Staff/Faculty Directory

Farm Garden Manager
christof@ucsc.edu

Christof (he/his) has been involved with the Center for Agroecology since coming to Santa Cruz as an apprentice in 1994 and has been a staff member since 1999. Christof has extensive experience in nursery management, propagation, vegetables, and specialty cut flower production. He is especially interested in nutritionally dense crops, small-scale grain production, the cultivation of small fruits, and creating a learning/growing environment where everyone can thrive. He holds a BA in Asian history from Reed College and an MA in equity and social justice in adult education from San Francisco State University.

Chadwick Garden Assistant Manager
econwell@ucsc.edu

Ned Conwell (he/him) brings more than 20 years of successful farming knowledge and experience to the Center for Agroecology. He completed the Center's six month Apprenticeship Program in 2001 and then went on to successfully launch and manage multiple farms in both California and New Mexico. He has extensive knowledge, skills and experiences related to running a farm or garden. Ned also has varied experiences in instructing and mentoring both youth and adults in various classroom and practical/field settings, including summer camps, school gardens, at Life Lab, and outdoor educational centers around the country.  

Editor & Communications Specialist
eefoley@ucsc.edu
(831) 713-9049

Erin (she/her) earned a BA in world literature and cultural studies at UC Santa Cruz where she became interested in organic farming, gardening, and food systems issues through classes and internships at the campus farm and gardens. After graduating, she worked on farms in Santa Cruz County and abroad before deciding to pursue a career in communications. Although she has traded farm life for an office desk, she is happy to be involved with advancing a sustainable, just food system.

Education & Research Program Specialist
tgalarne@ucsc.edu
(831) 359-8861

Tim (he/they) works as a Specialist for the University of California focusing on equity and student basic needs, farm to institution, and experiential education programs. He actively supports regional, statewide, and national efforts that intersect with food, social equity, and community development. Mr. Galarneau is a co-chair to the UC system-wide Basic Needs Initiative. In addition, he is a co-founder of Real Food Challenge and a board advisor to the national movement non-profit, Real Food Generation, advancing a student driven higher education effort to address equity and justice across the food system. Tim advises our campus basic needs efforts with a talented team as well as our co-curricular partnerships and endeavors. He received his B.A. in Community Studies (with an emphasis and agroecology and social justice) and Intensive Psychology, while his M.S. focused in Food Systems and Society.

Basic Needs Coordinator
fmge@ucsc.edu
(831) 247-0695

Assistant Director of Finance, Planning, and General Operations
jlenth@ucsc.edu

Jessica's (she/her) background includes working as part of senior management for non-profits throughout the Bay Area, including Oakland Based Urban Gardens (OBUGs), where she helped put gardens on under-resourced school campuses. Jessica holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. She currently serves as the Board President for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County, and in her spare time Jessica enjoys showing her partner all the best scenic hikes in Santa Cruz and tending to their garden.

Grants Coordinator
alindsey@ucsc.edu
(831) 566-3779

Ann (she/her) is a half-time staff member working remotely on grant proposals, reports, fundraising appeals, and other efforts to help bring in support for the Center’s programs, Farm, Garden, and staffing. Ann previously lived in Santa Cruz and worked with the Apprenticeship Program, but now lives in Anchorage, Alaska.

Alan Chadwick Garden Manager
orin@ucsc.edu

Orin (he/him) has managed the Alan Chadwick Garden since 1977, and is an instructor for the Center's Apprenticeship Program as well as UCSC undergraduates through classes and internships. Orin also teaches workshops and writes extensively on horticultural topics for the general public. His special interests lie with fruit trees (stone, pome and evergreen), garlic, roses, the weather, and baseball.

Assistant Cooperative Extension Organic Production Specialist
joji@ucsc.edu
831-459-2178

Research & Education Coordinator
dmparr@ucsc.edu
(831) 359-8710

Social Science Research & Education Specialist
jperez@ucsc.edu
(831) 459-3235

Jan (she/her) has been with the Center for Agroecology since 2001, conducting academic and applied social issues research regarding fostering a more sustainable and just food system. Her current work focuses on utilizing participatory research, program evaluation and self-assessment in the interest of learning and critical reflection in order to foster social change and transformation for a more equitable and sustainable food system. She received her M.S. in adult education from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Faculty Director
Professor, Environmental Studies
Alfred and Ruth Heller Chair in Agroecology
sphilpot@ucsc.edu
(831) 459-1549

Stacy (she/her) is an agroecologist interested in community ecology, ecosystem services, urban agroecology, and interactions between agriculture, conservation, and farmer well-being. Stacy has worked for more than 20 years to understand how farm management and the landscapes surrounding farms influence diversity of insects, plants, and birds on farms, and the ecological interactions among species. She has worked in tropical agroforestry systems in Mexico and Indonesia, annual cropping systems in Nicaragua, and in urban agricultural systems in Michigan, Ohio, and California. She has written more than 140 research articles and book chapters.

Food Ways Supervisor, Cowell Coffee Shop 
jschmitt@ucsc.edu
(707) 684-0237 (c)

Brooks (he/him) is a 3rd generation chef and UCSC alumnus who grew up in a restaurant and on an heirloom apple farm in Anderson Valley, California. During his tenure at UCSC, he worked in the Center for Agroecology Farm Garden and studied the Classics, with a focus on ancient fermentation practices and the momentum of knowledge across Western civilization. In 2010, he founded the Boonville Cider House, a nationally distributed hard apple cider brand. In 2015, following the company's sale, he started Bruxo Food Truck, a shapeshifting mobile culinary project based in Santa Cruz. Today, at the Center for Agroecology, he manages the Cowell Coffee Shop, a non-transactional Basic Needs cafe, as well as the Mobile Food Hub, a 16' food trailer. Throughout the school year he collaborates on growing sustainable and culturally relevant foodways with campus partners, and works daily with students to prepare the fresh and seasonal produce grown at the Center's farm and gardens in as many unique ways as possible.

Executive Director
dgwong@ucsc.edu
(831) 459-3604

Darryl (he/him) helps manage the tractor cultivated fields at the Center for Agroecology, and coordinates faculty-led research trials and undergraduate/graduate student and Apprenticeship Program classes and projects. Before joining the Center in spring of 2013, Darryl co-owned and operated Freewheelin' Farm, a seven-acre, mixed vegetable operation that sold produce via CSA, Farmers’ Markets and direct to restaurants/grocery stores in San Francisco and Santa Cruz. In addition to his role at the Center for Agroecology, Darryl is concurrently enrolled in the Ph.D. program at UCSC where he is studying organic no-till vegetable production.

Field Production Site Manager
kyogg@ucsc.edu
(831) 588-1377

Kirstin (she/her) first came to Santa Cruz in 2005 as an Apprentice in Ecological Horticulture at the Center for Agroecology and joined the staff in 2015 to manage the tractor cultivated fields. Having owned an operated her own mixed vegetable farm in the Santa Cruz area, Kirstin is focused on the nuts and bolts of small scale vegetable production; healthy team management, crop production and post harvest handling for high quality nutrient dense food, and thoughtful community based marketing that works toward healthy food access for all. Kirstin is most excited to use her own farming skill and experience to help students develop the background and tools to vision and execute their own projects.