Bio: Sonya Marie Harper currently serves as the Outreach Manager at Growing Home, Inc. As a liaison to the Greater Englewood community she creates and nurtures partnerships and collaborations within the neighborhood. She also promotes and manages their weekly organic farm stand, as well as execute a plethora of workshops and other events pertaining to gardening, nutrition and community development. After earning a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Sonya spent nearly 10 years in the television news industry as a news producer, writer and reporter for various tv and radio stations across the Midwest including affiliates for NBC, FOX and CBS. Sonya recently returned home to Chicago, specifically West Englewood to help non-profits and community organizations there with their communications and public relations needs. As a community organizer and activist, she has worked for local and national political campaigns and stays consistently involved in grassroots efforts for social and food justice. In her spare time, Sonya enjoys reading, singing and working in the family garden with her father and daughter.
Education: University of Missouri-Columbia (Missouri School of Journalism) Bachelor of Journalism, Minor: Black Studies
Key Publications: n/a
Other Publications: n/a
Past Assignments: Urban Agriculture Movement: Food Access, Food Security, Community Greening and Community Economic Recovery, Jane Addams Hull House Museum, 9/2012 Gardening for Beauty Workshop, Growing Home, 6/2012 Gardening for Beauty Worskhop: Haircare, Growing Home, 8/2012 Loving Our Natural Hair: Curl Clinic, Growing Home/Imagine Englewood If, 2/2013
Bio: Center for Urban Transformation, Executive Director, Chicago IL 1999 to Present This entity was created as a nonprofit organization to provide ecologically sustainable organizational, community and economic development services and ideas for community-based redevelopment strategies in communities on the south and west sides of Chicago. Our work includes the design and development of community and economi Energy Impact Illinois, Regional Lead Field Organizer, August 2012 to May 2013 (Temporary Position)
Education: BA Social Science, Northeastern Illinois
Key Publications: Food and Justice: Critical Link to Healthy Communities, Chapter appearing in Power, Justice and the Environment: A Critical Appraisal of the Environmental Justice Movement, edited By David Pellow and Robert Brulle, 2005 Growing Home and the Emergence of Urban Agriculture in Chicago, Urban Agriculture Magazine, No. 18, September 2007. Publication of the Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security www.ruaf.org
Other Publications: Abbreviated Sample Publications Englewood Green Business District Concept Paper, 2009 Community Scale Wellness Markets and Food Access Systems, 2011
Past Assignments: Panelist; Food + Justice = Democracy Conference Organized by the Institute for Agricultural Trade Policy, September 2012. Panelist; Urbaane 2012, Urban Resolutions for Bridging African Americans to Natural Environments Conference Organized by the Fuller Park Community Development Corporation, September 2012. Panelist; Morehouse College Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King with Visiting Professor Dr. Vincent Harding, February 2012. Panelist; Planning Local Food Production for Healthier Communities Workshop for Planners, Sponsored by Center for Excellence in Elimination of Disparities, at Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, July 2011. Guest Lecturer at Community Gardens, Urban Ag and Brownfields, City of Gary Department of Environment, July 2011. Guest Lecturer, Sankofa: Looking Back for Applying Green and Restorative Practices to Community Development, Center for Black Diaspora, DePaul University, May 2011 Community Participant, Producers Institute for New Media Technologies, Bay Area Video Coalition, New York City, January 2010
Bio: Currently a Principal at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Jason was previously employed with a small, private sector planning, landscape architecture, and engineering firm focusing on sustainable and green infrastructure projects. With over 12 years of experience in the southern Lake Michigan region, Jason has focused primarily on creating sustainable human environments through the integration of urban and environmental planning and policy. Jason’s public and private sector experience includes environmental assessment, land and water resource management, sustainable land planning and policy, green urban design and infrastructure, development guidelines, greenways and trails, and local food systems. His experience includes over 25 plans and publications, numerous public presentations and workshops, and a strong record of initiative and leadership.
Education: BS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. MS, University of Michigan.
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