Over the past 13+ years Jesse has worked in a variety of capacities within the food system, from community building around food justice and education, to researching food insecurity and building educational and culturally-rooted farms. After graduating from The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) in 2015, Jesse managed an urban teaching farm in Birmingham, AL and went on to facilitate the production of seven teaching farms across the city. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jesse moved to western North Carolina to help build a Jewish community farm, donating the produce to local mutual aid projects. After managing 14+ rooftop farms across the city of Chicago, he returned to the ground level managing production at The Talking Farm. While completing his Master’s in Sustainable Urban Development at DePaul, he joined The Land Connection as a Farmer Training coordinator, providing technical assistance to farmers around the state. As a Visiting Extension Outreach Associate, he seeks collaborators to build a just food system and long-term soil health for the state of Illinois and the wider corn belt. When he’s not farming, he’s most likely gardening, cooking with friends, playing board games, saving seeds, and dreaming about a better food future.