Jamie Johnson

I grew up exploring and photographing the forests and streams of the Finger Lakes region, calling Ithaca, NY, home. I choose to stay in the area and study at Cornell where I double-majored in International Agriculture & Rural Development and Communications, a program which has never stopped being a mouthful to say. I spent the summers of my college years trying to gain experience working with agricultural NGOs in faraway places: Mexico, Ecuador and Sri Lanka. In Mexico, I worked with (but mostly learned from) a sustainable agriculture outreach organization called CEDICAM using the farmer-to-farmer model. Through a class at Cornell, I worked with a coffee cooperative in Ecuador to develop a soil health manual for their farmers. In Sri Lanka, I interned with the FAO as a communications assistant where I primarily sat in the office and drank tea.

After graduation, like many students, I felt I had too many ambitions and ideas swirling around my head to think clearly. I resolved to work in the fields of education, agriculture, and media production, especially where they intersect. I decided to stay in my hometown and work promoting the benefits of outdoor free play for children with the Ithaca Children’s Garden and the Ithaca City School District.

In 2017 I began working with the Cornell Small Farms Program producing short vignettes of Farmer Veterans (veterans who have transitioned into agriculture). In 2020 I was excited to join the Small Farms Team and continue to work at the intersection of agriculture, media production and education. I will support the work of the program by telling the stories of New York farmers and farmworkers, by producing educational content for online courses, and by producing a podcast highlighting stories from the world of Northeast farmers.