Staff & BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Meet Our Team
Silvan Shawe
Executive Director
Pronouns: She/her
With a background in farming, Silvan’s career has focused on the intersection of food justice, land access, environmental advocacy, and policy change. She studied Sustainable Community Food Systems at the University of Hawai’i, and Climate Resilience at the University of Alaska. Originally from Oregon, she has put down roots in Portland and lives with her partner and son. Silvan loves to build community connections through food and is a gleaning volunteer, amateur seed saver, and mushroom forager. Her favorite thing to grow is garlic.
Gloria Mangoni
Farmer Training Manager
Pronouns: She/her
Gloria is a passionate scholar-practitioner devoted to uplifting rural communities and smallholder farmers through research, policy, and community-based action. She often describes her path into food and land justive as one rooted in a generational legacy and strengthened by a personal commitment to rural life. Raised in a family deeply connected to the land, Gloria grew up alongside five siblings: Two agronomists, a rural health professional, a rural economist, and a geologist. Her mother and grandmother cultivated home gardens. This intergenerational bond to land shaped her earliest understanding of food systems and community well-being. With over a decade of experience in agricultural policy, community development, and international research, Gloria is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Rural Sociology and International Agriculture and Development at Penn State University. Her research focuses on how civic agriculture supports African immigrant and refugee farmers in rural America, bridging policy, practice, and live experience to promote inclusive, sustainable food systems. In her free time, Gloria embraces a joyful love for music – she’s learning how to play the piano, singing, dancing, and rediscovering creativity and rhythm as powerful forms of self-expression.
Badi Camara
Farm Manager
Pronouns: He/him
Originally from Gambia, West Africa, Badi and his family moved to Maine in 2017. Badi loves his job at Cultivating Community because he enjoys working with the land and helping other new Mainers support themselves and their families through farming. When he’s not working, Badi enjoys gardening at home, learning new things, working with stained glass, and cooking Gambian dishes. His favorite vegetable is the sweet potato.
Claudia Lockwood
Farm & Community Food Program Manager
Pronouns: She/her
After spending a decade living and working in Washington, DC and Berlin, Germany, Claudia moved back home to Maine in 2023. Claudia spent the past three years working on a local organic vegetable farm, growing fruits and vegetables for the surrounding community. With a background in program and operational management through an international lens coupled with local agricultural experience, Claudia is excited to bring her experiences to Cultivating Community. When not working, you can find her skiing, hiking, or reading. Her favorite vegetable is asparagus.
Lilly Kendall
Schools Program Manager
Pronouns: She/her
Lilly, originally from western Maine, has always enjoyed nature. From a young age, she worked alongside her parents tending a small backyard garden. This encouraged Lilly to cultivate a passion for food systems and education. She attended College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, where she studied Elementary Education and co-lead a local Farm to School program. Lilly’s passion for local food systems and experiential education led her to Cultivating Community, where she continues to work with young students in school gardens and encourage their curiosity for the natural world. Her favorite vegetable is brussels sprouts.
Janel Knightly
Director of Urban Agriculture
Pronouns: She/her
Janel joined Cultivating Community in April of 2023. A native of Massachusetts’ North Shore, her family has lived in Portland since 2019. She can’t get enough of Maine’s diverse food scene, thriving agriculture community, and all the beautiful wild spaces. Janel has worked in food access and systems for many years, managing programs that connect low-income and New American families to nutrition education, healthy local food, and land. She hopes to both gain and grow community through her work with the community gardens and urban agriculture spaces here in Portland. Janel’s favorite vegetables are cucumbers and leeks.
Billie Watson
Director of Youth Program
Pronouns: She/her
Billie has a background in teaching and facilitation with Seeds of Peace, Maine Youth Action Network, Congregation Beth Elohim Early Childhood Center, Success Academy, and more. In addition to Maine, she’s connected to Woodstock First Nation, New York City, southern Florida, and Fairfield, CT. Cooking, gardening, and laughing are some of Billie’s great loves, which is why she’s so glad to have found Cultivating Community. When she’s not doing enrichment work with teens, you can find her hosting a loud dinner party. Her favorite vegetable is the onion.
Mae Roberge
Office Manager
Pronouns: She/her
Mae joined Cultivating Community in the spring of 2026. Mae received a dual degree in Urban Studies and Education from Brown University, where her studies focused on the dynamics of cities and urbanization from a variety of perspectives. She later went on to receive her Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) designation in 2024. Her favorite vegetables are snap peas and leeks.
Brian Kriebel
Hurricane Valley Farm Operations Manager
Pronouns: He/him
Brian grew up in South Jersey just outside of Philadelphia. After attending Fordham University and graduating with a Bachelors in Anthropology he did a service year at a food pantry in North Carolina. The following year he did his first year of farmwork on an organic farm in Maine and he has been farming ever since. He really love garlic, onions, and potatoes but his favorite vegetable is the tomato, there are so many different varieties there’s always a new one to try every year. He is excited to be working for Cultivating Community supporting growers and managing operations at the Hurricane Valley Farm.
