If you know which specialist you would like to reach, their contact information is provided below. If, however, you are unsure whom to contact, please use the inquiry form to the right and the appropriate team member will respond to your request.

Sam Anderson

Urban Agriculture Specialist

55 Hanson Place, Suite 350
Brooklyn, NY 11217

cell 781-366-5939
email Sam

Kristy Apostolides

Farm to School Coordinator, Lower Hudson Valley

phone 845-429-7085 x106
email Kristy

Cheryl Bilinski

Local Food Systems Specialist, Farm to School Lead

phone 607-592-9507
email Cheryl

Amy Bly

Farm to School Coordinator, Long Island

CCE office
Long Island, NY

phone 631-827-1015
email Amy

Lizzy Cooper

Farm to School Coordinator, Central NY

Central NY
phone 315-630-0405
email Lizzy

Meghan Dohman

Farm to School Coordinator, North Country

CCE Essex County
cell 518-791-1888
email Meghan

Makela Elvy

Urban Garden Leadership Curriculum Specialist

cell 347-804-5820
email Makela

Vicki Giarratano

Assistant Director for Food Systems
email Vicki

Yolanda Gonzalez

Urban Agriculture Specialist

55 Hanson Place, Suite 350
Brooklyn, NY 11217

cell 516-305-0358
email Yolanda

Karen Guzman

Urban Gardens Specialist

cell 929-468-5179
email Karen

Mallory Hohl

Urban Gardens Specialist

cell 716-880-0275
email Mallory

Kwesi Joseph

Urban Gardens Specialist

cell 718-809-2781
email Kwesi

Kyle Karnuta

Urban Ag Curriculum Development Specialist

cell 310-739-8735
email Kyle

Lori Koenick

Extension Support Specialist

cell 585-469-5798
email Lori

Bridget O'Brien Wood

Buffalo Farm Shares Coordinator

cell 716-536-3887
email Bridget

Becky O'Connor

Farm to School Coordinator, WNY & Finger Lakes

CCE Erie County
cell 845-706-0293
email Becky

Kitty O'Neil

Ag Climate Resiliency Specialist

cell 315-854-1218
email Kitty

Lindsey Pashow

Ag Business Development & Marketing Specialist

CCE Clinton County
6064 NY-22 #5
Plattsburgh, NY 12901

cell 518-569-3073
email Lindsey

Sara Jean (SJ) Peterson

Farm to School Coordinator, New York City

NYC Dept of Education office
Long Island City, NY

cell 929-895-2257
email Sara Jean (SJ)

Kate Preston

Farm to School Education Specialist
email Kate

Judson Reid

Extension Vegetable Specialist, Team Leader

CCE Yates County
417 Liberty Street
Penn Yan, NY 14527

phone 315-536-5123
cell 585-313-8912
fax 315-536-5117
email Judson

Katie Sheehan-Lopez

Farm to School Coordinator, Upper Hudson Valley

phone 845-340-3990 x334
email Katie

Savanna Shelnutt

Ag Climate Resiliency Specialist

cell 518-651-9617
email Savanna

Anya Stansell

WNY Small Fruit Specialist

cell 607-752-2793
email Anya

Daniela Vergara

Emerging Crops Specialist

Cornell AgriTech
Geneva, NY

cell 812-219-0172
email Daniela

2025 Agroforestry Field Day Series -- Agroforestry Implementation and Management

October 23, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Highland, NY

Interested in incorporating agroforestry practices into your farm? Join us for a series of workshops co-hosted by CCE Ulster, Orange, and Harvest NY with Mastwood Farms, Black Creek Farm and Nursery and Scenic Hudson. 

On October 23, we'll return to Erik Schellenberg's farm, Black Creek Farm and Nursery, for a Fall tour of their agroforestry plantings. Erik will talk about harvesting and managing plantings while we see some seasonal crops and installations of different ages and types. There will be time for questions and discussion as we wrap up the series. covered.

Soil Health 101 for Community Gardens -- A Bilingual Workshop

October 24, 2025
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Staten Island, NY

Join Urban Agriculture Specialists, Karen Guzman and Yolanda Gonzalez, as they discuss the importance of soil health and testing your soil as you prepare for the incoming growing season. They will go into strategies for best practices when it comes to soil health management and highlight the current soil testing program through NYSDAM and CCE. This workshop will be in both Spanish and English.

Biochar 101 for Community Gardens (Upper Manhattan)

October 25, 2025
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Upper Manhattan, NY

Join Karen Guzman and Dr. Rebecca Nelson of Cornell University, Bill Hilgendorf of White Feather Farm, and the NYRP Urban Ag team for a deep dive into biochar as a tool for waste management, carbon storage, and soil health in a community garden context. During this hands-on workshop, participants will have the chance to make biochar using garden waste and learn about best practices when applying it to a garden bed. Workshop attendees will all receive a small amount of biochar to take back to their garden.

Space is limited. Pre-registration required.

New Produce Auctions in NYS!

With the opening of the new Augusta Produce Auction on August 19th, New York State now has 11 produce auctions! See the new map of produce auction locations across the state and contact information.

New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series

Cornell Cooperative Extension has partnered with dozens of urban farms across New York State to demonstrate and evaluate sustainable pest management strategies. Together with farmers, we found success using control methods that prevent or reduce crop losses through exclusion strategies, crop timing, host resistance, the introduction of beneficial organisms, and more. Regardless of management strategy used, common requirements for success include a knowledge of the pest and disease complex, preventative deployment and commitment to the process. The New York Urban Farms Sustainable Pest Management Fact Sheet Series includes case studies highlighting pest management techniques that New York urban farms have found valuable.