About

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Who We Are

When we started Farming Hope in 2016, we began working alongside folks still unhoused, and those who had made it out. The common theme was that everyone who “got out” had responsibility and ownership at the support organizations they worked with. We called this universal principle the “need to be needed.” We mean it when we say: You are needed to build this change. Over the years we’ve hired back seven graduates to permanent staff, and continue to build a team with deeper empathy and relatable experience. Thank you to the broader Farming Hope community for supporting our team and our Apprentices.

2016

Founded at Stanford Graduate School Lecture

2017

Started at farmer’s market with Apprentices

2018

Opened cafe in Mission District

2020

Began food security meals program

2021

Opened Refettorio San Francisco

2023

Moved to 690 Van Ness

Our Team

Andie Sobrepeña
Co-Executive Director

Kerry Rodgers
Co-Executive Director

Haley Nielsen
Development Director

Chef DJ Hollister
Culinary Director

Ramesses Olivares-Ochoa
Refettorio SF
General Manager

Vianney Trujillo
Program Manager

Anselmo Gonzalez
Refettorio SF
Kitchen Manager

Arnold Icasiano Events & Program Manager

David Gibson Jr.
Development & Communications Coordinator

Devon Jordan-McFeely
Cook and Trainer

Mauro Juarez-Ramos Cook & Trainer

Melvin Perez
Kitchen Porter & Trainer

Adrian Lewis
Weekend Meals Program Manager

Louisa Montes
Custodian

Lisa Frare
Photography Consultant

Kevin Madrigal
Co-Founder

Jamie Stark
Co-Founder

See our careers page

Board of Directors

Salim Shariff
Board Chair

Stephanie Weiler
Vice Chair

Maddy Shannon
Treasurer

Dina Polanco-Mendoza
Board Member

Hector Calderon
Board Member

Joan Hanawi Carlock
Board Member

Tricia Chandiramani
Board Member

Kathy Gu
Board Member

Ilana Lipset
Board Member

Michelle Minori
Board Member

Founding Emeritus Board Members

Lyndsey Boucherle, Terri Dayal, Shelley Dyer, Michael Fu, Sheena Jain, Xochitl Hernandez, Lucia Gaia Pohlman, Savannah Schoelen

Press

Reports

Farming Hope is a registered 501(c)(3) Tax ID: 83-2393341

See our Annual Reports (Gratitude reports) and 990’s below.

Join us in the fight

Farming Hope is different — we pay Apprentices while they learn in our program.
Paying people makes sense, but costs dollars.

Andie Sobrepeña

Co-Executive Director

Prior to joining the Farming Hope team, Andie opened and ran her family's multi-unit restaurant and catering business, Foundation Cafe, starting in 2012. She brings with her a deep understanding of operational management and is passionate about making real change in our broken food systems. Having grown up in San Francisco, she is energized by the impact Farming Hope has on the lives of our vulnerable neighbors and the community that we will build to support them.

Kerry Rodgers

Co-Executive Director

For more than 20 years Kerry has worked as an educator, artist, activist, and entrepreneur. After graduating from Stanford, she began her career as an art and photography teacher and spearheaded a summer arts educational program. Kerry volunteered as an art teacher at San Quentin, and inspired by the intersection of social justice and creativity she earned an MFA in studio art where she received multiple grants to work in Haiti. After grad school Kerry co-founded the nonprofit Give A Day Global, then worked in corporate philanthropy launching new social impact initiatives at Airbnb and Salesforce. Growing up on a former lemon farm in Santa Barbara, Kerry counted chickens and compost worms as her childhood playmates. She is passionate about food justice, mentoring others, and helping everyone find ways to give back and belong.

Haley Nielsen

Development Director

Haley Nielsen has raised nearly $10M over her decade of experience in nonprofit development, most recently in national environmental organizations. Haley grew up in kitchens and understands the power of food to create and sustain communities, learning from her father who is a chef. She is deeply inspired by Farming Hope’s vision of a more sustainable and equitable food system and looks forward to telling Farming Hope’s story to inspire more public and private funding.

