Foster
Farmers Market Liaison
Kathleen handles the numbers and figures for the Food Access Programs, and works with our awesome farmers market partners in the greater Kansas City area to keep the programs running smoothly.
Favorite vegetable: Patty pan squash! Making her mom’s fried squash and Gram’s squash pudding always makes Kathleen feel a little closer to home.
Mark Gawron
Program Manager, Metro Farms & Food Systems
Mark engages with a wide variety of people who are starting, operating, and growing farms and community-based food projects and is charged with assisting them in realizing their goals while helping to develop a diverse and strong local food system.
Favorite fruit: Blueberry
Ary Guerrero
Director, Development
Ary leads a phenomenal team that mobilizes individual, corporate and grant funding support for all of our programs. She loves creating new partnerships and connecting with fellow supporters of a healthy, local food system in Kansas City. A native of Venezuela, Ary has found a home in the welcoming culture of the Midwest and enjoys being part of the Latino community in KC.
Favorite fruit: Plantain
Kate Johnson
Farmer Trainer, Juniper Gardens Training Farm
Kate works with the refugee farmers to adapt their farming practices to be successful in the American market and Midwestern climate. They work together to create strategies to combat pests and disease for improved yield and plant health, to plan varieties for increased interest from market customers, and to develop methods around each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. If the New Roots farmers have a question, Kate works with them to find the best answer!
Favorite fruit: Green Moldovan Tomato
Sarah Jordan
Development Manager
Sarah primarily writes grants, and helps plan events like Homegrown Happy Hour, the Urban Grown Farm Crawl & Dig In! Sarah also builds relationships with community funders, fights with Salesforce, and edits all the things.
Favorite fruit: The tomato
Dan Krull
Site Manager, Westport Commons Farm
Dan is particularly interested in permaculture, soil biology self-sufficient agriculture and sustainable farming systems. Dan loves giving tours, lectures and working with volunteers.
Favorite vegetable: He loves all vegetables equally
Mary Nguyen
Director, Communications
Mary coordinates tours, volunteer opportunities and media requests; manages social media channels; and designs print and digital marketing assets. If you want to talk or learn about Cultivate KC you’re gonna have to go through her first (most of the time)!
Favorite vegetable: Radish
Linda Siemens
Director, Finance & Administration
Linda oversees annual budgeting process and monitoring, human resources, information technology, and the database.
Favorite vegetable: Cherry tomatoes
Ladan Soleimani
Development Coordinator
As the development coordinator, Ladan manages our Salesforce database and assists with grant writing and donation campaigns.
Favorite vegetable: Eggplant
PJ Quell & Larry Davis
Volunteers Extraordinaire
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