Meet the 2019-2020 Cohort
MARTHA SNOW, 27*
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND RegeNERATIVE DESIGN FELLOW
"Place Corps is an opportunity to actualize a radical shift I am looking to make to refocus and reconnect my creativity and my purpose, and to integrate what currently feel like separate worlds of making/growing and social policy work to improve the lives of others.
Martha is looking forward to integrating creative practices as a dancer and printmaker with new knowledge of sustainable land and food systems, while expanding skills in experiential curriculum design, workshop facilitation, and creative community building. Martha brings experience in an urban context working with interdisciplinary groups of designers and artists at The Design Trust for Public Space, and in public policy, leadership, and systemic change making through the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs.
LILA RIMALOVSKI, 21
"Place Corps has entered my life at time when I am deeply aware of this blind spot: While I am in tune with my values, goals, and personhood, I am severely lacking direction regarding a post-graduate life that is in alignment with radical ecological values, secure enough to support the basic spiritual, economic, and social needs of my being, enveloped in a community within which I can contribute and learn, and engaged in the work of climate justice activism."
Lila is graduating from the NYU Gallatin School this May with a individualized degree in Radical Ecology and a minor in Native American & Indigenous Studies. She is ready to live with the land, spend days barefoot, build intentional community, and dive into the spiritual practices of biodynamic agriculture.
JORDAN WILLIAMS, 24
"Leaning into my joy, I believe that self-healing and world-healing will come through practices of regeneration, and I believe Place Corps offers an ecosphere of abundance to cultivate such practices, all while rooted in place, in community, and in love."
Jordan, (he / him) is a Black, queer community and leadership developer, facilitator, storyteller, network weaver, dancer, and environmental justice organizer. Jordan comes to Place Corps eager to explore our cultural and political relationships to food. Through nature’s deep and transferrable knowledge of (eco)systems, Jordan looks to process and practice the ways we can organize and weave ourselves, our communities, and local resources towards food sovereignty and abundance.
SOPHIA HAMPTON, 22
"I want to participate in Place Corps in order to gain skills for radical connection to life. I’ve worked on two farms, in two butcher shops and five restaurants, and finished three food media internships. I want the tools to consolidate my experiences and learning of the past 22 years, and apply them to the world while staying connected to my sources"
Sophia, a whole-animal butcher, farmer, recent NYU grad, and budding whole systems designer, is focused on learning how to use herself as a tool within a food system that supports healthy people and healthy soil. From transplanting winter squash in the field to transforming a pig into sausage and pork chops on the butcher block, she is fascinated by the cycles of all life within a truly regenerative food system.
ALESSIA CUTUGNO, 22
"I envision a future in places that operate with ethics of care, are intentional in their educational and spiritual enrichment and equitable stewardship of land and resources."
Alessia is deeply interested in accessible legal structures to promote systems of sharing, sustainably affordable and inclusive housing, and community wealth in the Hudson Valley region where she grew up. She has served a postgraduate AmeriCorps year with Rebuilding Together Dutchess County as a Program Coordinator, and before that, held an editorial intern position for Log, a journal of architecture theory and criticism, and an internship position at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. She holds a B.A. in Politics, Rights, and Development and Urban Design and Architecture Studies.
LUKE VAN HORN, 18
"Place Corps was exactly what I was looking for: a program that focuses on a variety of skills that are needed in life--communicating emotions, budgeting, expression through art--but aren’t taught in school. Blending what I want to learn with how I learn best, makes me an enthusiastic learner, helping me to do my best for myself, for others around me, and for the planet."
Luke, a Brooklynite, loves deep history of place and knows how to tread silently on the forest floor. He dances, plays the guitar, and loves sports. He enjoys learning about vikings and survival skills. When he has the time, you can find him blacksmithing and whittling spoons. He is excited to learn about homesteading, foraging, and living off of the land.
ELEANOR ALFORD, 18
"A lot of school are really good at turning out "followers" but not creators. Place Corps will help me develop more than a work resume, it will be a life resume. I think my time exploring my many interests will help me evolve my creativity into a new career path."
Eleanor is a High School graduate who spends her time volunteering at a vegetable and flower farm, working at a local cafe, crafting feminist zines, and teaching hiphop in Kingston, NY. She has danced for ten years and started teaching choreography at a studio in her town. She enjoys cooking, photography, filming small movies and creating art.
GOPAL HARRINGTON, 18
"I want to feel I'm doing something worth doing. I want to be actively engaged in my learning through doing. At Place Corps, I will learn farming, Biodynamic systems, and ecosystems. I'm especially excited to learn how to co-live."
Gopal, a Florida native, spent his early years in California before moving to the Hudson Valley. He left public school after sophomore year to pursue an alternative education path while doing community work in Kingston, NY. Gopal hosts a regular Hip Hop radio show every Friday with his father. Gopal has a deep interest in philosophy and is looking forward to Place Corps being an opportunity to experience and test co-living and co-governance.