Welcome, New Staff!
Cornell Small Farms Program is excited to announce the expansion of our team with two new additions, Nicole and Kacey. Beginning Farmer Project Coordinator, Nicole, supports SFP’s dedication to providing guidance and resources to those entering careers in farming and to those in the formative years of a newly started farms in New York State. She is specifically working with the Labor Ready Farmer project and the Farm Ops: Veterans in Agriculture project. As Communications Specialist, Kacey will be increasing visibility of SFP’s work and telling valuable stories from those that we serve. Her work will include communications, design, multimedia and more as SFP invests further in outreach strategies.
Learn more about Nicole and Kacey below:
Raised locally in Freeville, NY, Nicole joined the Small Farms Program in 2018. Her work focuses on supporting beginning farmer projects throughout the Small Farms Program. A diverse background of experiences enhances her work coordinating efforts to support farm employees and beginning farmers. Post-graduation from SUNY Albany in 2004, Nicole was certified as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in Sevilla, Spain. Upon returning to the U.S., she co-taught English lessons at a dairy farm and took a part-time position at a local winery. The part-time winery position led to a degree in enology and a six-year career as an assistant winemaker in the Finger Lakes region. She has spent the last six years coordinating grant-funded projects and supporting international students seeking graduate degrees. Nicole’s free time is spent with her son, Sawyer, who shares a passion for canoeing, camping and hiking NYS forests.
As the Small Farms Program’s first dedicated communications specialist, Kacey will work to build a storytelling and outreach strategy across the website, social media, this newsletter, and more. Kacey has worked in communications and journalism for a decade, with specialties in science and sustainability. An Upstate New York native, Kacey received her undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Environmental Studies from Ithaca College. She is excited to return to the community she has always called home, and hopes to start a small farm of her own.
