STAFF & BOARD
Allyson Jennings
Ally is a Rhode Island native with a passion for environmental sustainability and community engagement. After graduating from Johnson & Wales University in 2018 with degrees in Business Administration and Event Management, she served a year with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). Following her NCCC term, Ally joined Farm Fresh as the Farm to Food Pantry AmeriCorps VISTA. Now serving as the Assistant Director of Hunger Relief, Ally is excited to continue working with growers/producers, hunger relief agencies, and state agencies to help support the local food system. In her spare time, Ally enjoys hiking, camping, dancing, and baking.
Cassidee Jones
Native to Alabama, Cassidee grew up spending time outside with family, from fishing to gardening to demolishing a watermelon daily (or so it seemed). Everything about life in rural AL was centered around agriculture and poverty, resulting in a food desert. Cassidee decided that there had to be more, so she went in search of an answer at Auburn University, receiving a degree in history as well as political science focusing on African history and food politics, with a minor in sustainability. Her studies combined with five years in the service industry led her to pursue a Masters in Food Security and International Development from the University of Sussex in England. She began working with international organizations to support access to products to treat malnutrition, but involvement in her community garden and a desire to tackle root causes of food injustice led her to Farm Fresh RI. Now she pursues her passion by day and her million hobbies by night, including pottery, tufting, home renovation, cycling, swimming, and more.
Kellie Beretta
As the daughter of a chef, food has been a major part of Kellie’s life since birth. Originally from New York, she studied Baking & Pastry Arts/ Food Service Management at Johnson & Wales University (North Miami), and spent several years managing bakeries. After leaving kitchens and graduating with a Masters in Public Administration from Suffolk University, she knew she wanted to work with food in a different way, which led her to pursue a career at food focused non-profits. Previously she was Senior Development Manager at Project Bread, a Massachusetts based anti-hunger organization and Director of Individual Giving at Chef Ann Foundation, focusing on scratch cooking in schools. A lover of all things local and devoted farmers market shopper, Kellie is thrilled to be at Farm Fresh RI! When not training for a marathon, quahogging, or on a boat, Kellie can be found relaxing at home in Jamestown with her husband and rescue puppy, Princess Leia.
Caroline Grand
A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Caroline was raised with a love for both the culinary arts and local ecosystems. She grew up duck hunting, fishing, beekeeping, raising chickens, and tending to her family garden. After graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from Northeastern University, Caroline honed her skills in writing, marketing, and graphic design for a tech company in New York City before returning to her local food roots. As an adoptive New Englander, she is thrilled to marry her professional skills and personal passions at Farm Fresh RI for the betterment of the community she lives in and loves. In her free time, Caroline enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, plant foraging, and printmaking.
Kristen (KD) Dayton
Kristen (KD) Dayton is an enthusiastic communicator, a lifelong learner, and an advocate for connecting people through food. A recent graduate of the Sustainable Food Systems program at Johnson & Wales University, she enjoys facilitating information exchange and instructing people of all ages and backgrounds in how to appreciate food. In addition to her degree from Johnson & Wales, KD also holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Kent and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Philosophy. She worked for several years in strategic communications for the international development sector of the federal government, and this experience grew her passion for travel and learning about other cultures. KD is delighted to work with Farm Fresh RI, shifting her career towards supporting the future of our global and local food systems.
Turon Williams
Turon moved to Providence at a very early age. He has attended the community college of RI. Turon also has been dealing in produce since 2005, when he was a manager for multiple wholesale companies. He firmly believes that building a successful team starts with great leadership and communication. In Turon’s spare time, he officiates basketball games for the kids across the east coast. Turon is very excited to join the Farm Fresh RI team, and believes that he can teach and learn from his coworkers, as well as associates.
Jillian Caruso
Jillian was born and raised in Warwick, RI; recently, she moved to Canterbury, CT. She attended and recently graduated the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY with a BPS in Applied Food Studies. She has worked her entire life in kitchen and this is a refreshing new beginning for her. Jillian is passionate about her garden, reading, and her two nieces. Jillian is excited to start her career in nonprofits at Farm Fresh RI.
Charreese Braxton
Charreese was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She moved to Providence to attend Johnson & Wales University in 2016. She graduated with a B.S. in Food Service Management with a focus in Food Sustainability in 2020. Since moving to Providence she has worked in various restaurants, getting her feet wet in the industry, which got her involved in working with local products from farms in the New England area.
