Who We Are 

Laura Carisa Gardea

FOUNDER & INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Sonic & movement artist & sustainability designer— Laura is the Founder of the Southside Food Forest aka @southsidefoodforestwsnc in Winston-Salem, NC USA. The Southside Food Forest is a United Nations recognized model for sustainable agroforestry & permaculture appropriate for replicability & scalability in urban, rural & varying ecosystem environments. The Southside Food Forest model also supports corporate social + environmental responsibility. Exploring themes of biodiversity recovery, ecology, re-indigenization, environmental awareness, ecological displacement, food sovereignty & innovation in sustainability, advocacy & community, the Southside Food Forest is an inclusive greenspace & hub for community, education, arts-empowered & human scale climate action.

Laura is the founder of ‘Food to Fashion’ an educational platform in the form of a sustainable fashion showcase that brings ethical, sustainable fashion brands & community partners together on the outdoor runway of the Southside Food Forest! This platform was piloted in the fall of 2021 with the Winston-Salem Fashion Week & Sustainable Fashion Week US, along with International Human Rights Consortium & Ms. United States Cosmos.

Laura is also an inaugural member of the Arts & Culture Working Group being formed for United Nation’s Policy development & enjoys elevating radical hope & achievable sustainability culture with her original band & music platform, Proxevita.

Shakiyah McCoy

VICE PRESIDENT & BOARD CHAIR

Shakiyah, a graduate of Forsyth Technical Community College, now a student at North Carolina State University majoring in Fashion & Textile Management. She began her journey through her passion about sustainability in fashion. Eventually her mission became about connecting the community to resources & spreading awareness on ways to improve the quality of people lives through sustainable practices. In her free time she enjoys to crochet, write, & create jewelry.

Shakiyah chairs ‘Food to Fashion Sustainable Fashion Showcase’ with the Southside Food Forest + Sustainable Fashion Week US, connecting educational activations to food & fashion experiences, connecting the dots between environmental sustainability, permaculture, food & fashion. Shakiyah is passionate about sustainable product development with the full life cycle in mind & sustainable fashion textiles.

Meg Wong

ADVISOR

Meg Wong is a graduate of Sociology at Wake Forest University & a Civic Scholar for the Office of Civic & Community Engagement, undergraduate research fellow at the Race, Inequality, & Policy Institute (RIPI). As an advisor and former intern at the Winston-Salem Permaculture Collective, Meg supports as a development facilitator for marketing & grants. Meg is committed to community empowerment by supporting the decolonization of food systems through urban agriculture. 

Cynthia Cukiernik

SAFETY, GOVERNANCE, COMPLIANCE CHAIR + BOARD MEMBER

Cynthia Cukiernik is from the small rural suburb of Pfafftown, North Carolina. Her family is from Cuba, Germany, & Poland. She studied Cultural Anthropology and Photography at UNC Greensboro & is also a UNCSA alumna. Her undergraduate research & photography explored material culture, daily ritual, food policy, public space, memory, & relationships with nature.

Cynthia has over ten years of experience in nonprofit management, community engagement, & all-ages arts education. Currently, she is completing a Masters in Landscape Architecture at NC State University. She has served as DEI Chair of the Student ASLA & is President and founder of NCSU Student NAMLA, National Association of Minority Landscape Architects. Cynthia continues to be passionate about community, local histories, & health while advocating for landscapes that support social equity & environmental resilience.

Allen Pickett

BOARD MEMBER & FOUNDER OF HONEYBEE HEMP FARM

Allen Pickett is energized by permaculture for its inherent qualities of rebuilding community around agriculture & reducing pressure on the modern food systems. Bringing life-force to what we consume enables food to be medicine & sanctions us to properly steward the earth under our feet. He is the founder of Honeybee Hemp Farms & feels fortunate to share his experience with natural farming techniques & business tenacity. 

Pictured Allen with Honey Bee Houses at certified Honey Bee Hemp Farms in NC USA

DAVID GRADY

BOARD MEMBER & FOUNDER OF GRANNY GRUNTS FARM

David Grady is a licensed general contractor with 27 years of experience in residential construction. He is also a level two certified KNF (Korean Natural Farming) teacher & a certified Soilsmith. David is the owner & operator of Granny Grunts Garden, LLC, where vegetables are produced to donate or distribute to help combat food insecurities. 

His aspiration is to promote the idea of food as medicine & make it accessible & available to all. David is passionate about sharing knowledge on biological farming techniques & utilizing low-cost inputs to produce more nutritionally dense food.

JOSH BANKS

DEVELOPMENT + FUNDRAISING CHAIR,

Josh Banks is a dedicated orchardist/farmer with over 15 years of hands-on experience in the garden. His journey in horticulture began in his native state of New Jersey, where he cultivated his skills under the guidance of his elder neighbor. Through this mentorship, Josh not only gained expertise in plant life but also gleaned invaluable insights into life's broader lessons.

Combining his passion for plant life & the arts, Josh spent the last three years of his time in Southern California tending to organic fruit trees while writing and recording music. Currently, Josh is strengthening his knowledge as he assists Dr. English Bradshaw in managing the prestigious MICDC Urban Farm located just outside of Winston-Salem, where he channels his expertise to promote sustainability & wellness. Grounded in his belief in giving back to Mother Earth, Josh is committed to leaving a positive impact, honoring both the past & future generations in his endeavors.

Jake McCabe

SECRETARY + BOARD MEMBER

Originally from New Hampshire, Jake moved to the Winston Salem area in 2018. With a degree in political science & a job in tech, he brings a varied skill set & background to the collective. His interest in cooking & fermentation, led him on a journey to learn more about permaculture & food forest design. He wanted access to fresh & nutrient dense food & wants the same for others. This opened up the door to something much bigger, & inspired him to get involved.

In his free time, Jake enjoys reading, playing guitar, jamming with friends, yoga, hiking, & tending to his garden. His most important & favorite thing to do, is spending time with his daughter Greta.

Adelina ‘Lime’ Vasileva

BOARD MEMBER

Lime is an Earth-walking blob excited to deepen our relationship with food sovereignty via sharing communal & ancestral knowledge. Their favorite way of cultivating ecological intimacy is through ritual. “Opening a space to hear the whispers & wisdoms of the Earth enables us to more deeply understand our inherent & interwoven relationship with the other-than-human world & move forward as better stewards “

Lime is a lover of art-making, queer ecology, fermentation & bacteria, herbalism, dance, & play!