The speakers for this event have been chosen based on their passion for sovereignty, both specifically in regards to our current food system and traditions, as well as for the rights of all people, specifically for those whose stories have crafted our culture as it is today, yet have not received the recognition nor the restitution they deserve. On our panels, we have professors, academics, historians, directors, authors, photographers, attorneys, and the list goes on. We are proud of the diversity which this panels brings, and are excited and thankful for the amazing speakers who have chosen to participate in our symposium. Please use this page to remain up-to-date on our speaker list.
KEYNOTE
MALIK YAKINIMalik Kenyatta Yakini is co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN). DBCFSN operates a seven-acre urban farm and is spearheading the opening of a co-op grocery store in Detroit’s North End. Yakini views the “good food revolution” as part of the larger movement for freedom, justice and equality. He has an intense interest in contributing to the development of an international food sovereignty movement that embraces Blacks communities in the Americas, the Caribbean and Africa.
|
AUTHOR TALKKELLEY FANTO DEETZKelley Fanto Deetz, historian, author, and professor at Randolph College, will be presenting her book Bound to the Fire: How Virginia's Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine on Wednesday night of our symposium.
Kelley is interested in revealing American culture beyond fictional portrayals of black cooks, as is found with illusive characters popular for food branding. After studying the environment and the lives of enslaved plantation cooks, she is able to use archaeological evidence, cookbooks, plantation records, and folklore to write a book which reveals the unfathomable conditions and expectations of these workers, who received little to no credit for their culinary skills and creations which brought joy to so many people then and now. |
COOKING TALK
LENI SORENSENDr. Leni Sorensen, former African American research historian at Monticello, has spent much of her life delving into the topics of food and food justice, both exploring the historical side of food production as well as how food is regarded in today's society. Having been a research professional, farmer, cook, and teacher herself, she has a very thorough relationship with food, and has the unique ability to share this through various positions and viewpoints.
Leni will be explaining the history and preparation of recipes of her choosing, which will be prepared and served at the Carver Recreation Center on Wednesday night. Through this talk, the audience will have a better grasp on lives of the people who were making Jefferson's food, rather than the man who was eating it. |
PANELISTS BY TOPIC
THE PERSISTENCE OF LEGACIES OF SLAVERY IN TODAY'S FOOD SYSTEM
EBONIE ALEXANDER
As executive director of Black Family Land Trust, Ebonie is a leader in equity and sovereignty, and she is currently focusing on work aimed to strengthen community development and to increase the accountability of involved organizations. Among other accomplishments, she has assisted in reducing the rate of African American land loss through educational practices and guidance for landowners. One of Ebonie's tasks while working at the Black Family Land Trust has been implementing the African American Land Ethic and Wealth Retention and Asset Protection programs, which has helped landowners attain ownership of property worth millions of dollars in total. Ebonie has a degree in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management, and currently lives in Virginia.
|
|
Yaissy Solis
|
Yaissy Solis works as the National Co-coordinator for the Student/Farmworker Alliance, a diverse network of students and youth across the country working in partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers toward a food system based on dignity and respect for farmworkers. Ms. Solis has substantial expertise in the fields of community-based organizing, economic justice, movement building, and strategic action planning.
|
|
MODERATOR
Tanya Denckla Cobb
In 1997 Tanya found a professional “home” at the Institute for Environmental Negotiation (IEN) for her passion for bringing people together to discover common ground and create solutions for mutual gain. Beginning as a Senior Associate, then Associate Director, Tanya was appointed Director in 2015. Through the years her work has covered a broad range of challenging environmental, agricultural and community issues. Now, as Director, working with a talented and collaborative team, Tanya strives to be a servant leader while providing vision and strategic direction. As IEN builds its rich history to continue tackling the tough issues with integrity, Tanya and her team seek to meet the evolving needs of our times, through innovative leadership in their field and engaging stakeholders in ways that are fresh, focused, relevant and effective
|
TRANSFORMING LEGACIES OF HARM IN TODAY'S FOOD SYSTEM
Karen Washington
Since 1985 Karen Washington has been a community activist, striving to make the New York City a better place to live. As a community gardener and board member of the New York Botanical Gardens, she worked with Bronx neighborhoods to turn empty lots into community gardens. As an advocate, and former president of the New York City Community Garden Coalition, she stood up and spoke out for garden protection and preservation. As a member of the La Familia Verde Garden Coalition, she helped launched a City Farms Market, bringing fresh vegetables to the community. Karen is a Why Hunger board member, a Just Food board member and Just Food Trainer, leading workshops on growing food and food justice across the country. In 2010, Co- Founded Black Urban Growers (BUGS) an organization supporting growers in both urban and rural settings. In 2012, Ebony magazine voted her one of their 100 most influential African Americans in the country and in 2014 was the recipient of the James Beard Leadership Award.