Kiffen Ratkevich
A native of Newport, RI, Kiffen has long been passionate about food and his community. After cooking professionally for 10 years, he moved on to program and project management. Kiffen is excited to join Farm Fresh RI and be an active member of the sustainable and equitable food movement in Rhode Island. He enjoys cooking for his friends and family and spending time with his wife at the beach.
Sean Kontos
Sean is a native of Dover, NH, who has been working in the food service industry for 13 years. After graduating from Johnson & Wales University with a degree in culinary arts in 2011, he went on to cook around Nantucket and the seacoast of New Hampshire, focusing on local and sustainable cooking particularly tied to whole animal butchery. After backpacking through Europe, he and his now wife, moved to Providence where he worked at Local 121, eventually becoming head chef. Most recently, he helped open Farm & Coast Market in South Dartmouth, MA, as a butcher and chef. Sean started out as a volunteer with our RI Farm to School program until moving on to work with Harvest Kitchen.
Molly Ellis
Molly is a lifelong Rhode Islander. She started out as a volunteer for Farm Fresh RI at the Wintertime Farmers Market in Pawtucket in 2008, and continued through various work study programs and AmeriCorps VISTA terms before becoming a full-time staff member in 2013. Since then, she has managed at least six different farmers markets, become an expert in tent repair, and helped to administer our federal FINI grant that provides funding for the Bonus Bucks program. In her free time, Molly enjoys folk music and dance as well as gardening.
Pang Thao
Pang grew up in Minnesota and moved to Providence, Rhode Island in 2004. For the last decade, Pang has been a full-time stay-at-home mother for her children while going back to college to pursue Nursing. Recently, she earned her BSN from Rhode Island College. She is a dedicated mother, wife, and is attentive to her children’s needs and schooling. Pang has many hobbies including embroidery, baking, cooking, and gardening. She most enjoys gardening and nature. Her parents owned a farmer’s market vegetable stand at Farm Fresh RI. They participated at several locations in which Pang has been volunteering her free time to cultivate, harvest, and assist at the markets.
Retired, Former Senior Technical Director and Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt, AT&T
Nancy Reiter
I came to Farm Fresh RI as a volunteer gleaner with Hope’s Harvest. The concept of eliminating food waste at the source and making fresh, local produce available to all Rhode Island residents became my passion. Understanding the larger picture, I am proud to devote my time, hands, knowledge, and skills to Farm Fresh to further the vision of a robust local food chain accessible to all.
Stephanie Pike
Stephanie was born and raised in Rhode Island and loves to be surrounded by good food and good people. She is a Registered Dietitian who received her training from URI and Keene State College, and has always focused her efforts on community nutrition and food insecurity. Stephanie’s career and personal paths have led her to work, volunteer, and educate in many community-based settings with a variety of groups. She believes in the power of food to create lasting change and strives to support communities in meaningful food and food systems exploration and learning.
Breanne Penkala
Breanne is a RI native with a passion for fresh, local, and affordable food. After working on organic farms for the last 7 years in Upstate New York, Breanne is happy to finally return to the Ocean State. Breanne is excited to join the Hope’s Harvest team, building connections with local farmers and other food related organizations, while recovering produce from local farms and improving food security. In her free time, Breanne enjoys gardening, trying out all of the local ice cream shops, spending time by the ocean, and hiking with her dog.
Susan Clausen
After graduating from the University of Illinois and spending a year giving back to the community as a CETA worker for a grassroots recycling program (before everybody recycled!), Susan worked as a studio assistant for several glass artists. For well over a decade, she continued working in the jewelry industry, living in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Rhode Island. In 1985, she was a founding member of the unjuried, uncensored arts organization in Providence called AS220, and spent countless hours volunteering and eventually being employed by AS220 as Property Manager — a role she held for 16 years. Her commitment to building community and working in the nonprofit sector then led her to Farm Fresh RI, where she hit the ground running to help complete and launch our brand-new facility Providence (during a pandemic!). All throughout her career, Susan has maintained an art studio where she continues to produce mixed media artworks and dabbles in music. She sees cooking as another creative practice, and has found great pleasure cooking healthy foods from local farms.
