Our Board and Staff

Bountiful Cities strives for an equitable, inclusive structure in our leadership and representation. Our staffing structure includes lateral leadership so that Program Directors and the Executive Director can share decision-making. We are always experimenting and tweaking how we do things as an organization, and our goal is to develop models that work for everyone involved. Similarly, our Board of Directors shares decision-making and power. As an Advisory Board, our members represent various sectors of the food system, and their leadership guides Bountiful Cities with insight and vision.

Bountiful Cities Board of Directors
Ameena Batada, Board Chair - Professor in the Health & Wellness Department UNC Asheville
Brandee Boggs, Treasurer - US Army Corps of Engineers
Sekou Coleman - Executive Director of Arteria Collective
Gene Ettison - Owner/Operator of The Ettison Group, LLC
Lauren Rayburn - Co-Founder Rayburn Farms, Consultant Lauren Rayburn Co.
Katie Cox - NC Center for Health and Wellness at UNC Asheville
Vanessa Chardos - Stay-at-Home Parent

Bountiful Cities Staff
Darcel Eddins, Executive Director: darcel@bountifulcities.org
Kate Justen, Program Director: kate@bountifulcities.org
Cathy Cleary, Outreach Coordinator:  cathy@bountifulcities.org
Jordan Diamond, FEAST Program Coordinator: jordan@bountifulcities.org 
​Isa Whitaker, Community Garden Network Coordinator:  isa@bountifulcities.org
Kim Lanzarotta, FEAST Teacher:  klanzarotta@gmail.com
Kelly Applegate, FEAST Program Assistant: kelly@bountifulcities.org
​Natalie Hesed, FEAST at Hot Springs Elementary: hsesgarden@gmail.com
Sunil Patel, Food and Farming Apprenticeship Program Coordinator: sunil@bountifulcities.org
Gina Smith, Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council: coordinator@abfoodpolicy.org