SEEDS Board Adds Five New Members
Published Thursday, Dec 9, 2021
Clockwise from left – Brittney Moore, Joe Corsaro, Vanessa Vargo, David Stein, Dan Altieri, Katryna Robinson, and Jameca Dupree (center)
Durham, NC.
At its regular meeting of the board of directors, held virtually last week, Durham-based SEEDS named five new board members, including two graduate students from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business who will serve the board in an advisory role. The new community board members are Jameca Dupree, Brittney Moore and David Stein; and from the Fuqua School of Business, Joe Corsaro and Vanessa Vargo.
The five new board members join Katryna Robinson and Dan Altieri, who both continue their service on the board of the Durham-based nonprofit. Since 1994, SEEDS has been operating a nonprofit garden school focused on developing the capacity of young people through growing, cooking and sharing food.
“We are pleased to welcome five such talented individuals to the SEEDS board,” said Altieri, who was elected chairman at the November 30 meeting. “We are looking ahead with confidence and hope the new year gives us opportunities to re-engage in the community in new ways. We are particularly looking forward to safely restarting our programing that was halted by COVID. Operating safely is our top priority.”
In addition to welcoming the new board members, the board accepted the resignation of board member Erick McDonald and received updates on fundraising, operations and future meeting schedules.
SEEDS Board Members
Joe Corsaro
Joe is a former consultant who is an MBA candidate at The Fuqua School of Business. Joe is serving as a member of the Fuqua on Board program and hopes to be able to apply his past governance experiences. As someone who loves to cook and is passionate about the sustainability of food, Joe is excited to help SEEDS grow the next generation of our community.
Jameca Dupree
Jameca has worked in finance for Duke University for over 20 years and is a native Durhamite. She brings to the table over ten years of nonprofit management and enjoys working in her community. With her unique perspective, combined with love of her community, and business background, she hopes to make a positive impact as a member of the SEEDS board.
Brittney Moore
Brittney graduated with a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has a particular interest in educating people on the importance of exercise in their lives and is passionate about promoting the concept of health and wellness to lead an overall good quality of life. Interest in the SEEDS program stemmed from this passion and a desire to get involved in a program that educated kids on the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables, which can promote healthy weight and encourage life-long healthy habits. She feels that adolescence is an optimal time to do so and hopes to make an impact on the SEEDS program and in the Durham community by dedicating resources and knowledge to increase awareness and empower youth to take an active role in their health and wellness.
David Stein
David has been at Duke the last 20 years, running science and ed tech programs for Durham students. His students have created a video shown at DPAC, published two books, written plays, taught history of medicine online, and even completed a work project at SEEDS, because few things are as satisfying as nurturing plants (and children)! He hopes to add some high-tech, like augmented reality to the high-touch of gardening.
Vanessa Vargo
Vanessa, a former consultant, is an MBA candidate at The Fuqua School of Business. She is serving as a member of the Fuqua on Board program and is excited to be able to apply her past experience at the East Boston community farm in Durham. Vanessa is extremely passionate about urban sustainability and farming and is looking forward to joining the SEEDS board.
Dan Altieri
Dan is studying at Peabody College/Vanderbilt University for a Doctor of Education and has a Master of Science in Management from NYU. He has been volunteering at SEEDS for the last seven years in many capacities. He also has volunteered at other non-profits in teaching technology for children and adults, and his passion is helping people learn. With a 25-year professional history working in large tech companies, Dan is keenly aware of the digital divide that negatively impacts Durham’s underserved youth communities, and he wants to help SEEDS connect STEAM concepts to community gardening to enrich the great programming SEEDS is already delivering.
Katryna Robinson
Katryna and her family moved to Durham six years ago from New York, and was introduced to SEEDS in 2017, as she was seeking after-school programs that would support her daughter, a first grader with high-functioning autism. Her daughter was not into eating many vegetables, and also had a fear of bees, but as Katryna describes, thrived in the SEEDS classroom and on the farm. Katryna served on the SEEDS board in 2019-2020 and is excited to be back. She will continue to be an advocate for SEEDS programs in the community. She is passionate about how SEEDS will expand its programs to support the whole family and that will allow her to fulfill her dreams of becoming a gardener alongside her daughter.
About SEEDS
Founded in 1994, SEEDS is a two-acre urban garden and kitchen classroom in the heart of Durham. SEEDS develops the capacity of young people to respect life, the earth and each other through growing, cooking and sharing food. https://www.seedsnc.org/
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