Brien Darby
Executive Director

Brien supports the staff and programs and keeps the wheels turning by keeping the focus on our core mission and strategic plan. Brien is passionate about urban farming, community building and spreadsheets.

Favorite vegetable: Kale

Alicia Alferman
Communications & Events Manager

Alicia shares the work of Cultivate KC through email, newsletters, our website and social media channels. She facilitates connections and helps events run smoothly. She may not know the answer to your farming or policy question, but she’s happy to help you find the people who do.

Favorite vegetable: Cabbage (so underrated.)

Jessica Cooney
Program Manager, Food Access

Jessica manages our Cultivate KC’s Food Access programs and works to develop new and innovate programs to continue building food security for all members of our community.

Favorite fruit: Olives!

Sam Davis
Site Coordinator, 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

Haley Drake
Farmer Trainer, Juniper Gardens Training Farm

Favorite veggie: Sugar snap peas

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 veggies: Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplants – all the summer crops!

Ami Freeberg
Assistant Director of Strategy & Partnerships

Ami works to help develop urban farms and community-based food projects to build a strong local food system and a supportive community of growers.

Favorite veggetables: Hakurei turnips

Amanda Lindahl
Graduate Support Specialist

Amanda supports New Roots for Refugee Farmer Graduates by providing hands-on assistance, training opportunities, and resource connections including land access, infrastructure development, and funding support.

Favorite vegetable: Sweet potato because they’re so easy to grow and store for eating all year long.

Brett McCabe
Site Manager, Juniper Gardens Training Farm

Brett fixes broken things, builds new things and helps the farmers to grow good things!

Favorite fruit: Peaches… in pie form with a big scoop of French vanilla ice cream!

Vincent Nguyen
Director, Development

Vince grows the green! He cultivates our philanthropy to raise the funds needed to support our vital programs in the community.

Favorite Vegetable: Broccoli, because you can pretend you’re a giant eating small trees.

Eli O’Sullivan Kurtz
Program Associate, Food Access

Eli supports our Food Access programming. First he collects data from farmers markets about Double Up Food Bucks and Market Match. Then he wrangles that data to clearly show the value of building relationships between local food production and folks in need.

Favorite Fruit: A really good pear

Emily Schaeffer
Site Manager, Westport Commons Farm

Emily grows food, works with volunteers and students, and helps maintain and build up the Westport Commons Farm. When she’s not learning about agriculture and environmentalism, she enjoys playing music.

Favorite vegetable: Cherokee Purple tomatoes

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 Manager

As the development coordinator, Ladan manages our Salesforce database and assists with grant writing and donation campaigns.

Favorite vegetable: Eggplant

Paul Zehr
Program Manager, Westport Commons Farm

Paul spends his time scheduling group visits and managing budgets for the Westport Commons Farm. When he’s not playing with Excel sheets and answering emails, he enjoys riding his bike around Kansas City!

Favorite vegetable: BEETS (roasted with goat cheese, they could possibly be the meaning of life)

PJ Quell & Larry Davis
Volunteers Extraordinaire

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