Virginia Urban Agriculture Summit 2025 Speakers
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Aleen Carey, Co-Executive Director, Cultivate Charlottesville
Aleen Carey was born in Chicago, raised in Lancaster, PA, and moved to Charlottesville with her family while in high school. She then became a high school Spanish teacher and shared her love of the language and culture with hundreds of students over a decade. When she left the classroom, Aleen joined the CSG Board as a way to stay involved in education. After serving on the board for six years, she joined the staff in January 2020. Aleen caught the philanthropy bug while completing CNE’s Board Academy program and has spent the last 5 years honing her skills for relationship building, storytelling, and fundraising. Although she is not the most experienced gardener in this group, she is always eager and enthusiastic to learn about all things agriculture as well as the intersection of Charlottesville history and food access.
About Cultivate Charlottesville: Cultivate Charlottesville engages youth and community in building an equitable, sustainable food system through garden-based experiential learning, growing and sharing healthy food, amplifying community leaders, and advocating for food justice. Cultivate Charlottesville aims to empower individuals to create a healthy and equitable food system – personally, in community, and across systems and structures. We do this through an integrated approach from three core programs: City Schoolyard Garden, founded in 2010; Urban Agriculture Collective, which began as the Quality Community Council in 2007; and Food Justice Network, launched in 2015. In 2018 we came together to implement a coordinated approach for amplified impact.At Cultivate Charlottesville, we recognize the role race has played and continues to play in agriculture and education in Charlottesville and the nation. Because we manage garden spaces and work with public school students and community members affected by racial inequities,we commit to building equity in all our work.
Ekene Tharpe, Babylon Micro-Farms
Ekene has both a master's and bachelor's degree in horticulture, accompanied by 9 years of versatile experience in the field of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). She has filled the roles of Undergraduate Researcher for UT Knoxville's Weed Science and Sustainable Nursery Crop Management programs, Plant Breeding Intern with Syngenta, Graduate Researcher in Virginia Tech's CEA Innovation Center, and now Head Grower with Babylon Micro-Farms, where she leads scientific trials and enacts innovative changes for enhanced crop performance across Babylon’s network of farms. Throughout her career, Ekene has progressed industry research and shared insight during various conferences and speaking events. Ultimately, she has found that one belief is always true in the world of CEA, and it's that the sky's the limit.
Producer Panel Participants:
Moderator: Kim L. Niewolny | Professor, Community Education and Development Dept. of Agricultural, Leadership, & Community Education
Natasha Crawford | Urban Farmer, Healing Hope Urban Gardens, Food Safety Professional
Malique Middleton | Urban Farmer, Herbalist, Owner Gewd Botanicals, USDA Richmond Urban County Committee Member
Gray Montrose | Urban Farmer, Attorney, Advocate, Deputy Director, Land Conservation- Capital Region Land Conservancy, Richmond Urban County Committee – Chair
If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Jessica Harris at jbrown@vsu.edu or call (804) 524-5964 / TDD (800) 828-1120 during business hours of 8 am. and 5 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.