Frances

Alumni and Staff

Frances is excited to continue to be of service to students as our program co-coordinator. The communication, care, and tenderness they contribute to FSNYC cultivates a welcoming vibe that allows people an entrance to this tender work.

Frances (they/she) is a black woman land steward, community organizer, and a program co-coordinator with FSNYC.  

Frances was a budding community organizer, awakening to land sovereignty, abolition, and anti-policing work when she found out about FSNYC. They were amazed to see a program in the city that focused on food and land justice with a social justice framework. Frances remembered feeling they needed more experience before entering FSNYC, so they joined La Finca del Sur urban farmer cooperative to learn how to grow food and medicine. 

As a student at FSNYC, Frances held a coordination and facilitation role at the Summer Youth Employment Program. Frances was able to utilize the FSNYC Training of Trainers model in this role, as she was working to support, nurture and teach students what she was learning in Farm School. After graduating from Farm School in 2018, Frances joined Woke Foods, started by FSNYC Alumni Ysanet and Marilease, and supported emergency food distribution during the pandemic. 

Frances continued applying her learnings from Farm School NYC when she began to co-facilitate Irrigation and Learning the Land with Lorrie Clevenger, a FSNYC founder.  In 2021, Frances shifted to the position they now hold as program co-facilitator at FSNYC. Frances now manages La Finca Del Sur and continues to support Woke Food distribution in the South Bronx, while coordinating student journeys at FSNYC.  

Frances embodies being of service to the community. She supports people in returning to the land and encourages people to believe in the process of stewarding the land and reconnecting to deeper ancestral knowledge. Frances facilitates people with care and validation, empowering them to demand to feel seen and heard. Their soft and radical approach to this work encourages people to bring their best selves while still prioritizing themselves and rest.