After a career in graphic design, Kelly went back to school to study sustainable agriculture and pursue her passion for food systems work. While in school she reconnected with a farmer friend and together they launched Tuk Muk Farm, a 1.5-acre regenerative farm specializing in Asian veggies and pastured pigs. Kelly built on that experience at Farmstand Local Foods managing procurement for Farm to Table, and now provides leadership and coordination for Farm to Preschool. Kelly is an avid gardener, enthusiastic cook and cocktail maker, and lifelong learner.

Tanya Fink (she/her) is a registered dietitian at Tilth Alliance and has been an educator on the Farm to Preschool team since October 2019. She has her Masters in Nutrition (MS) from Bastyr University and is passionate about functional and integrative nutrition, sustainable food systems, and helping foster joyful, positive relationships with food. In her free time she loves hosting shabbat dinners, making cheeseboards, playing with her dog Izzy, and exploring the outdoors.

Sharon Siehl, Youth and Families Program Director, joined Tilth Alliance in 2013. Sharon has been involved with garden and outdoor education for 16 years as an educator, trainer, and organizer working with children, teachers, families, and community members in school gardens and outdoor spaces in Columbus, OH, Houston, TX and Seattle, WA. She is a co-Principal Investigator for the Learning in Places NSF research project, co-facilitates the School Learning Garden Network with Seattle Public Schools, and a co-leader for the Washington Farm to School Network. She is passionate about creating a just food system through food education programming, policy, and community work.

Marisa (she/they) is a Youth and Families Program Coordinator at Tilth Alliance and focuses on garden education with Farm to Preschool. Marisa has been teaching outside since 2015 ranging from summer camps, field trips, classes at community centers, to job training programs on urban farms for youth. Through this work she is excited about getting young learners outside and feeling empowered by their relationships with and knowledge around food and nature. Marisa is passionate about creating connection with the plants we eat through learning about them, having respect towards them, and by practicing reciprocity. In their free time you can often find them making and eating good food, knitting, creating various types of art, and spending time outside appreciating all of the beauty around us!

Bela Sanchez (they/them) is the Youth Education Coordinator on the Community Food Education team at Solid Ground. Bela is passionate about food as the connective tissue of human life, and they love getting kids of all ages excited about the fun and joy that can be found in food, from the farm to the kitchen and everywhere in between. When they don’t have their hands in the dirt or their nose pressed to the oven, Bela enjoys reading, knitting, and walking with their dog Fava.

Kai is the Youth Food Educator at Solid Ground and a nutrition educator with the Farm to Preschool program. They are grateful to share the joy of cooking and gardening with young learners. Whether in the classroom, kitchen, or garden, Kai values presence, curiosity, and building meaningful relationships with students. Outside of work, they love cooking and sharing food with loved ones, bachata and country dancing, and DIY projects.

Tansy (he/they) is a Daystall Farm Program Specialist at Pike Place and manages the market’s CSA program. This summer, Tansy is most excited to share fresh, seasonal produce with the Seattle community, and celebrate our hard working farmers. One of his core values is that food is an affirmation of the body and an informant to our identities. In other words, you are what you eat! He believes that the act of eating and cooking is not only a way of nourishing ourselves but also a way of revitalizing ancestral knowledge. He is keen on learning new recipes—old, new, or improvised—and is especially interested in blending East Asian flavors with local fare. On his day off, you might find him bouldering, building a new terrarium, or perfecting his water fried bun 水煎包 recipe.

Lexa manages the summer farm stand at Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands, co-manages Tilth Alliance's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, supports the year-round Good Food Bag food access program, and oversees Tilth's online Marketplace. In 2021, she also started a cut flower project at the farm. The heart of her job is to connect the community with the bounty of Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands and Washington's small, sustainable farms. Lexa has worked in community food systems for over 10 years, ranging from being hands on in the kitchen and field to designing local food policy. Her master’s degree in urban and regional planning focused on building more equitable food systems. In her free time, she enjoys cooking up and preserving the harvest, getting out to the mountains and waterways, and foraging for mushrooms.

Siffre Tooth (they/them) was born in Manitoba, Canada, and raised across the U.S., developing a deep connection to diverse landscapes. With a background in ecological restoration, regenerative farming, and food justice in the Pacific Northwest, their journey into land stewardship began during undergraduate studies in Biology. An internship at the university farm sparked a transformative shift, blending academic knowledge with an embodied relationship to the land. After relocating to Seattle in 2020, Siffre served as an AmeriCorps member with EarthCorps and as the Food Security Lead at the University of Washington Farm. These roles deepened their belief that cultivating plant relationships is a way to feel at home wherever you are. Siffre is passionate about building community resilience and is grateful for the connections they continue to co-create in South Seattle. In their free time, they work on illustration projects, producing stylized 2D visual art for stickers, t-shirts, and calendars. Catch them at a local art market!

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