Darrin "DJ" Hollister

Culinary Director

Chef DJ grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and appreciates the fact that working with Farming Hope means he will be directly supporting folks who are in need.

Chef DJ studied culinary arts at Laney College in Oakland & his biggest culinary inspiration was his dad who introduced him to different foods at a young age, like pickled pig feet and hog head cheese. Chef DJ was most recently the Kitchen Manager at Black Cat Jazz and Supper Club and prior to that was the Executive Chef at Farmer Brown, both located nearby in the Tenderloin.

Chef DJ is especially exited for his role here at Farming Hope & views it as a dream job mentioning how “working with people in need is something I have always wanted to do. I feel honored to have this opportunity”.

When he’s not throwing down in the kitchen he is off spending his time creating art employing canvas & paint as his expressive medium. He’s also an avid reader, and appreciates trying new restaurants & cuisines in addition to riding his bike.

When asked what is one piece of advice he plans to always give to Apprentices he spoke of how he’ll always remind them that the “sky is the limit”.

Ramesses Olivares-Ochoa

Refettorio SF General Manager

Ram has been a huge Farming Hope supporter since it’s partnership with Manny’s began. He has years of experience in management, running the operations at Manny’s for 3+ years and then assisting in opening and running a coffee shop within a health center in SF. He is so glad to have found his way into the position at Farming Hope because he is passionate about giving back to the people in our community that truly need it and employs his expert levels of calm and patience to help the team find success. Outside of work, Ram can be found cooking, soaking up the sunshine with his dog Goose or enjoying this vibrant city with friends and family.

Vianney Trujillo

Program Manager

Vianney comes with a background in sustainability, food, and human resources. Through this work she developed a deep interest in food equity work, the people that feed us, and the challenges often faced by those who work to bring the essentials to our lives. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, she started a food recovery and donation program through her previous employer, Earl's Organic, distributing nearly 600 tons of produce in two years to organizations doing relief work in communities most heavily impacted by the pandemic. Establishing this program began her search for roles which would bring her closer to food equity and the people who work to expand it. She's found this in her current role as Program Director at Farming Hope. Outside the office, you can find Vianney baking, climbing, powering through complicated recipes, and doing just about anything that gets her moving and laughing (preferably both).

Anselmo Gonzelez

Refettorio SF Kitchen Manager

Anselmo Gonzalez moved from Guerrero, Mexico to New York City to begin his career in the restaurant industry. He started as a prep cook at acclaimed seafood restaurant Esca and later moved into their pastry department. Anselmo uses his 15 years of experience from creative kitchens like Esca and San Francisco’s Coqueta and Boulevard to lead the ideation and execution of Farming Hope’s Community Meal production efforts. He finds joy in adapting recipes to use the wide variety of donated food received at the kitchen on any given day.

Arnold Icasiano

Events Program Manager

Arnold comes to Farming Hope with a background in art, higher education, and hospitality. He is passionate about developing inclusive spaces, helping break down systemic barriers, and mentoring individuals. It is connecting communities through food that brings him a sense of home, something that his parents taught him by always welcoming everyone into their home to share a meal. While in higher education, he worked with underserved students and helped them navigate the college admissions process. Through this work and his enthusiasm for food, he wants to produce educational and community-building experiences at Farming Hope.

Outside the office, Arnold likes to flex his creativity through visual imagery utilizing different media, and experimenting with pastry techniques. He is also an avid donut connoisseur and enjoys finding artisan donut shops everywhere he travels.

David Gibson Jr.

Development and Communications Coordinator

With over 11+ years of experience in the hospitality industry & recent experience in public relations, communications, & food recovery, David believes cultivating and sustaining genuine relationships is the key to success.

