Allison (she/her) has 20 years of professional service in critical areas of Executive leadership, Project Management, and Business Development. Allison has spearheaded four business endeavors, the latest of which is Urban Fruits & Veggies LLC. & Buffalo Go Green Inc., which is a non-profit organization. Urban Fruits & Veggies (UFV) has been in operation for six years and is involved in several projects throughout Buffalo and Erie County. UFV has an urban farm, and mobile produce market that services food apartheid areas and underserved communities, bringing access to healthy fruits & vegetables and nutrition education. The company sells at local farmers markets weekly from June to October. Some of our programs: Fruits & Vegetables Prescription Program (FVRx), have a corporate wellness division where we imbed our services into local companies, partner with organizations on wellness initiatives, and offer programs for elementary and high school students where we teach nutrition education and urban farming. Allison loves to ski, spend time with family, and cook during her free time.

In addition to her business, Allison has served on the Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Directors, Buffalo & Erie County Food Policy Council, Erie County Farm Bureau, Pilot Community of Black Farmer Fund, and is a member of Black Farmers United NYS.

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Marvin (he/him) was born and raised in a farming community in Jamaica. He likes to play soccer and learn about new technology during his free time. For his day job, he works as an engineer at GlobalFoundries and a real estate investor. Outside of work, he has committed his time to support, The Vermont Releaf Collective, a network created by and for BIPOC Vermonters who are passionate about land, environment, agriculture, and food. He is looking forward to bringing his expertise on how to build wealth to the black agricultural businesses of the Northeast.

Marvin received his Associates in Architecture and Construction Technology from Knox Community College. 

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Wil (he/him) is a proud black farmer & part of a family-supported run produce-growing business Moss Fresh Fruit & Vegetables. For over 40 years, Wil has grown fruits and vegetables for the Western NY community and distributes this produce at the Rochester Public Market. Wil enjoys all aspects of the farm season: planning, working the land, planting, cultivating/weeding, harvesting & taking the produce to market to sell. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, and focusing on good health.

Wil received an MBA with a focus in Finance from Wayne State University. He is also a real estate owner, and property manager of 34 units in Western NY.

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Dishaun (he/him) is an urban farmer at Root Life, LLC, with more than a decade of experience growing food and educating community members on growing food for themselves. Root Life, LLC focuses on community upliftment & empowerment through urban farming, urban farm training, food justice education, agritourism & community-focused health events. Dishaun believes that all people should have sovereignty over their food systems because that leads to greater sovereignty over their lives. He spent four years learning how to farm at Common Ground High School, working his way up from volunteer apprentice to assistant farm manager. Dishaun also received training in agriculture from Soul Fire Farm Institute in Grafton, NY & from the Practical Permaculture Institute of Zanzibar in Tanzania.

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amanda (she/they) is a community herbalist, a gardener, the mother of three amazing children, and the creator of Rootwork Herbals and the many initiatives that are a part of that container. Through liberatory community building with the land, she tends plants and people, grows gardens, makes medicine, offers consultations, holds space, builds relationships, and teaches. Before starting Rootwork Herbals, amanda was Co-Director of Healthy Food For All, which supported families in Ithaca by purchasing produce with food stamps.

amanda’s Rootwork Herbals is a Black Farmer Fund investee recipient and is looking forward to continuing to shift power and create opportunities for other black agricultural businesses.

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Mavis-Jay (she/they) is a chef who wakes up every morning and strives to leave the world a little better. She is a social and racial equity activist that has dedicated her career to fighting for food justice in Black and low-income communities. Recently, the impact of her work has been increasingly recognized by the organizations that celebrate and support excellence in the industry. In March of 2022 alone, she garnered not only a feature in a collaborative exhibit between The Museum of Food & Drink (MOFAD) and The Africa Center, but a Game Changer Award by Dine Diaspora as well. As of June of, she was awarded a James Beard Foundation Award for leadership.

In a previous year, she was honored as one of Star Chefs’ New York Rising Stars. She is a James

Beard Chef’s Boot Camp alum and a mentor to the James Beard Foundation’s Fellowship Program. She can also be found as a establishing board member of the Queer Food Foundation, on God’s Love We Deliver’s culinary counsel, and in the Black Farmer’s Fund pilot community.

Mavis-Jay’s food focuses on celebrating Black American heritage, joy, and a journey to reclaim

Black food sovereignty.  Since 2018, she has worked closely with numerous non-profit organizations to develop curriculum offering a free, paid, world-class culinary and hospitality training to formerly

incarcerated youth, culminating in career placement.

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Hannah Smalls (she/her) is a mama farmer based on Abenaki land, now known as Southern Maine, where she grows diversified veggies. She has a long-term mission of being an active part in achieving a healthy, thriving, and resilient local food system for all people in her community especially Black and Brown folk.

She is a 2024 Journeyperson with the Maine Organic Farming and Gardening Association (MOFGA) and a 2024 Russell Libbey Ag Scholar recipient. Hannah holds a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Food and Farming from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. Her passions and hobbies include seed saving, cooking, and walking barefoot among the trees.

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Ana Ramos (she/her) is constantly radically reimagining a better world for everyone. Her passion for equitable and sustainable economic development has been a driving force throughout her adult life. She currently is a Manager of Capital Strategies at Common Future, where she co-develops and structures pilot products and innovative initiatives, specifically around impact investment capital, that have the potential to transform the field. Before this role, she worked at the Food Trust, where she worked closely with food entrepreneurs in Camden, New Jersey, managed the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, and worked on a bi-national healthy food initiative in the Paso del Norte Region. As a daughter of entrepreneurs (and a social entrepreneur herself), she knows firsthand the impact these initiatives can have on our communities. She is currently a Financial Activist Fellow at the Just Economy Institute where she is deepening her understanding of the extractive economic system and the ways financial and social capital can be used to effect systemic change.

Ana is deeply rooted in the Philadelphia community. Still, she is a true Caribbean at heart. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she is blessed to visit the islands often. When not at work, you can find her working on her social enterprise, Colectiva Clara, crafting, going on long walks in her neighborhood, dancing at home with her partner, cooking/eating, and playing and learning with her daughter/bestie.

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Della Miller (she/her) is passionate about education and generational wealth for underserved and low-income communities. Della started and ran St. Augustine’s Food Co-Op, Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers, and a commercial kitchen in the historic broadway market of Buffalo. She has advocated for food and business justice by being a member of the Buffalo Black Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo Food Network, Food for the Spirit, and Black Farmers United - NYS. She has worked at Community Action Organization, a CDFI, as a teller, and as a loan officer. In her free time, she enjoys plant-based cooking, developing recipes, and eating her creations.

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Diabi Doucoure (he/him) is one of the founding members of Soumppou Kafo (Big Dream Farm), a 55-member cooperative farm serving Halal livestock and African vegetables to West African Muslim families in the Tristate area. Diabi is passionate about learning from different people and helping people be successful. Before Big Dream Farm, Diabi was a mechanic and cab driver in the Bronx. During his free time, he likes to spend time with his family.

Diabi’s Big Dream Farm is a Black Farmer Fund investee recipient and is looking forward to continuing to shift power and create opportunities for other black agricultural businesses.

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