Since retiring from Physical Therapy in 2014, Karen is Co-owner/Farmer at Rise & Root Farm. |
|
MODERATOR
Jeanette Abi-Nader
Jeanette is the first executive director of Charlottesville's City Schoolyard Garden. Coming into this position with a background in just and sustainable food systems, she has brought a wealth of experience to this role, including her time working for the Community Food Security Coalition. Jeanette is interested in the connections within our food systems, from studying how health and under nourishment have a clear impact on academic performance, to the connection inherent in the process: the growing of food starting with the creation of a garden, to the preparation which creates the meal. Understanding food as an entire system, Jeanette is pushing for holistic systematic approaches as solutions to improve food sovereignty.
UVA FOUNDING FOOD SYSTEM
Louis Nelson
Louis is a celebrated and award winning teacher at UVA's architecture school, and is also vice provost for academic outreach in the Office of the Provost. Louis's current work includes a collaborative project which seeks to understand the history and landscape of slavery inherent in the past and present existence of the University of Virginia. In addition to this lens, Louis is exploring a more extensive examination of slavery, including spaces of enslavement in West Africa and in the Americas.
|
Leni Sorensen
Dr. Leni Sorensen, former African American research historian at Monticello, has spent much of her life delving into the topics of food and food justice, both exploring the historical side of food production as well as how food is regarded in today's society. Having been a research professional, farmer, cook, and teacher herself, she has a very thorough relationship with food, and has the unique ability to share this through various positions and viewpoints.
|
MODERATOR
John Mason
A UVA Professor of African history and photography, John Mason specializes in the history of slavery, and has thoroughly researched early nineteenth-century South African history and South African popular culture. In addition to teaching students at the University, John also works as a documentary photographer. His interests and success with photography as a medium have fruitfully intermingled with his background in African American studies, as he explores subjects such as the Kamoinge Workshop, a group of African American photographers who collaborate as a community, and additionally the portrayal of African Americans in their cultures and popular media, namely American motor sports.
|
COMMUNITY-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Shantell Bingham
Shantell is the Co-founder of UVA’s Growing for Change program, a garden initiative for public residents in Charlottesville, and a Life-Long Dalai Lama Fellow. Prior to starting GFC, she was the Head Program Director of Madison Houses' Bridging the Gap, a volunteer organization dedicated to mentoring resettled refugee youth in Charlottesville. She completed her Master's in Public Health and Bachelors in Global Development Studies at the University of Virginia where she focused on research. As a trained researcher, she's conducted multiple studies in post- apartheid South Africa's informal settlement Khayelitsha, utilizing community based participatory methods and co-design. Shantell's work with vulnerable populations abroad and domestically, as well as her childhood experiences with food insecurity, has driven her perspectives on food justice, hunger, identity, and politics. She currently works at City Schoolyard Garden as the senior advisor to the Charlottesville Food Justice Network, a coalition of 20+ non profits working to build a healthy and just food system in Charlottesville.
|
|
MODERATOR
Vertical Divider
|
Christy Gabbard
Owner and Founder of Local Concepts LLC, Christy Gabbard utilizes her 20 years of experience in the food system to work with community members, organizations, and businesses to address natural resource management both from an environmental and economic perspective. Christy is also acting Coordinator at the Chesapeake Foodshed Network, which operates to encourage meaningful connections and collaborations across different food sectors, all with the goal of promoting a multistate regional food system. |
Vertical Divider
|