Board Chair and Farm Manager

Jose Magaña-Salgado is the Board Chair and President of Edgewood Community Farm. He grew his love for urban farming after running a community garden in Eckington for five years. His background is in immigrant rights.

Board Secretary

Jesse is the Secretary of Edgewood Community Farm and owner of metrobar, a bar that celebrates what makes D.C. great. And the Edgewood Community Farm is one of those things. Jesse joined the board so that he could use his entrepreneurial experience to help the farm become financially sustainable. He hopes that businesses like his own will also be able to enjoy locally grown herbs, flowers, and produce alongside the local community.

Board Treasurer

Chimere is the Treasurer of Edgewood Community Farm. As a new resident to the Edgewood neighborhood, she originally came to the farm to meet her new neighbors, but she quickly discovered her love for farming and playing in dirt. Chimere is a Certified Public Accountant and works for the federal government as a Program Management Analyst.

Board Member

Bunty is a board member at Edgewood Community Farm. He is in charge of our Instagram page and documenting the progress of the farm through his photography. Bunty was drawn to the farm board after volunteering on many different projects and enjoying all of them. He works as a structural analyst for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Board Member

Xavier is a founding board member and CTO of Edgewood Community Farm. He ran a Smart Garden in his own yard down the block for a few years before joining the farm. He has been working on the watering infrastructure and other technical components. He works as a software engineer as a federal contractor.

Board Member

Aaron is a board member who does carpentry, utilities, and infrastructure for the farm. He is the owner of The DC Contractor and a board member of Tomato Foster Club in New Orleans.

Board Member and Community Garden Manager

Sieda is a board member and is new to the Edgewood neighborhood and the DC area. She has a background in nursing and public health, with a real passion for making accessing healthy foods easy. Having a garden bed at Edgewood Community Farm gave her a space to grow her own food for the first time, and she's excited to be the community raised garden bed manager. 

Board Member and Deputy Farm Manager

An avid tea drinker, composting advocate, planner and word person, Nora is responsible for the farm’s social media, newsletter, events coordination and composting efforts. Her favorite spot in the garden is the tea garden, which features such botanicals as mint, lemon balm, rosemary, lavender, basil and chamomile.

Artist (not) In Residence

Becky has helped make the garden a more colorful place with her hand-painted signs since day one of Edgewood Community Farm. When she’s not busy painting, you can find Becky at the farm co-hosting trivia, helping organize the annual holiday market, or dropping off baked goods for the volunteers. Occasionally she weeds, too.

Beekeeper

Tending to the hives, Seth collects honey and wax while caring for the bees that pollinate the farm's plants. Seth enjoys working with his hands and is currently an engineer at NASA Goddard. He has previously worked in outdoor education and enjoys cycling, photography and camping.

Berry Patch Manager

Mike oversees our berry patch, taming wild weeds and wrangling thorny vines. Mike's fondness for berries dates back to his very first job on a farm, where he tended to strawberries and blueberries, among other things. In his own home garden, he planted and cultivated those, along with a variety of raspberries and blackberries before quickly running out of space for them all and is determined to do the same here. When not working in the dirt, Mike is probably out riding his bike or hiking in a local park. 

Communications Manager

They live in Brookland and enjoy growing things, learning how to maintain sustainable farm practices, and being outdoors. Their background is in project management, construction, and hospitality. When they’re not working, they like to go for bike rides, play video games, and be active in the community.

Compost Manager

J.P. is spearheading both the farm’s D.C. Compost Collective bins and a black soldier fly composting project to support the aquaponics team. J.P. fell in love with agriculture after growing up working at his local organic farm in Virginia. He studied plant science and biochem in college, and spent his time working in a plant tissue culture lab and researching mycorrhizae with the USDA. After graduating, he worked for a mushroom spawn company managing their R&D, quality assurance, and operations teams. After spending the last few years overseas for work, he is eager to get back out into the field at the farm. J.P. enjoys cooking, ballroom and Latin social dancing, mezcal, spicy food, and breeds chili peppers on the side.

Construction Manager

Simon has worked on farms full time since 2021. He helped build the aquaponics greenhouse and is now leading construction on another for seedlings. Previously, he managed A Farm Less Ordinary in Leesburg, Va. Catch him helping with another project or picking up for ReDelicious when he should probably be working on the task at hand. 

Firewood Manager

Alex has been an avid gardener since his mom taught him how to grow free and plentiful food at a young age. As a little chubby boy, this was delightful news. His family farm in West Virginia has been using wood for heat since they bought it in 2000. Needless to say, he's chopped lots of wood and never lost a finger. Yet! He's very excited to continue to be a part of such a wonderful group of people that make up Edgewood Community Farm as firewood manager.

Hops Manager and Brewmaster

As the Hops Manager and Brewmaster, Benji is responsible for growing, maintaining, and harvesting the farm’s hops plants before brewing them into beer. A craft beer enthusiast at heart, he’s excited to manage the process from cultivation through brewing. Benji spends time growing potted herbs and vegetables on his deck and is eager to bring his interest to a larger-scale project and continue to learn alongside other fellow gardeners and volunteers. When he’s not at the farm, you can find him hiking, camping, cycling, or experimenting with cooking and baking in his kitchen.,

Meadow Manager & Hardscape Project Lead

Abhijit first got involved with the farm as a regular volunteer, trying out different teams — mushroom, berry, and anything else that needed an extra set of hands. Over time, he found himself taking on a couple of bigger projects, managing the meadow and currently helping build the paving hardscape for the trellis flower tunnel. He’s often out there leveling pavers or checking on the wildflowers, and he likes that the farm gives him a place to learn, work outdoors, and put his interest in environmental sustainability to use.

Outside the farm, Abhijit spends a lot of time exploring the outdoors — mostly hiking, with some aspirational camping mixed in — and balances that with trivia, puzzling, yoga, and reading. And of course, bonding with Selina (the cat that turned up at the farm looking for a home). He gravitates toward anything that teaches him something new or helps him connect with nature.

Mushroom Manager

There’s fungus among us! As Jennifer Fauss takes over the management of the mushrooms, she’ll assess the existing stock, work with volunteers to stage the inoculated logs, increase plantings, and harvest fruits. Jennifer has lived in the Edgewood neighborhood for nearly 20 years. While she’s new to farming mushrooms, she’s always loved devouring these little buttons of nutrition. In her everyday life, Jennifer loves kayaking, gardening, and creating beauty through crafting. Professionally, she’s spent over 30 years working with national, state, and local nonprofits - managing multimillion dollar grants funding work in a variety of focus areas and strategically engaging volunteers to deliver on mission critical goals.

Operations Manager

Martha joins the Team as Operations Manager of The Farm. She brings a background in systems and operations, having worked as a Systems Analyst in the technology sector. She later brought those skills to the nonprofit sector, including serving as Executive Director of Abaco Strong, an organization focused on building sustainable communities.

As a passionate gardener, Martha enjoys growing dahlias and other flowers in her backyard. Inspired by the potential of community farming to enhance health, expand access to fresh food, and increase food security, she looks forward to contributing to the growth of Edgewood Community Farm.

Webmaster

Diana loves plants and food but not mornings nor DC summers, so she is excited to contribute to the farm by maintaining the website from climate-controlled environments. She also volunteers her time in SongRise, a social justice a cappella group, and at Code the Dream, mentoring and teaching adult students.

Diana has called the DC area home for almost 20 years. After a stretch working in nonprofit administration and science advocacy, she shifted towards software development, driven by the belief that tech should empower people and improve their lives. Diana also enjoys Star Trek, tactical urbanism conversations, and petting as many cats and dogs as possible.