Danielle Demers
Danielle, Dani for short, was born and raised in Attleboro, MA, and now is a native of Warwick, RI. Before joining the Farm Fresh RI team, she worked for Sodexo food services for six years as a rounds chef and caterer. Danielle loves cooking with a passion. She also loves the outdoors, her houseplants. and her three dogs! Danielle looks forward to helping out the community and working with the Farm Fresh family at Harvest Kitchen.
Natasha Brotherns
Natasha was born and raised in Providence, RI. She explains, “Growing up my family always kept a small farm and that’s where we ate most of our vegetables and fruit from as well. My interest in food and how it’s grown and distributed comes from my deep roots. My great grandmother being 100% Filipino, fresh produce has always been a part of our dinner table — grown and picked right in our backyard. Having spent most of my working years in the food industry, it’s opened my eyes to such varieties of food and also different cultures. I’d love to continue getting educated on our food system and how we can make it better, safer, and healthier!”
Georgeara Castañeda-Garza
Georgeara Castañeda-Garza moved to Rhode Island in 2017 to attend Brown University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in Religious Studies. They call Laredo, TX home and growing up on the US-Mexico border is a large reason behind the importance of access and education in Georgeara’s work. Being a first-generation college student and working class artist has emboldened them to ensure that our future students are empowered to pursue their dreams at any age! Outside of this role, they’re a newborn photographer at W&I and spending this fall taking a stained glass class and a neon glass class.
Janet Coit
Janet Coit has been an environmental leader for decades. For over ten years, Janet served as Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), where she oversaw agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, forestry, agriculture, and the state park system, as well as leading the state’s environmental protection efforts. At RIDEM, Janet focused on growing local food systems and supporting Rhode Island’s seafood sector, as well as reducing pollution and conserving natural habitats. Most recently, Janet was Director of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency responsible for stewardship of U.S. living marine resources. Serving at NOAA from 2021 to January 2025, Janet worked closely with states, tribes and partners, leading the nation’s efforts to ensure sustainable management of our fisheries and restore coastal and marine habitats. Janet launched the first-ever National Seafood Strategy, establishing strategies to support the U.S. seafood economy. Earlier in her career, Janet spent a decade leading the Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and handled environmental issues for three U.S. Senators from New England, including serving as counsel to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Janet is on the Board of Regents at the American College of Environmental Lawyers. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and J.D. from Stanford Law School, where she was president of the Environmental Law Society. Janet and her husband loved raising their children in Rhode Island, a state with many small farms, beautiful open spaces and new opportunities to connect people to the lands and waters upon which we depend.
John Gray
Whether in Iowa where he was born and raised, New York city where he cut his teeth in the hospitality industry or now in Providence where he’s laid roots, connecting with people through food has always been at the center of the table in John’s life. Over the past two decades, John developed a deep appreciation for serving the highest quality ingredients with the highest quality service while working for some amazing restaurant groups including the Momofuku group in NYC and The Eddy here in PVD. His last foray in the service industry provided the opportunity to achieve a lifelong passion as an owner/operator of Saint Monday on the west side. Most recently, John worked in the Development office of College Unbound, located right up the street on Federal Hill. He hopes to utilize all those varied skills (maybe add a little song and dance from his theater days) in building community and connections through Farm Fresh RI.
Jonas Portillo
I recently moved to Providence from Cleveland. Over the past 9 years I have had the privilege to steward the land in many different ways. From working in different National Forests across the U.S. doing trail maintenance and conservation work to more recently farming in Philadelphia and Cleveland. All of these experiences have taught me the beauty of our natural environments and the time and care it takes to work with them. Growing vegetables for the communities that I live in has been some of the most rewarding work I have done yet and I can’t wait to continue it in Providence!
Andrea Aguilar
Andrea grew up in New York and came to Providence to study culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University. After graduation, she took a gap year and went to work with her mom at her bakery, decorating cakes and then went to work at a bank. Now, Andrea wants to go back to school to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in children’s nutrition. In her free time, she likes to cook and bake for her family, tend to her garden, and have picnics in the park.
Rob Glover
Rob’s introduction to agriculture came about through working on small farms in the WWOOF program, where they discovered their love for the field. Their eventual goal is to run their own farm to help provide wholesome food for their community and help foster a love of farming in others. They have worked throughout many different levels of the production chain in local food enterprises, building skills to help them realize this dream. Rob is excited to bring those skills to Farm Fresh RI, where they strive to support local farmers and help strengthen a sustainable, resilient, and equitable food system in Rhode Island.
