Denzel Mitchell, Jr., Executive Director | denzel@farmalliancebaltimore.org
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 & Executive Assistant | emily@farmalliancebaltimore.org
Emily, a recent transplant to Baltimore, discovered her passion for growing food in college while helping to create a campus food forest. She has since worked at arboretums, botanical gardens, and an environmental publishing company, where she co-developed the book 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 practicing yoga and tending to her small but mighty vegetable garden. She is excited to return to her non-profit roots at the Farm Alliance, supporting urban agriculture and community building while keeping everything running smoothly with her love for spreadsheets.
Skher Brown, Finance & Administrative Manager | skher@farmalliancebaltimore.org
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 | finance@farmalliancebaltimore.org
Raised in the Midwest with grounded values and a deep appreciation for community; I landed in Baltimore in 2019, drawn by its creativity, grit, and vibrant sense of possibility. You’ll usually find me exploring the city one picnic, pop-up, or speakeasy at a time. I have a deep love for art and the outdoors and find inspiration in the everyday beauty of Baltimore’s people and places. Whether it’s showing up for a neighborhood event, supporting local artists and businesses, or investing time and energy into moving the city forward, I’m committed to being part of what makes Baltimore greater—for everyone.
Alison Worman, Programs Manager | programs@farmalliancebaltimore.org
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@farmalliancebaltimore.org
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 program 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, Farm Production Coordinator | farmer@farmalliancebaltimore.org
Andy Szentendrei moved to Baltimore City from Vermont in April of 2021. He joined the Farm Alliance of Baltimore shortly after in early June as the Production Assistant for the first year of the BBUFA program. Early in 2022 he became a full time staff member and gained the title of Production Technician where he oversees and maintains the demonstration farm in Curtis Bay. His background is in high intensity greenhouse growing specializing in tomatoes and peppers in the summer and spinach and salad greens in the winter. He has a broad base of knowledge from crop management to greenhouse construction down to the electrical work.
Aria Eghbal, Lead Farmers Market Staff
Aria’s love of the earth sprouted when she was a child in DC learning about trees and bugs. Since then, she’s been interested in how food and farming connect all things— culture, health and wellbeing, the earth and climate, grassroots labor and justice movements. Aria sees her work as a blend of caring for community -whether as a full-spectrum birthworker, herbalist, urban farmer, or teacher- and a pursuit of creativity and transformation. As a graduate of the first cohort of Farm Alliance’s Black Butterfly Urban Farmer Academy, she’s looking forward to supporting her urban farming community at the Waverly markets this season.
Saj Dillard, Lead Farmers Market Staff
Saj Dillard is an urban farmer and community advocate. She is the proud owner of Sajeeda Urban Farm, located in West Baltimore, primarily focused on beekeeping and the cultivation and management of a teaching community farm. She’s been in the urban farming community in Baltimore City for the last 4 years and has extensive experience across a broad range of areas, including animal husbandry, seed starting, weeding, pruning, pest management, washing and packing of produce, farm related value-added product creation, soil amending, developmenting and implementing a local farmers market, marketing, financial management, building community connections, grant writing, customer service, and so much more. She is grateful to have a career that she’s passionate about and directly aligns with her personal goals and aspirations. Saj prides herself on her community engagement and activism across various neighborhoods in Baltimore City.