David has a story as diverse and vibrant as San Francisco itself and feels fortunate to call this city home. David himself spent his youth always living adjacent to San Francisco saying “I was born south, raised east, and educated north of San Francisco.” A communal person with love for building connections and establishing rapport, David brings to his work a holistic approach to human interaction and communications.

He is dedicated and committed to working towards making San Francisco a more equitable place for all people, bringing his passion to his role at Farming Hope.

Devon Jordan-McFeely

Line Cook and Trainer

Devon grew up in Reno, Nevada and loved cooking soul food with his mom as a kid. He worked as an auto lube technician, but during young adulthood got involved in the “streets” which led to incarceration. He got to a point where he realized he had to change, and after his release he learned about Farming Hope from his case manager at Goodwill. He joined Farming Hope’s Apprenticeship program in the Fall of 2022, where the welcoming environment was a transformative experience and he discovered his passion for cooking. He has returned to the team as a full time Line Cook and Trainer and is committed to using his lived experience to support future Apprentices on their journeys. He is also working on developing a motivational clothing line called “Hustleosophy,” intended to uplift people with inspirational quotes and sayings.

Mauro Juarez Ramos

Cook and Trainer

Hailing from Mexico, Mauro has lived in the Bay Area for 22 years. Through 25 years of kitchen experience and 18 years of experience managing kitchens, he has worked with Italian, Mexican and Chinese food and culture. I like working at Farming Hope because most of the staff are very welcoming and always looking for ways to help others and are always available. Mauro believes that when unity is needed in the kitchen, everyone joins together as one team and gets it done.

Melvin Perez

Lead Apprentice

Melvin has been with Farming Hope since May of 2022 as an Apprentice in our Plum Cohort. He is based here in San Francisco. During his time off he spends time with his son. Melvin is very exited to contribute to the learning and growth of our current cohort.

Adrian Lewis

Weekend Meals Program Manager

Adrian grew up in South Central LA, a place known for gangs, drugs and violence. Even though those things existed, he has fond memories of family, friends and community. Today he’s glad to share that he’s overcome the many challenges he’s faced in life and no longer subscribes to his former beliefs. To the contrary, Adrian strives to share his story to encourage other at-risk youths from getting involved with gangs, drugs and criminal activity. He says he could not be the "survivor" he is today without support from organizations like Farming Hope... “They accepted me and saw me for the person I am today without judgment or condemnation.” Adrian graduated from Farming Hope's apprentice program in June of 2022, but his journey with FH doesn't end there. He worked as co-director of our community garden and now as weekend meals program manager, and he has formed friendships that will last for the rest of his life.

Louisa Montes

Custodian

Louisa joined Farming Hope in October 2022, initially starting as an Apprentice in our Persimmon Cohort. Recently, she took on the role of Custodian, ensuring that our facilities remain clean and tidy so that we can provide the best standard of service to the people accessing our programs.

Louisa values her time with Farming Hope because it is a great organization that does good work in the community that offers flexibility in her schedule so she can support her family. During her days off, she enjoys taking walks with her children.

When asked for advice to give to incoming Apprentices, she said, "Put dedication into everything you have the opportunity to learn here at Farming Hope. Focus on learning and personal growth during your time here, rather than just productivity."

Lisa Frare

Photography Consultant

Lisa began working in restaurants as a teenager in upstate New York, and loved the opportunity to connect with people in a creative and social way. She has an enduring passion for people and food that led her career working in the hospitality industry. The pandemic changed her perspective and she wanted to be a part of something that was giving back to the community, which led her to work at Farming Hope. As a child, Lisa learned how to use a camera from her dad, and today she uses these skills today as a professional photographer. She loves taking pictures as a way to help others preserve their most important memories, and see how beautiful they really are.

Kevin Madrigal

Co-founder, Advisor

Kevin Madrigal (Co-founder, Advisor) is a food justice advocate that is reimagining health with ancestral Mexican cooking. He studied public health through the lens of food at Stanford with a B.A. in Human Biology. He has staged at Michelin-starred Californios and Chez Panisse and developed plant-based menus for Schwab Executive Catering Services. Kevin believes that cooking is one of the most political and meaningful traditions we practice today, and that we all deserve the right to decide how, what, and why we eat.