Julie Rondot
Originally from France, Julie Rondot moved to Rhode Island and joined Farm Fresh RI motivated by her desire to make healthy, local food accessible to everyone. With a degree in Communication and Human Resources, she previously worked as a communications manager and events coordinator in France. Eager to make a real impact and passionate about nature, she pivoted her career to the environmental sector where she campaigns for equitable access to local food. Outside of her professional pursuits, she finds pleasure in hiking, camping, and exploring nature. She hopes to help others rediscover and reconnect to nature’s natural beauty and bounty!
Managing Director IT projects, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
John Auger
“I believe access to fresh and local food is key to addressing many of the health, economic, and environmental issues we face in our communities and our nation. Farm Fresh RI has been on the leading edge of tackling these challenges for years. The organization’s focus on availability of local and affordable foods, its nutrition education programs, and efforts to improve the impact of food production on our environment are critical steps to achieving a healthy farm to fork community. I’m appreciative of the opportunity to be part of the Farm Fresh RI team, and I look forward to participating in advancing the values and mission they represent.”
Paula Gill
Paula is a local urban gardener with a love for growing and eating fresh, organic produce. A trip to Italy sparked a desire to change the way she feeds herself, after being deeply impacted by Italians’ passionate relationship to food and the Slow Food movement there. Since that impactful trip, she has dreamt of farming in Tuscany. By joining the Davis Park Community Gardens, as well as becoming a beekeeper, she has been able to make this dream a reality right here in Providence. Paula brings with her a first-hand knowledge of running a small business, in addition to her knack for numbers. She is excited about all that Farm Fresh RI is accomplishing and being an active member of the sustainable food movement in Rhode Island.
Owner, Pizza Marvin
Rob Andreozzi
As a restaurant owner, Farm Fresh makes it possible to connect with local farmers in a meaningful way. Utilizing Market Mobile allows me to focus on growing my restaurant and building my team while still being able to support the best local farms at the same time. While Market Mobile is the program I interact with most frequently, I look forward to contributing my energy and passion into supporting and advocating for the success of each of the initiatives that Farm Fresh has to offer the community.
Retired Certified Public Accountant
Jane Sabatini
“The mission of Farm Fresh RI is powerful to me — bringing local food to all communities and making fresh, local, healthy food affordable. I’m also impressed with its emphasis on nutrition education for all age groups from children to seniors; I believe this outreach is vital if we are to address the growing obesity and related health issues in our society. I hope to be able to help in advancing these objectives.”
Delite Primus
Delite grew up in Steamboat Rock, Iowa, on her family’s corn, soybean, and dairy farm, learning early on the importance of food origin, food security, and the hard work and dedication needed to grow a passion from seed. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Wartburg College (Waverly, IA) she began her career in Development with United Way of Central Iowa where she gained a strong foundation in donor relations and fundraising. After stops at Habitat for Humanity in Minnesota and Heifer International in California, she landed in Moab, Utah, at a food-based nonprofit called the Youth Garden Project (YGP). As Associate Director and later Executive Director of YGP, Delite led the organization and staff team, while having a specific focus on fundraising efforts — increasing individual donors, corporate partnerships, and grant awards during her tenure. Her 10 years at the organization nurtured her interest in being connected to community food systems and increasing healthy food access. Most recently, Delite served as a Proposal Development Specialist with Utah State University, working directly with faculty as well as state and federal agencies to secure funding for Agriculture and Natural Resource programs. Delite and her partner relocated to Rhode Island in 2019 to be closer to family. She was thrilled to find an organization like Farm Fresh RI that is the perfect merger of her personal passions and professional experience. Away from work, Delite enjoys working in her own garden, riding her bike, hiking a trail, traveling, and any day that involves more hours outside than less. And of course, she enjoys relaxing at one of South County’s amazing beaches.
Genevieve Primeau
Genevieve’s interest in food systems began while working in the local culinary scene in Providence. It was a formative experience to see first-hand all the moving parts in restaurant operation, while being surrounded by food-oriented people! Then there was a great moment of reckoning during the lockdown of 2020, when she was left to reflect on both the interconnectedness and the vulnerabilities of those systems. Nowadays, she is drawn to the agricultural tech space and particularly moved by the issue of food waste. She is pleased to have found marvelous company working on the Market Mobile team. As for her free time, she’s still searching for a “creative” hobby — suggestions are welcome!
