Category archives: Bio

Alexis grew up in Knoxville and attended the University of Tennessee where she studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. This is where she discovered her passion for the appreciation, exploration, and protection of nature. She followed this passion and began working as a community educator to help bridge the gap between…

Growing up in South Knoxville, Évora has always loved spending time outside and learning about nature. Since childhood, she has loved sharing what she knows about growing and foraging food to anyone that will listen. Now, she takes great joy in sharing her love of growing food with youth in…

Umoja O. N. Abdul-Ahad is one of the founders and presently serves as Executive Director of PROJECT 2000, INC. He has served in this capacity since 1979. Under his leadership, Project 2000, Inc. has been actively engaged in many successful community development initiatives. One of the most successful initiatives developed…

Emily grew up in a rural community where tending the family garden was a daily routine. After moving to Knoxville in 2009 at 19 years old, she quickly found herself back in the soil — one of the first things she did in her new home was ask her landlord…

Kathy Mack is a devoted individual with a strong commitment to serving all members of society. With 17 years of experience in the healthcare industry, she has held various roles and dedicated herself to this field. She then made the transition to become the Director of the Phyllis Wheatley Center…

Jess (They/Them) was raised mostly in Montana and spent their life traveling and living in many different bioregions across the country, finding recent purchase in Knoxville, where they have dedicated their life to expanding their knowledge and relationship with the living world around them. They advocate for indigenous practices of land stewardship and…