Nolan Cunningham

Nolan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2024, earning dual majors in Finance and Information Systems, along with minors in Sustainability and Educational Policy. This summer, he is working with Flynn Creek Farm, a 400-acre regenerative organic farm in Verona, Wisconsin. Additionally, he is collaborating with Forage Kitchen, a Midwest fast-casual restaurant chain that sources most of its produce from Flynn Creek. At the farm, Nolan will explore agroforestry, livestock management, soil fertility, production techniques, and farm strategy. He is excited about the opportunity to innovate and develop circular systems and models through his work this summer.

Aidan O’Connor

Aidan graduated from Lewis and Clark College in May 2023 with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation. This summer, he is partnering with Growing Gardens in Portland, OR. Growing Gardens is an organization that uses the experience of growing food in schools, backyards, and correctional facilities to cultivate healthy and equitable communities. Aidan will be working with the Lettuce Grow program, which offers direct support to Adults in Custody (AICs) through hands-on garden training and employment-enhancing certificate programs. He is excited to collaborate with the AICs and co-produce new projects related to food and gardening. Aidan hopes to learn how the current food system affects correctional facilities through conversations with the AICs and work together to increase access to nourishing food.

Allison Lorentz

Allison graduated from Johns Hopkins University in May 2024 with degrees in Environmental Science and International Studies. For her immersion, she is partnering with 4MyCiTy, a nonprofit in Baltimore, Maryland. The goal of 4MyCiTy is to promote environmental sustainability through food waste reduction and composting. It is becoming a community hub for all things sustainable and teaching participants how to use new foods and compost. Allison is excited to give back to the community she has been living in for the past few years in a meaningful way. She will be working with participants to teach them about 4MyCiTy’s composing programs, and how to use produce that might be unfamiliar to them. She hopes to learn more about sustainability in the food system and to connect with new people.

Alaina Shields

Alaina finished her Junior year at the University of North Carolina where she studies Public Policy and Environmental Studies, with a minor in Data Science. This summer she is partnering with We Don’t Waste, an organization based in Denver, Colorado, where they work with distribution partners to direct recovered food to the Denver community, to save food, feed people, and protect the planet. Their mission is to increase food access and protect the planet by rescuing and repurposing food, while educating and advocating to decrease food waste and food insecurity. Alaina will be working with the impact and engagement team to analyze their current scope of impact and work with distribution partners to brainstorm and implement new processes to increase the impact of their food recovery.

Dylan Yap

Dylan Yap is a rising sophomore at Stanford University where he studies Product Design with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence. This summer, he is partnering with Google X’s Project Tidal, an innovative effort aimed at using cutting-edge technology to promote sustainable ocean farming and protection of underwater life. At Project Tidal, Dylan will be contributing to the design and implementation of advanced machine learning models that help monitor and understand aquatic health. This Summer, Dylan will be traveling across continents, from Norway to Chile, working on developing machine learning systems capable of detecting and optimizing fishery data. He is excited to apply his analytic skills to help increase the sustainability of ocean environments, ensuring they remain vibrant and healthy for future generations.

Divya Saikumar

Divya completed her freshman year at Rice University where she studies Environmental Science and Social Policy Analysis with a minor in Environmental Studies. This summer she is partnering with Farming Hope, a food justice and culinary job training nonprofit in San Francisco, CA. Farming Hope works to provide essential job skills to individuals who have barriers to employment, while also rescuing food from being wasted and providing nourishing meals to food insecure families in San Francisco. Divya will be working with the Community Food Program team to increase efficiency of operations during food distribution and in the kitchen and strengthen the food recovery sector of their organization to provide more culturally relevant options to the community they serve.

Elie Ntakirutimana

Elie is currently a rising sophomore at Cornell University majoring in Agricultural Sciences with double minors in Business and Climate Change. This summer, he is working at Terradot, a science and technology company building a gigaton scale carbon removal using enhanced rock weathering technology while providing the agricultural co-benefits. Particularly, he is working with a business operations team to scale the potential of enhanced rock weathering in the East African rift valley to permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere while enhancing agricultural ecosystems and increasing food security in the region. He is super excited to immersively learn Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, especially exploring the potential of ERW to combat climate change, build carbon credits, and regenerate the soils.

Jenna Marie Gordon

Jenna is currently pursuing an MBA at Santa Clara University, concentrating in Data Science and Food Entrepreneurship. This summer she is partnering with Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a non-profit farm and educational center in New York, and their partner restaurant, Blue Hill. Jenna will be working on the farm, engaging in food system research, and learning about their business operations. She is excited to immerse herself in a vibrant community of food system changemakers and to observe the synergy among diverse projects within their broader food system.

Kailey Wilkens

Kailey will be graduating from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s in computer science in June. This summer, they are partnering with two small regenerative farms in Ramona, CA: Black Mountain Farm, a egg and poultry farm, and Grow Eco Farm, a seasonal fruit and veggie farm. Kailey is excited to not only learn and participate in the physical labor of a small farm, but also learn about the financial and business aspects of running a small farm in San Diego.

Katie Kelly

Katie is currently finishing up her third year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, studying Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science with a concentration in Fruit and Crop Production and minors in Sociology and Sustainable Agriculture. This summer she will be splitting her time working as a Regenerative Farming Intern for SLO City Farm and an intern for the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). She is particularly excited to help rebuild the San Luis Obispo County Organic Agriculture Extension Program and learn about climate-smart production techniques in a hands-on way! Her goals are to talk with growers and understand impediments to adopting more sustainable practices and brainstorm how these techniques can be realistically implemented on a larger scale.

Maggie Swanson

Maggie (she/her) graduated from Middlebury College in February 2023 with a degree in Conservation Biology and a minor in Computer Science. This summer she is working with CitySprouts to prepare and tend to urban gardens at public elementary schools in Cambridge and Boston to increase youth accessibility to the natural sciences. Additionally she is joining Boston Area Gleaners to rescue surplus produce at farms in the greater Boston area and distribute fresh veggies to food pantries, food banks, and meal programs. She hopes to learn how to take advantage of gaps in the agricultural supply chain to improve food justice, increase healthy food accessibility, and educate underserved communities.