About Us

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 

Brianna grew up in central Delaware amidst a tapestry of corn fields, soybean farms, and chicken processing plants. It wasn’t until she took a course about Food Systems in college that she understood the devastating impact these industrialized commodity crop practices had on her hometown. Fueled by this newfound understanding, she began collaborating with her fellow students to push Towson University’s administration to shift the school’s dining budget away from factory farms & industrialized agriculture towards local, sustainable suppliers. Since graduating with a degree in Sociology/Anthropology & African American Studies, Brianna has worked at various non-profit organizations and on farms in Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. Brianna’s ultimate goal is to reclaim the land her ancestors stewarded for generations in Henderson, North Carolina. She is working with her family to clear the title of this land which is currently bound by heirs’ property laws, the leading cause of Black land loss in the country. Brianna also works with the Louisa County Historical Society’s African American History Program, where she helps preserve and promote the incredible legacies of Black folks in the county.

 Director of Operations

Lilgeberg is constantly learning and experimenting in the garden and in the kitchen. Quick to explore new hobbies, she is currently working on some basic carpentry projects, fermentation, and watercolor painting. When she is not at the farm, you can find her hanging out with her two dogs, 3 cats, and her partner at home or checking out local breweries and restaurants.

At the farm, Regina works closely with Amyrose to develop new projects in the communities we serve and helps to recruit, coordinate, and works beside volunteers in the gardens. She also loves to come up with new content for our blog.

In addition to feeding people, Regina loves feeding the chickens. Whenever possible, she is delivering treats to the flock at Spotted Pig Holler.

 Vanessa Bolin is an Indigenous artist, activist, street medic/ trainer and founder of the Eyes Wide Open Project, Richmond Indigenous Society, River City Medic Collective/Richmond Community Care Collective. She sits on the board for SANTOS which is dedicated to providing bail funds for the undocumented community, she is also on the board for the Virginia Network for Democracy and Environmental Rights. 

 She is also the founder of the Community Roots garden. She studied Paramedic Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. Vanessa served as a medic in Standing Rock ND during the No DAPL movement and in Charlottesville on August 12 traveled to Houston after Hurricane Harvey and acted as a street medic where she served and cared for the flood survivors. She establish a Mutual Aid Disaster Relief warehouse in Robenson Co after hurricane Florence and has taught street medic trainings across the country. She is deeply passionate about preserving the environment for her grandchildren and the next 7 generations. 

A lifelong resident of central Virginia, Chris Hawks has a passion for restoring the soil and helping people find their connection to the earth that feeds us and the water that connects us. He believes healing comes through biodiversity and connection and is always looking for ways to create healthier ecosystems. He is a carpenter by trade and loves to create useful farm structures out of reclaimed materials. Chris spends every possible moment outdoors and enjoys gardening, foraging, camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and yoga.  

 Mae Hey’s undergraduate education focused on geology and geography, human-Nature relationships. Her two graduate degrees are in curriculum and instruction. Her Ph.D. research focused on the confluence of Indigenous worldview/ knowledge and science education, a natural blending of traditional local knowledge and practices—practices that support creative problem-solving, human empowerment, community capacity building, and a more sustainable future.

Hey completed a two-year InclusiveVT postdoctoral fellowship under the Office of Inclusion and Diversity. In that position, she nurtured relationships with tribal communities in Virginia to foster experiential learning and applied research opportunities with Virginia Tech. She continues to work with Virginia tribes on community viability projects related to Land-centered learning.

Much of Hey’s work is focused on critical participation, which is defined as reflective actions in the real world, occurring in real time, for the purpose of knowledge production and transformation in the present. As a critical participant she creates relational spaces through thoughtful and persistent engagement within communities.

Hey stewards the Indigenous Friendship Garden at Virginia Tech. In the garden and other spaces, she works with Land to support Nature-centered learning, to close wellness inequities involving food, and to promote sustainability through kincentric ecology. She also serves Virginia Tech as an Assistant Professor, a Faculty Fellow for their Office of Inclusion and Diversity, a Faculty Affiliate for their Food Studies Program, and a Faculty Fellow for their Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation. She is a Sequoyah Fellow of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and a member of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance’s culinary mentorship program.

RVA Community Fridges

Founder 

Taylor Scott is a 23 year old VCU Alumna from New Orleans, Louisiana. She has seen many people in need of food, shelter, services, and basic needs in her hometown that have been ignored or simply do not have access to such things. Having been in Richmond for some years now herself, she has seen a similar trend and need here in Virginia. This has pushed her to establish RVA Community Fridges to get more involved with the community and find a way she can assist while promoting equal access to healthy food options and fresh produce, reduce food waste and insecurity, and foster a sense of mutual aid amongst our communities.