Kevin learned to cook the flavors of Guadalajara, Jalisco from his mother and abuela (both fans of Farming Hope dinners) in his two hometowns: South San Francisco and Zapopan. Kevin was Farming Hope’s very first chef, and continues to serve as a trusted advisor on Farming Hope’s programming and strategic vision.

Jamie Stark

Co-founder

Jamie Stark co-founded Farming Hope in 2016 after working with a similar program in El Salvador for several years. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Jamie began as the gardener for Farming Hope, alongside co-founder and Bay Area native Kevin Madrigal, the nonprofit's first chef. Early program Apprentices described growing and cooking food as therapeutic, as tools that helped them give back and belong. This universal "need to be needed" continues to be a core component of Farming Hope's theory of change.

Salim Shariff

Salim Shariff is a digital strategist with over a decade of experience who has helped manage multi-million dollar ad buys and raised millions of dollars online for progressive causes and candidates. Salim serves as the Vice President of Digital for Made to Save, an initiative of Civic Nation that is focused on vaccine equity and access in the communities hardest hit by the pandemic. Prior to that, Salim served as the VP of Digital for 50+1 Strategies, a bay-area based consulting firm focused on helping campaigns and causes win change in their communities. In 2016, as Digital Director for Hillary Clinton in Ohio, he managed a team of 9 staff and 5 full-time fellows that amassed millions of social media views, nearly 100,000 social media followers, 52,000 online volunteer shifts and 175,000 online event RSVPs within the 6 months of the coordinated campaign. Salim got his start in politics on the Obama 2012 campaign, where he served as a digital organizer in Southern California and Chicago in 2011. In 2012, he served as the deputy digital director in Ohio.

Stephanie Weiler

Stephanie’s career has always focused on the care of others. As an undergrad at University of Pennsylvania she studied anthropology and biology, setting up a Masters in Physical Therapy at University of California, San Francisco. After graduate school Stephanie dove into this career, ultimately going on to run a group of six clinics in the Bay Area for Physiotherapy Associates.

Upon taking time off to have her daughter, Stephanie uncovered her commitment to making the table matter, providing healthy meals and bringing a focus to family mealtime. She pivoted careers and pursued her passion for cooking by completing the professional culinary program at Tante Marie’s in San Francisco. After completing the program, she founded Chef Steph SF in 2012, a personal chef business, which she owned and solely operated. Chef Steph focuses on making family friendly, seasonal, low waste meals for families, teachers, and retail. Stephanie lives with her wife and daughter in Noe Valley.

Maddy Shannon

Maddy Shannon started her career in consulting before moving into the restaurant industry on the finance and strategy side, where she has spent several years. She advises restaurant owners and hospitality professionals to achieve operational and financial goals. Maddy believes that the core of hospitality is caring for one another and for our communities.

Dina Polanco-Mendoza

Dina Polanco-Mendoza is an accomplished social worker and manager based in Oakland, CA. She has worked extensively to help low-income communities gain access to housing stability and supportive services. Currently, Dina is the Associate Director of Housing Stability and Partnerships for Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco. She works to ensure that all program activities are consistent with the organization's mission and values. Prior to this, she worked as a Rapid Rehousing Services Program Manager for Abode Services, where she managed relationships with county and community partners and provided leadership and direction to a team of service coordinators. Dina is a skilled leader who is committed to ensuring the success of the programs she manages, and has a proven track record of obtaining additional funding and exceeding city contract goals. Dina is incredibly excited to join the Farming Hope Board.

