Denzel Mitchell, Jr.,Executive Director
Denzel brings a fusion of leadership, varied professional experience, and a deep-rooted connection to agriculture. Raised a country boy with cowboy roots in Oklahoma, Denzel’s journey into farming began early, sparking his
interest and commitment to food, consumption, production and sovereignty. Denzel was a founding organizer and member farmer of the Farm Alliance. In November 2012, he completed Future Harvest-CASA’s Beginning Farmer Training Program. Soon after, he (alongside a farmer friend, a chef, and a food historian) brought a nearly-forgotten heirloom pepper variety, Baltimore’s Fish Pepper, back to the Chesapeake foodshed’s culinary palette.
He and his family founded Five Seeds Farm and operated it with a cadre of supporters and volunteers between 2008 – 2016. From 2012 to Spring of 2017, Denzel mentored and trained new growers, organized farmers’ markets, advised others in starting small farms, community gardens, food co-ops and food businesses. Over the last 15 years, he’s held various roles supporting healthy food education and access in the Baltimore area; teaching young people at several Baltimore City public schools and after-school programs.
He was the Brownfields Coordinator for Baltimore City’s Office of Planning, the Farm Manager at Strength To Love 2 for three seasons (2017-2020) and has served as advisor to several farms including Real Food Farm, Whitelock Community Farm, Strength To Love 2 Farm and Great Kids Farm. He has served on the board of directors for the Friends of Great Kids Farm, Belair-Edison Neighborhood, Inc. and Acres4Change. He currently sits on the board of Our Common Table.
With nearly 15 years of farming experience to inform and enrich his strategic approach, his leadership is enabling FAB to navigate market shifts and pioneer innovative agricultural methods. Through mentorship and advocacy, he ignites passion in the next generation of Black farmers, fostering a legacy of stewardship for the land.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Denzel actively engages with local communities and continues to feed his passion for cooking and feeding people as an integral member of Baltimore’s favorite eatery and catering outfit, Blacksauce Kitchen. In his free time, he enjoys music, film, art, and the outdoors. He is the proud “baba” of 5 fantastic humans.
Emily Castle, Operations Manager
Emily has worked at native plant arboretums, botanical gardens, and an environmental publishing company, where she co-developed Tiny Victory Gardens: Growing Food Without a Yard. Most recently, she managed the veggie department of an edible landscaping company. Outside of work, Emily enjoys teaching and practicing yoga and tending to her small but mighty vegetable garden. She’s excited to have returned to her non-profit roots at the Farm Alliance, supporting urban agriculture and community building while keeping everything running smoothly with her passion for spreadsheets.
Skher Brown, Finance Manager
Skher is a lifelong martial artist who gained his non-profit experience through an organization to preserve his traditional art form of Capoeira Angola. In his career work, he has served as a business owner-operator, non-profit executive director, teaching artist, choreographer and performer, k-12 and college instructor, law librarian, and lineman worker. Skher is a proud Southerner–born and raised in Florida and graduating from the HBCU of Florida A&M University. He as been a resident of Baltimore since 2003 and is father to three school-age sons.
Darien Nolin, Financial Assistant
Raised in the Midwest with grounded values and a deep appreciation for community, Darien made Baltimore home in 2019, drawn by its creativity, grit, and vibrant sense of possibility. You’ll usually find him exploring the city one picnic, pop-up, or speakeasy at a time. A lover of art and the outdoors, Darien finds inspiration in the everyday beauty of Baltimore’s people and places. Whether showing up for a neighborhood event, supporting local artists and businesses, or investing his time and energy into moving the city forward, he’s committed to being part of what makes Baltimore greater—for everyone.
Alison Worman, Programs Manager
Alison Worman grew up tending a small backyard garden in the city of Milwaukee, WI. Shortly after moving to Baltimore in 2008, she was introduced to the city’s food landscape through working at Whitelock Community Farm. Her experience managing Whitelock from 2014-2018 was instrumental in building her commitment to supporting urban agriculture through advocacy and collaboration. Alison is a 2013 graduate of the Future Harvest Beginner Farmer Training Program and has worked at several urban and rural farms. Her expertise spans small-scale sustainable production, composting, crop planning, and marketing. She is thrilled to continue to work among an amazing network in her role as Programs Manager.
Gabriela Amaya-Williams, Programs Coordinator
Gabriela Amaya-Williams is an environmental geographer, public library superfan, and lifelong tomato lover with a background in remote sensing and geographic information systems. Before she relocated to Baltimore, Gabriela’s work primarily focused on land use and vegetation mapping in Southern California, where she spent her childhood eating the aguacate, chayote, guayabas, izote, and maracuyá that her grandparents grew in the backyard, on land that did, does, and will continue to belong to the Kizh people. Gabriela joined the Farm Alliance after spending several years in the field of urban forestry, planting and caring for native trees in neighborhoods throughout Baltimore while learning more about community-led climate resilience projects. In her role as programs coordinator, Gabriela enjoys working alongside the farmers who are growing food and stewarding land all over the city, and looks forward to supporting them with programming, through advocacy, and in solidarity.
Andy Szentendrei, Production & Maintenance Coordinator
Andy Szentendrei is the Production and Maintenance Coordinator at the Farm Alliance of Baltimore’s Black Butterfly Farm. After moving to Baltimore from Vermont in 2021, he joined FAB during the first year of the Black Butterfly Urban Farming Academy program and became a full-time staff member in 2022. Andy supports production and infrastructure needs at the farm and brings a strong background in high intensity greenhouse production. His experience includes year round growing systems, specializing in tomatoes and peppers in the summer and spinach and salad greens in the winter, along with hands on expertise in crop management, greenhouse construction, and on farm electrical systems.
Claudia Torrieri, Lead Farm Crew Member
Claudia is the Lead Farm Crew Member at the Farm Alliance of Baltimore’s Black Butterfly Farm and has worked with FAB as a seasonal farm crew member for several years. She graduated from the University of Maryland’s Institute of Applied Agriculture in 2020 with a Sustainable Agriculture certification and has experience working with flowers, vegetables, herbs, and cannabis on farms across the region. In 2026, Claudia joined the Future Harvest Beginner Farmer Training Program to continue to deepen her skills in sustainable agriculture. Outside of farming, she enjoys salsa dancing and is a practicing esthetician.
Aria Eghbal, Lead Farmers Market Staff
Aria’s love of the earth began in childhood in Washington, DC, where she learned about trees and insects at a young age. Since then, she has been deeply interested in how food and farming connect culture, health and wellbeing, the earth and climate, and grassroots labor and justice movements. Aria views her work as an expression of care for community, whether as a full spectrum birthworker, herbalist, urban farmer, or teacher, and as a space for creativity and transformation. A graduate of the inaugural cohort of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore’s Black Butterfly Urban Farmer Academy, Aria continues to support the urban farming community through her work at the Waverly markets.
Saj Dillard, Lead Farmers Market Staff
Saj Dillard is an urban farmer and community advocate and the owner of Sajeeda Urban Farm in West Baltimore. Her work focuses on beekeeping and the cultivation and management of a teaching community farm. Saj has been part of Baltimore City’s urban farming community for the past four years and brings experience across a wide range of areas, including crop production, animal husbandry, pest management, washing and packing produce, value added product creation, farmers market development, marketing, financial management, grant writing, and community engagement. She is grateful to have a career that aligns with her personal goals and takes pride in her activism and connection to communities across Baltimore City.