When did you know that you wanted to work in food?

I was born in New York City, raised on the lower east side by two parents who grew up on farms an ocean apart. I loved visiting my mother's parents in Alabama, where there were chickens and hogs, horses and cows and acres of cotton, vegetables and fruit. Some of my first memories are of my mother's city gardens, carpeting our eighteenth-floor concrete terrace with greenery. Even as a child it seemed improbable to me - this strip of green things flourishing each summer on a concrete shelf floating over the East River Drive. As a city girl, I learned to look for nature in the cracks of things-moss growing on the corner of a crumbling step, dandelions snaking out of cracked concrete, wildflowers jutting out of a chain-linked fence. I have always wanted to cultivate this city by cultivating in it. I was further inspired to grow food after reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a memoir of the year the author's family ate only food they'd grown themselves on the land they lived on. This was exactly how my mother was raised, and I decided to follow my passion for growing by learning as much as possible about cultivating food for myself and my community in this city.

How did you get your current good food job?

I had been a teacher for Farm School NYC for about a year when I received an announcement from the Director that she was seeking her replacement. I couldn't believe that she would willingly leave this amazing job, even though I knew she was pursuing her dream of farming full-time. I wrote back right away: "I can't believe you are leaving. I'm so very happy for you. And I have a hard time imagining Farm School without you. I am definitely interested in following in your huge footsteps ? I'll be working on my cover letter all weekend!"

How did your previous work or life experience prepare you for a good food job?

When I read the Farm School NYC Program Director job listing, I felt as if the varied skills and experiences I amassed over the years converged in the job description. I was a nonprofit manager with an MBA in marketing and six years of supervisory experience at a senior level. I was also a farmer, gardener, and food justice advocate. As an ardent Farm School NYC teacher and supporter, I couldn't imagine a position for which I was better suited or more enthusiastic. I had spent three years after leaving my nonprofit management position and prior to my current job with my hands in the soil-learning as much as possible about growing sustainably. I apprenticed at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) in Santa Cruz, completed the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Brooklyn Urban Gardener certification, helped organize three national Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conferences, and cultivated several urban vegetable gardens during this time. My passion for increasing access to healthy, sustainable food in my native city had only deepened in the process.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome in pursuing your Good Food Job dream?

My biggest obstacle was undoubtedly when last fall, five months into my dream job, we learned that the government grant that had sustained Farm School NYC by covering nearly 90% of our budget for our first three years had, to everyone's surprise, not been renewed. We needed to come up with another way to survive, to move ahead with the 20 urban ag and food justice focused courses slated for 2015 while maintaining a sliding scale model and a diverse student body. With the help of our students, our board and our faculty, we've been able to do just that. Our community rallied by jumping in, by volunteering, fundraising and offering in-kind donations of space, time, skills and ideas. Now, not only are we still up and running, we are exploring completely new, exciting operating models for years to come.

Name one positive thing that a former employer taught you that you continue to appreciate?

My favorite farm manager taught me so much by his presence. Asking a seemingly simple question about which row needed irrigating could lead to fascinating discourse on soil chemistry, the Dust Bowl and the water needs of native food crops in the Chenopodiaceae family. He taught me that if you love what you do, even the most tedious tasks can be exciting, and that sharing your passions frees others to pursue their own interests with abandon, which often leads to our best work.

What can you identify as the greatest opportunities in food right now?

I think that we have the space and the skills to grow more food in our cities, and to use those skills to improve our food system in both urban and rural areas. I've seen first hand how urban agriculture can inspire positive action in communities - helping people access healthy, affordable food and develop new approaches to social, economic, and racial justice issues. I feel blessed to be able to help people along that path.

If you could be compensated for your work with something other than money, what would it be?

I could easily, happily and healthfully live on the food grown and products made by Farm School NYC students, alumni and faculty. I would deck my house with locally grown flowers, feast on city-grown fish, eggs, honey, vegetables and fruit of endless varieties, heal myself with balms and herbal remedies and probably even have portions of my brownstone rebuilt by our carpentry students.