Retired, Former Director of Programs, Grow Smart RI
Sheila Brush
“Farm Fresh Rhode Island does two things that I care deeply about — supporting and strengthening our local farms and working to ensure that all Rhode Islanders, regardless of income, can enjoy the benefits of healthy local food. I have long admired the way Farm Fresh uses resources creatively, effectively, and efficiently to achieve its mission. As Farm Fresh launches new and exciting initiatives, I welcome the opportunity to help advance its work.”
Aoife Lee Bird
Aoife Bird loves the woods, the plants, and all things food. Born and raised in New England, wild foraging in the woods and waters alongside her mom, she spent the last many years communing with the plants and wilds of the Pacific Northwest. Over the years she has been a caterer, a bookseller, a baker, an archivist, a (very) small-scale farmer, and a healer. Aoife earned her culinary degree from the New England Culinary Institute a million years ago and has since gone on to earn a degree in archaeology from the University of Oregon focusing on people’s use of plants, foods, and ritual. She continued on to gain a Master’s degree in East Asian Medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine as well as another in Nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine. In addition, she has graduate certificates in Ecopsychology and in Sustainable Food Systems. She has extensive training in Western herbalism from the Arctos School of Botanical Medicine in Portland, OR, and loves to make medicine. She earned her Permaculture Design Certificate from the Permaculture Women’s Guild and is a member of the American Herbalist Guild, The American Anthropology Association, the American Nutrition Association, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Aoife recently returned to her home state of Rhode Island and brought with her a teenager daughter, a Newfoundland named Jeff, a Chihuahua named Sunny, a black kitty named Bitsie, and a baby kitten named Kiki. She loves to walk in the woods, talk to the plants, and explore all the grocery stores everywhere.
Taylor Jacobs
Taylor grew up surrounded by family gardens — her grandparents even housed some chickens in their backyard. Always hearing her mother pine for the first tomatoes of the season, it wasn’t until a trip to Italy a few years ago that Taylor truly got it. On that trip, she spent five months volunteering on farms in Italy, Greece, and Japan. While trying her hand at making goat cheese, caring for emus, and milking cows, she lived the connection between farmers, animals, the land, and the food that we eat. After returning stateside, she began her Farm Fresh RI journey, first serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member, and now acting as our Nutrition Education Associate. In her spare time, she loves illustrating, playing with her pet rats, and learning about cheesemaking.
Hurricayne Cabral
Hurricayne has lived in the Providence area his whole life, graduating from Shea High School in Pawtucket. He started working at Farm Fresh RI in 2018, and since then has grown a strong appreciation for local farmers — in particular, for all the hard work they do every day. Cayne loves working at Farm Fresh and getting products from those local farmers and producers out into the community in many different ways — from delivery to some of the top restaurants in Rhode Island to bringing fresh food right to someone’s front door. When he’s not working hard at Farm Fresh, Cayne enjoys spending quality time with family and friends. He also loves to travel, having visited several different countries and states… and counting!
Founder and CEO, Orange Square
Kristine Merz
Kristine Merz is the founder and president of Orange Square, a Rhode Island-based brand strategy and design firm. A RISD graduate, Kristine has spent her career helping organizations explain who they are, why they matter, and how they can create meaningful change.
Through Orange Square, Kristine works with health, research, and mission-driven organizations, using human-centered design to make complex ideas clearer and more accessible. She is the author of Shift and a twelve-time REBRAND 100® Global Awards recipient. Kristine is proud to serve on the Farm Fresh Rhode Island board because she deeply believes in local food, community connection, and storytelling that brings growers, eaters, and neighbors together.
Thea Upham
Thea moved to Providence in 2004 to attend Johnson & Wales University and graduated with a degree in Food Service Entrepreneurship. She has spent the past 10 years working with food in different capacities — as a chef, farmers market vendor, and farm hand — and has always been mindful of linking her work to the larger local food system. She firmly believes that the decisions we make about what we eat and where it comes from can have great impacts on the health and welfare of our local community. Thea ties these ideals into her work at Farm Fresh RI every day.
