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Heather Hoch is the Program Manager at the Nashville Farmers’ Market in charge of culinary incubaon programming in the Grow Local Kitchen and Grow Local Commissary. Heather uses her past experience as a farmers market manager, chef and food writer to help support small food businesses starting up or looking to scale their concepts. In addition to working with our small business community, Heather is passionate about food justice and security issues, having worked with World Central Kitchen as a chef and consultant for four years and administering about $250,000 in nutrition incentive grant funding during her me at the Market. She is a current board member of the Tennessee Association of Farmers’ Markets and part of the Tennessee Statewide SNAP Doubling Coalition.

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Pastor Ella Clay serves as Pastor at Historic First Community Church and Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit, Healing Minds and Souls, a faith-based community dedicated to healing trauma through educational classes, resources, and fostering wholeness. Pastor Clay has been a guide for individuals and communities facing trauma, both immediate and generational, helping them find ways to cope and navigate life’s challenges. Currently, Pastor Clay also serves on Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center Advisory Council, Nashville Thrives Policy Action Team, Healing Trust Foundation Executive. Pastor Clay holds a bachelor's degree from American Baptist College, graduated summa cum laude and served as president for her class. She later earned a master's degree in theological studies from Vanderbilt University Divinity School and served as treasurer for Vanderbilt Black Seminarians.

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Nicole Stuart, M.Ed. is a Nashville native who enjoys hiking, discovering new adventures and is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Oasis Center. Her dream is to create a Nashville that is a supportive, inclusive, and safe place where everyone has an opportunity to thrive and provide for their families.

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Stephanie Roach serves as the Assistant Director of Special Initiatives at Urban Green Lab. Her experiences as an educator, sustainable goods entrepreneur, and community-based advocate enrich her work overseeing the Nashville Food Waste Initiative and Nashville Environmental Justice Initiative. She approaches these initiatives with a lens of justice and compassion, active listening, and authentic community-building.

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Peter Westerholm is the Director of Policy and Governmental Affairs at the Greater Nashville Regional Council, supporting regional efforts around transportation, economic development, planning, and services for vulnerable populations. He has extensive experience in local and state government, as well as non-profit, advocacy, and governmental boards and committees. Pete’s areas of expertise include land use and planning, sustainability, mobility, housing, and strategic planning. He currently serves on the Barnes Housing Trust Fund Commission, Friends of Shelby Park, and serves as an adjunct professor at Lipscomb University’s Institute for Law, Justice, and Society.

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Edward Kehoe is currently the program coordinator for Open Table Nashville’s Outreach and housing navigation team, and former crime reduction coordinator for the mayor's office here in Nashville. He comes from a long lineage of restauranteurs in his family, and hopes to bring the unheard voices to the table. His work is motivated by the belief that if some members of our community have empty stomachs, then we all do.

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Vickie W. Harris, BS, MBA is a healthcare industry professional who launched Community ConneXor to lead the development and management of the area’s first community care hub, a “no wrong door” network of community-based human and social services organizations formally working together to deliver person-centric holistic services, democratizing access for low resource and African American individuals. Her professional experience across the various sectors of long-term services and support, acute care and payor, coupled with me spent volunteering with community non-profits and as a daughter care partner to parents aging in community in rural Tennessee informs her business programming and development to decrease the access and navigation burden associated with basic need resources essential to health and well-being.

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Patricia Tarquino is an immigrant from Cali, Colombia, South America. A Berea College graduate with a Bachelors of Science degree in Sociology. She has experience as a Community Organizer in the coalfields of Central Appalachia defending water, land and community rights, now serves as Board Member of Cosecha Community Development and member President of Grow 2 Learn Cooperative. Patricia is also a 2023 Community Food Systems Fellow through the Vital Village Network and Boston Medical Center.

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My GOD given call and purpose in life is to encourage, teach and empower people, of all ages, with the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill their GOD given purpose.

In recent years, I have been involved with practical gospel ministry, ‘on the ground’ in ensuring that our community members have a good quality of life, the abundant life JESUS promised. This has meant working in partnerships with concerned citizens, churches and nonprofits to secure food, housing, cash, quality education, creative art expression for those in need.

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Crys Riles is currently an Anti-Hunger Advocate at the Tennessee Justice Center, but they began their career as a pastry chef in Memphis, TN. Crys is currently earning a Masters of Arts in Applied Anthropology, studying the food system and how systemic barriers to access manifest at the individual level. They currently work to help TJC clients access federal programs such as SNAP, WIC, and Child Nutrition Programs.

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Olivia is currently the community development specialist at Urban Housing Solutions. She brings a background in storytelling and community based art to her work creating supportive communities for people accessing affordable housing. She is passionate about using yoga therapy, education, and community organizing to empower people to heal their communities.

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More information to come!

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More information to come!