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Ben Miller

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & Founder

Ben is a chef with a green thumb, co-founder of the acclaimed restaurant South Philly Barbacoa. He was also co-founder of the People’s Kitchen Philly, which has distributed hundreds of thousands of free meals to residents of south Philly, and Masa Cooperativa, which works with regional corn farmers to make tortillas from indigenous varieties of corn. Most recently, he opened the restaurant Koński Ząb Taco, in Warsaw, Poland. Ben came to Reinhard St. in 2006, through his mentor Salihu Baukman.

Stephen Drain

President

Steph is a guerrilla grower, solar-punk Afrofuturist, artist, and organizer with a deep commitment to community, environmental and labor justice. Steph envisions a future where sustainable practices and collective action shape a thriving world. Their hands-on approach to learning and problem-solving is rooted in their activism. In Steph's free time he likes to cook, travel, birdwatch and worldbuild. In every space, Steph works toward building a world where ecosystems and communities flourish together.

Yolanda Wright

board member

Yolanda is a mother, and a cook, whose family has lived on the block of the farm for over 40 years. She began exploring her passion for cooking more the last 15 years, introducing her own style of cooking, and has received much positive feedback.

Ericka Sanders

Board Member

Ericka is the block captain on Reinhard st. and has lived there for 30 years. She cares for her household and children, and has always kept a loving eye on everything going on in the neighborhood. She loves to spend her time volunteering with her church as the youth choir director and Sunday school teacher.

Mallika Kodavatiganti

board member

Mallika (she/her) grew up cooking and gardening with her family, and she considers herself very lucky to have stumbled upon Reinhard Street Community Farm where she can continue to use her hobbies to support her neighbors. She is passionate about addressing food insecurity and building community through sharing meals and spending time in nature. As a current medical student, she is eager to draw her interests in preventative medicine into the beautiful work being done at the garden.

Gabrielle Patterson

board member

Gabrielle Patterson is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans animation, film, illustration, and installation. An avid gardener, Gabrielle finds peace and joy in tending to plants, and she is passionate about creating engaging and impactful experiences for the Reinhard Street community. Additionally, Gabrielle recently directed and produced The Seeds We Carry, a short documentary film weaving together food and land stories from stewards of Reinhard Street Community Farm & Kitchen. When not at the farm or her personal garden plot, you might find her indoor bouldering or enjoying a local arts event in Atlanta, where she now lives.

Tomasa Pacheco

board member

Hello, my name is Tomasa Pacheco Rojas. I was born in Puebla, Mexico. I have two daughters that I absolutely love.

I am passionate about Gardening and enjoy spending my time fixing up the community garden. I love singing in the choir at church because it makes me feel closer to my religion and God.

Kenny Chiu

board member

Kenny is a community organizer and educator, born and raised in Chinatown and South Philadelphia. He has spent the last several years working in and advocating for affordable housing, youth advocacy, and ethnic studies. In college, he volunteered and interned at Reinhard farm, finding his passion for community work.

In his free time, he likes to visit and hike different National Parks, coach and play basketball, and read at Alif Brew & Mart. He is a Middle School social studies and science teacher at Gen. Philip Kearny School.

Lousy "Empress"

St Vil

board member

Lousy “Empress” St Vil is a top Philadelphia Realtor® with United Real Estate | Connections by K & L; CEO of Trinity Emergent Development Co. specialized in integrated real estate development ;and co-founder of The Visionaries a fabulous tech startup.

Born & raised in Montreal, QC, multilingual with a profound love for nature and the implementation of urban farming as a bond that ties our communities, it is honor joining the Reinhard Street Community.