Coming soon

Hector Caleron

Hector was born in El Salvador and came to the US 1983, and has been working in the restaurant industry ever since. He got involved with Farming Hope because he wanted to learn more about working in the kitchen. After graduating from the Apprenticeship program he began a job at Black Sheep Foods, a company that does research and development of plant-based lamb. He is currently working at Black Sheep as a Kitchen assistant/extruder operator. One of his goals for this year is to give back and help the San Francisco community in need.

Joan Hanawi Carlock

Joan Hanawi Carlock cares about people. She currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Lyft. Prior to this role, Joan was a founding member of the Social Impact team at Lyft where she helped create, launch, and scale LyftUp — a suite of initiatives focused on increasing transportation access and equity for low-income communities. In her time at the company, she has focused on making sure the tech world is infused with humanity. Before life at Lyft, Joan spent time advising some of the top tech and Fortune 500 companies as a social impact consultant through her tenure at GOOD. She’s passionate about global development and philanthropy, and when she’s not working, you can find her at the beach or searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

Tricia Chandiramani

Trish is passionate about helping others unlock their full potential. She’s spent the past decade crafting corporate strategies, building high performing teams, and operationalizing meaningful people programs at growth and late stage companies in the US and Asia. She currently works on the product team at Ironclad, where she partners with leaders to identify new ways to drive value for all customers.

When she isn’t noodling on a gnarly problem, Trish can be found checking out a new food truck, experimenting with a new flavor of ice cream, or hosting a cozy dinner party. She’s been known to engage in the occasional hike and competitive board game, too!

Kathy Gu

Kathy builds connections between companies and communities to catalyze change and impact. She is a founding member of Pinterest's Impact team, leading nonprofit partnerships, with a strategic focus on emotional wellbeing. When she joined Pinterest in 2021, Kathy brought with her over a decade of experience in corporate social impact, from roles spanning corporate, consultant, and nonprofit worlds. She is on the Board of Directors for the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals, where she serves on the Program Committee to advocate for development and DEI within the corporate impact profession. Passionate about economic opportunity and food justice, Kathy previously led corporate partnerships for City Harvest, a food rescue and anti-hunger nonprofit in New York City, and is delighted to serve on Farming Hope’s Board of Directors. A lifelong learner, Kathy is usually tackling multiple books, listening to a podcast, or taking yet another course. She also loves mixing up her fitness routine and spending time outdoors with her dog.

Ilana Lipsett

Ilana Lipsett is a community design strategist and Senior Program Manager at the Institute for the Future. Her work uses participatory design and community engagement to inform future-focused policy, economic, and international development. Ilana works to create public engagement opportunities for cities, developers, NGO’s, and creative communities around the globe to help imagine and design what the future of their cities could look like. She has facilitated civic imagination processes and activated spaces to catalyze community development; she was recognized by the Obama White House as a “Champion of Change in Civic Innovation" for her work co-founding freespace, an initiative to temporarily transform vacant spaces into community, cultural and arts hubs. Ilana has led diverse initiatives on the future of work and is a skilled facilitator, leading workshops to develop long-term strategies for civic projects. She holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from the Presidio Graduate School, and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute.

Michelle Minori

Michelle Minori is a Michelin trained chef, recipe developer, and culinary consultant in San Francisco. She has been named one of The San Francisco Chronicle’s Rising Star Chefs, and has been included in 7x7’s list of “8 San Francisco Chefs Prove a Woman's Place Is at the Head of the Kitchen”. She is a finalist from Season 16 of Bravo’s Top Chef.

She specializes in California-Italian cuisine with a focus on seafood, pasta, and seasonal vegetables. She has a deep respect for whole animal utilization, sustainability, and supporting local farmers and the community.

She serves as a recipe developer, hosts private events and cooking classes, and consults to share her experience with creating restaurants and dealing with the changing aspects of the hospitality industry.

She is on the planning committee for Foodwise, part of the chef team for the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture, and serves on the Chef Council for Eat Real. She lives with her husband Eduardo, founder of EDMO, and her two cats Sula and Zaza, in San Francisco.