The Cultivate Charlottesville Board is excited about the new Co-Executive Director leadership structure that was implemented this spring. As we continue to move forward with our organizational mission and what we aspire to per our Uprooting Racism Action Plan (developed after staff and board training from SoulFire Farm) the tenets of Decision-Making, Power and Authority were highlighted, and actionable steps were taken to remain true to this mission.
We aspire to “be a diverse community of food justice advocates and ensure that each person in the organization has the skills, support, and tools to step into leadership according to their dynamic and evolving roles. We aspire to articulate a clear understanding of how power is shared and how decisions are made. We aim for our organization to represent the community with whom we share power and build equity. For Cultivate this means a majority of people in Charlottesville with lived experience of food apartheid.”
The onboarding of Richard Morris as Co-Executive Director is another step forward in fulfilling this mission. Richard Morris has been an instrumental leader and change agent in advocacy for food justice. His shared values, experience and life-long commitment to building racial equity practices proved a natural partnership with his promotion as Co- Executive Director, alongside Jeanette Abi-Nader.
In alignment with Cultivate Charlottesville’s goals, we will continue to look for opportunities to integrate this shared leadership model not just at the executive level, but also at the leadership team level and within our three programs City Schoolyard Garden, Urban Agriculture Collective, and Food Justice Network.