Canyon Sears
Hurricane Valley Farm Caretaker
Pronouns: They/them
Originally from Massachusetts, Canyon grew up in the Boston punk and DIY music scene where they found identity & community at the intersections of art and social justice. They studied photography at Massachusetts College of Art and majored in Women & Gender Studies at UMASS Boston. In hopes of starting a career in woodworking, Canyon moved to Maine in 2015 to become a student at a wooden boat building school. Through attending this school, Canyon learned they didn’t care much about boats, but they did feel a strong connection to Maine and the yellow lichen on the jagged rocks, the hanging moss in the woods, and the smell of sweet Annie flowers in the fields. They made Maine their home and developed a career in anti-sexual violence work as a technical assistance provider, supporting organizations in creating trainings, manuals, and support groups. Canyon is very grateful to be the caretaker of Hurricane Valley Farm, where they can use their skills in small engine repair, carpentry, and flower farming to support a mission that is in alignment with their own social justice values. Their favorite thing to grow is Amaranth.
Chantal Cyr
Sustainability Fellow
Pronouns: She/her
Chantal is a Sustainability Fellow and undergraduate student at the University of New England majoring in Nutrition with a minor in Public Health. From a young age, she worked on a raspberry and blueberry farm, where she developed a passion for food production and agriculture. Chantal has a background studying sustainable agriculture and food systems and has gained a variety of farming experience working across different farms in Maine. She is passionate about nutrition education, improving food accessibility, and learning and sharing gardening knowledge. In her free time, Chantal enjoys cooking and baking gluten-free and allergy-friendly recipes to share with friends and family.
Marcques Houston
Board President
Pronouns: He/him
Marcques is an Assistant Track and Field Coach at Bowdoin College. As a community advocate, he has fought for everyday Mainers on issues ranging from food security to childcare to education. As a Black, lifelong Mainer from a working-class family, and the first in his family to attend college, Marcques works to bring his unique perspective to everything that he does. He has worked on several political campaigns for the Maine Democratic Party, as well as several municipal campaigns in Portland. In 2021, he was elected to serve on Portland’s Charter Commission, where he served for a year and chaired the Commission’s Education Committee. In 2022, Marcques also served on Maine’s Genome-editing Technology Advisory Panel. He received his undergraduate degree from Colby College in 2018 and earned his Master of Education from Thomas College in 2022. Marcques can be found biking or running around the East Deering neighborhood of Portland. He also enjoys cross-stitching, fermenting, fishing, and gardening. He also serves on the board of Maine Conservation Voters. His favorite vegetable is corn.
Roberto Rodriguez
Board Vice President
Pronouns: He/him
Roberto, originally from Puerto Rico, spent most of his youth and lived in Miami before moving to Maine in 2011. Roberto owns Fresh Food Gardens, a local urban farming and food-scaping small business. Roberto currently serves as an At-Large City Councilor in the City of Portland, and previously served on the Portland Board of Public Education from 2016-2021, including two years as the chair of the board. Roberto has created his dream organic urban backyard farm with his wife and youngest daughter in the North Deering neighborhood of Portland where they live with their dog AJ. His favorite vegetable is an onion.
Khadija Ahmed
Board Member
Pronouns: She/her
Khadija is a believer in equity and human rights. She works for Good Shepherd Food Bank as an Equity and Impact Manager. She’s also a founder of a non-profit organization, that serves immigrant and asylum seekers by removing barriers including but aren’t limited to transportation, language, and culturally relevancy. Additionally, she works as a chef, teaches cooking classes, and trains school staff on preparing meals that reflect the student body. She lives with her partner, five children and two cats, and enjoys reading, antique hunting, and coffee with good friends.
Amanda Scarpone
Board Member
Pronouns: She/her
Amanda Scarpone was born and raised in Maine, and is deeply drawn to its natural beauty and the way Maine’s landscape can provide for its inhabitants when we treat it with knowledge, respect, and justice. Amanda is the Program Director of MaineShare at Maine Initiatives and also teaches sociology and public health courses as and Adjunct Faculty at University of New England. She is deeply interested in the ways that our health is connected to social institutions and how increased and equitable access to local, sustainable food can benefit us all. She enjoys gardening, growing flowers, produce, and herbs; and exploring mountains by biking, skiing, hiking, and snowshoeing. She lives with her husband and there two cats, Poptart and PacMan.
Mariam Taleb
Board Member
Pronouns: She/her
Mariam is an agricultural service provider and program manager with over 10 years of experience in agriculture and food systems work. She has been a farmworker, farm manager, and farm educator on both urban and rural organic farms across the Northeast, and has experience in local and state policy, organizing, and public education. She earned dual Bachelor’s degrees in English & Sustainable Food and Farming from UMass Amherst and a Ph.D. from Penn State in the Socio-Ecology of invasive species.
Meg Sanders
Board Member
Pronouns: She/her
Meg’s career has spanned advertising, early childhood education, and non-profit communications and development. Most recently, she has been enjoying substitute teaching. Outside of work, Meg stays busy with her two young sons, tending to her community garden plot, cooking, reading, and attempting to ski and surf. She is passionate about education, healthy food, and community, and is thrilled to be a part of promoting these vital things through work with Cultivating Community!
Header photo by Greta Rybus