Staff/Faculty Directory

Cowell Coffee Shop Site Co-Lead
ganger@ucsc.edu

Gabriela (she/her) is one of the Site Leads at the Cowell Coffee Shop, a non-transactional Basic Needs café committed to making nutritious and culturally relevant food on campus accessible. She graduated with her B.A. in creative writing in 2023 at UCSC, where she was also a CCS student kitchen lead. Gabriela additionally works with The Hive Poetry Collective in Santa Cruz, and feels passionately about the ways in which words and food have the power to bring people together.

Farm Garden Manager
christof@ucsc.edu

Christof (he/him) 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.

Regional Food System Specialist
helcalde@ucsc.edu 
(831) 459-3695

Héktor (he/him/el) was born in Mexico City and immigrated to Orange County in Southern California with his family. He received a B.A. from San Diego State in International Business with an emphasis on management in the region of Latin America. He completed an Apprenticeship with the Center for Agroecology, earning an advanced certificate in Ecological Horticulture. Héktor currently farms and co-operates a 5-acre farm in Morgan Hill and has many years of farming experience from working on multiple diversified vegetable production operations in Northern and Southern California. He also has extensive experience working with orchard trees in residential areas and on small-scale farms. He is the son of immigrants and protector of racial justice, food justice, and food sovereignty

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 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

Events and Outreach Coordinator
mholtkam@ucsc.edu
(831) 459-3762

Based in the Hay Barn, Maddie (she/they) works with campus groups, private event clients, and local vendors to put on events in the Hay Barn and across the farm. Maddie is an alumna of UC Santa Cruz, holding a B.S. in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology with a concentration in microbiology. Maddie first got involved with the Center to pursue her interest in soil and plant nutrition. Outside of work, Maddie spends her time backpacking with her dog, crocheting, and experimenting in the kitchen.

Jay King

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.

Agroecology Program Specialist
xmoura@ucsc.edu
323-308-8010

Ximena (she/her) is the Center's agroecology program specialist, focusing on program management and coordination. She has experience working as a naturalist for the National Audubon Society at their nature center in Los Angeles, serving historically excluded students and community members in the area. She graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt with a B.S. in Wildlife. During her time at Humboldt, she was introduced to agroecology when she participated in a study on avian insectivores on shade coffee farms. She is currently finishing up her Masters Degree, studying grassland birds on rangelands, and enjoys spending her time knitting, reading, and gardening with her husband during her free time.

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.

Cowell Coffee Shop Site Co-Lead
esolowoh@ucsc.edu

Elijah began working at the Cowell Coffee Shop as a student in 2021. He received his B.A. in art in 2023, transferring the knowledge he gained in the studio to the kitchen. He works with students to provide the campus with fresh and seasonal food. In his spare time, he likes cooking for friends and drawing.

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.