Ashley Mann, Administrative Director

Ashley Mann is originally from Iron River, Michigan, but has been in the New Orleans area since 2001. She received a B.A. in Marketing and Management Information Systems from Dillard University. Ashley spent much of her childhood assisting her mother in the flowerbeds, and maintaining her raspberry patch alongside her grandfather's vegetable garden. As a young entrepreneur, she sold her cartons of raspberries to the local grocery store. Ashley sees the value of healthy food, and strives to strengthen the mission to increase its access to New Orleanians.

Alicia Vance, Community Organizer

Alicia Vance grew up on a farm in southern Colorado spending her childhood caked in mud, plucking and eating sugar snap peas from the vine. Her family continues to sell fresh, organic produce at the local farmer’s market. These experiences have helped shaped her commitment to (re)building a healthy, local food system in New Orleans. She received her B.A. in Sociology and Spanish from Colorado State University and a M.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been dedicated to food system projects throughout her professional career. Having spent considerable time in New Orleans for over 10 years, she moved back in 2006. Alicia is as a Community Organizer for New Orleans Food and Farm Network, working with residents and organizations to develop community food projects, such as a backyard and community garden program, youth cooking classes, and produce vending opportunities in the Hollygrove neighborhood.

Ariel Wallick Dorfman, Urban Agriculturalist/Educator

Ariel Wallick Dorfman believes local food security is integral to achieving social and environmental justice. She draws from her experiences growing food in academic settings and community gardens, as well as on a domestic, Certified Organic family farm. Ariel graduated from the University of New Orleans with a B.A. in Studio Art and spent her post-Katrina year studying Agronomy and Environmental Sustainability at New College of Florida. She is currently, a Masters candidate in Montessori Education at Loyola College in Maryland. In joining the New Orleans Food & Farm Network, Ariel looks forward to supporting and nurturing her home town's agricultural legacy. Ariel encourages all people to experience the life-affirming and healing qualities of growing their own food with organic and sustainable practices.

Brendan Connery, VISTA volunteer

Brendan Connery grew up outside Detroit, and he recently moved to New Orleans. He will be volunteering at the New Orleans Food and Farm Network through AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). Brendan attended college at Western Michigan University, and he graduated with a double major in Comparative Politics and Comparative Religion. While attending college, Brendan spent four years working at a greenhouse in Kalamazoo, Michigan where a variety of flowers and herbs were grown. After college, he spent two years with the Peace Corps as an agriculture volunteer in the northern mountains of Nicaragua. He is looking forward to getting to know the city of New Orleans better, and is also excited to be working for the New Orleans Food and Farm Network.

Macon Fry , Garden Guy

The student and the teacher. For Macon Fry, it’s not an either/or differential but a dual role he’s proud to claim.“When I was teaching in the New Orleans public school system, I began gardening as a Parkway Partners Community Gardner on Oak and Adams,” he said. “Later after I retired from teaching, I became the director of their community gardening program and spent hours with other community gardeners watching and learning from them.” To get a better understanding of Louisiana’s unique climate and topography, he studied under Dan Gill at the Louisiana Master Gardener program and when he decided to grow vegetables on a serious scale for market, he turned to long time gardener Jimmy Delery for guidance and advice. Focusing on a few crops grown in rotation for market readiness, his large scale farm is at The Gathering Tree Garden, a Parkway Partners community garden located behind Xavier University.

Good Food Neighborhood Support Staff: Lanette Williams, Savory Spoon

Lanette Williams is the Cooking Teacher at the Savory Spoon Youth Cooking Class at O Perry Walker High School. She is also the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Common Ground Health Clinic. She has worked on several projects with the New Orleans Food and Farm Network, including the Food Talk Project, the Good Food Neighborhood Maps and participates in the Farm-Yard Project. She has also represented NOFFN at countless workshops and seminars in New Orleans and nationally. She is currently working on a Masters of Social Work at SUNO.