Latifah Abdullah, originally from Champaign, Illinois, now resides as a homeowner in unincorporated North Richmond. Within Urban Tilth, she plays a vital role in facilitating the North Richmond Farm Community Advisory Committee and serves as the editor of Restoring Tilth – The North Richmond Farm magazine.

Latifah actively engages with the community, participating in events like the fruit tree giveaway, the free farmer’s market with the Black Neighborhood, and supporting Verde Elementary’s Black Student Union. As a North Richmond resident, she actively participates in community initiatives and maintains open communication with community-based organizations, regulatory bodies, and elected officials regarding land use, hazardous materials, and sustainability.

Her aim is to unlock the full potential of the community – its people, land, and shoreline. Latifah prioritizes amplifying the voice of the community to enhance the quality of life for residents. She also spoke at the Green and Greener conference, emphasizing residents as stakeholders and advocating for comprehensive visioning, including funding to realize the vision.

With a corporate background in legal, compliance, and corporate governance, Latifah has worked across various industries, including benefits consulting, law, mortgage, and real estate. She previously utilized her business expertise to support women, small business owners, corporate executives, and nonprofits.

The #NoShade campaign drew Latifah to the North Richmond Farm. Additionally, she champions mental well-being and has created the course “Journey to Your Authentic Self.” She is also a co-author of Breaking the Silence: Unleashing the Power of Your Voice.

Latifah, of Choctaw and African descent, finds solace in spending time with her family and enjoys returning to Champaign to unwind and recharge.

Roderick, or Rod as we know him, is a Greenway Garden coordinator and has worked for Urban Tilth for over 5 years. He enjoys all work he does, from maintaining the Edible Forest, to putting on community events for the neighbors of the Greenway. He loves the fact that the healthy food he helps grow and care for goes right back to the local community. Rod loves seeing all the smiles and joy that comes through the Greenway Gardens.

Contact: Rod@urbantilth.org

Maria Hernandez was born on a ranch in a small town in Oaxaca, Mexico. She came to the United States with her family in the year 2000. Maria has known about farming, ranches, growing food, and harvesting just to name a few things since she was a little girl. She has learned these things by working alongside her parents and grandparents, all of whom tended to the land. She remembers growing and harvesting corn, squash, and beans throughout the majority of her childhood. She started working at Urban Tilth in 2013 with the help of Tania Pulido, who she is so thankful for because this job is what she loves to do most. Knowing a single seed can grow and feed many others makes the job so rewarding.

Luis Jacobo has been with Urban Tilth since 2017, where he started first as a recurring volunteer with his girlfriend Tania for a few weeks and then was asked if he would like to join the Urban Tilth team. This was during a difficult time in his life when his brother had just passed away. He also wanted a change from his demolition job at the time. He stayed at home with depression for 2 months, but coming to the farm helped him see the beauty of growing compared to destroying  buildings. Luis was incremental in the early years of the Farm to Table CSA. He has also helped lead SAP programs, also tours, ran the farm for a bit with partner Tania, holding it down in people’s absence. Used to be a litterer and now has trash from 2 weeks ago because he held on to it to throw it in a trash can. This is just one of the many ways Luis has changed since being at Urban Tilth. He used to think seeds just needed water to grow but has learned it takes much more than that, like having patience and consistency.

Bruno joined Urban Tilth in early 2016 and had the opportunity to experience all the growth within every program and site. Having been raised in Richmond and observing all the positive contributions made to the community, it motivated him to continue working with his community and give back. Witnessing the transformation of areas he was cautioned to avoid as a kid, now turned into parks and growing spaces for fruits and vegetables, served as inspiration for Bruno to strive for a better environment for future generations and the existing community. He now holds the position of Orchard for All manager, with the aim of providing people in the community the chance to access and cultivate different varieties of fruits and vegetables, while also contributing to the ongoing improvement of Richmond. Additionally, Bruno has been a source of inspiration for youth and others, encouraging them to take initiative in enhancing their community, much like Urban Tilth did for him.

Laura Navarro, born in San Pablo California, but was raised in  Michoacan Mexico as a child , and then moved back to the San pablo/Richmond area at age 9. Laura has worked at Urban Tilth for about 9 years now, She first started as an apprentice and now she is a garden educator at Richmond High school and Verde Elementary. Laura studied sociology and Latin American and Latino studies at UC Santa Cruz,  and also took a year long apprenticeship at the CASFS. She also completed a permaculture design certification at the Soul Flower Farm.  Laura is passionate about making change in her community and fighting for people and Earth’s rights, as well as providing people with healthy and chemical free food. In addition, while in Santa Cruz, she volunteered at the Western Workers Association, and has also worked with ACCE Action and fought for fair renter’s rights. 

My name is Daniela, I joined Urban Tilth this year, as the Rudy Lozito Fellowship manager where we teach 6 adults of mixed ages and experience Land based skills. My journey reconnecting back with the land began through herbalism, and wanting to preserve the inter-generational wisdom that surrounded plant medicine and my lineage. My passion lies in bridging the access to resources to my community, be it knowledge, space or opportunity, I strongly believe that our Black and Brown communities should be at the forefront of access to these things. I love how Urban Tilth centers so much of their work around community engagement and truly feel like I’ve gotten a step closer to my purposeful work with working at UT. Aside from being a lover of the land, I also find my creative expression through painting, writing and dancing. Overall I love creating room for joy and child-like excitement in everything I do.