In this webinar celebrating Earth Month, we bring you two farmers  practicing using ecologically friendly farming techniques who will share their stories, showcase their farms, and give you insights into what it means to farm in concert with nature while supporting culturally rich traditions as well as community and human health.

Introducing  Prentice Onayemi and  Melia Chase from Foglight Farms,  and Jennifer Rose Marie Serna from Wapato Island Farms.

We'll also showcase the work of PHC Board Member David Lezaks who has researched the impact of regenerative agriculture on human health and is currently working with a 600K grant from the USDA to help create a brand market place for companies who want to highlight the fact that they produce their product using regenerative agriculture and increase brand value.You'll have an opportunity to ask questions, network with others who are passionate about sustainability and perhaps even be inspired to start growing your own food.

MEET OUR PANELISTS:

Jennifer Rose Marie Serna (Owner of Wapato Island Farm)

‍Jennifer is a Latina folk herbalist, mother, regenerative farmer, land activist, skill educator, and owner of Wapato Island Farm. Learning from her great abuelita, Grandma Mary, a Mexican yerbatera and family matriarch, Jennifer began her journey with plant wisdom, healing, and food as nourishment at a young age.  She has been learning herbalism for most of her life, which has deepened and grown into a practice of curandera, ancestral healing, and folk tradition practices with food, medicine, and deep soul work. Jennifer’s vision is to continue supporting BIPOC communities within the framework of healing justice, identifying holistic responses to generational trauma and violence. Currently, the farm is focused on working with migrant field workers and black + indigenous farmers to reimagine and build new food systems that foster food sovereignty within these communities. Jennifer is dedicated to honoring and protecting these sacred land she tends with her family and the people that come to Wapato Island Farm for healing, learning, medicine and wisdom.

Prentice Onayemi (Founder Foglight Farms) & Melia Chase

‍Prentice helps lead Foglight Farms—an endeavor in Hillsboro, OR where regenerative agriculture, creativity, and wellness converge. His professional background is in the performing arts and community development, and he also currently helps run Foglight’s sister company—Grains of Salt. He holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BFA from NYU.Melia Chase manages Foglight alongside Prentice and a dedicated farm team. She practices a no-till ethos in her crop planning, and shares in animal care and long-term visioning for farm wellness. Melia has a Master’s degree in Urban Studies from Portland State University, where her research focused on regenerative agriculture policy.

David LeZaks, Ph.D.

‍David is a  Senior Fellow, is an environmental scientist and financial activist whose work is centered around developing innovative mechanisms for financing the transition to agroecological farming and food systems. Before joining Croatan Institute, Dr. LeZaks led the Regenerative Food Systems initiative at Delta Institute in Chicago, where he managed a portfolio of projects that focused on the design and deployment of disruptive mechanisms to unlock substantial capital flows into regenerative agriculture. Previously, he served as an RSF Social Finance Integrated Capital Institute fellow. He has served as Managing Scientist of the Knowledge Systems for Sustainability Consortium and Program Director of the university’s Agricultural Innovation Prize. Currently, he serves in advisory roles to Mad Agriculture, the Savanna Institute, Nourishn, Council of Development Finance Agencies’ Food Systems Finance Advisory Council, and the Transformational Investing in Food Systems initiative, an allied initiative of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food.