OUR PEOPLE
ALETHEA VASILAS
Executive Director, Co-Founder
Alethea incorporates her background in dance, somatic therapeutic exploration, cultural anthropology, and organic farming into the cultivation of vegetables and new relational kinesthetic possibilities that come about at the interface of land and its people. She holds a B.A. in Africana Studies from Brown University, an M.A. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University, and has explored training in Biodynamics, Permaculture Design, and Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy. Before beginning Orkestai Farm, she was gifted an opportunity to work with a woman on the Autism Spectrum who forever changed the course of her life. For the last seven years she has also been mothering a vibrant and sensitive daughter.
JOSHUA MARCUS
Director of Operations, Co-Founder
Josh has been involved with Orkestai from the writing of the founding documents. He has now joined the team to become Director of Operations, both planning and implementing the farm’s various ecological, marketing, infrastructural, financial and outreach activities. He is deeply invested in connecting himself, his family and humanity at large into a more symbiotic relationship with the natural world. His eclectic background includes permaculture, spirituality, education, and fiction writing. He holds an B.A. in Government from Cornell University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia University, where he was also an instructor in the University Writing Program.
ERIN STAUB
Co-Founder
Erin came to this project from a background in visual art, design, and filmmaking. She has spent many years working on farms from Maine to New Mexico and has gained much experience in Biodynamic, Permaculture and Traditional Organic Farming systems. She holds a B.F.A. in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design and has ten years of experience working in independent film. She has worked in children’s autism programs and with the New York Education Project through Johns Hopkins University.
PATRICK SILVESTRI
Farm Crew and Educator
Before joining Orkestai in July 2021, Patrick had a 31-year career in education administration with Nassau BOCES. He helped start a school garden at every location where he worked. His first memories include working in his family's home gardens. He has passed on traditions of trading fig trees with family in Italy and annually preserving the garden harvest. Patrick happily works with Orkestai Farm's students and supports the directors to provide a variety of organic produce weekly for CSA members. If you don't see Patrick on the farm, look closely on a sailboat on the Long Island Sound, the mountain trails of New England or the back row of your yoga class.
MICHAELA BEN-SOREK
Farm Crew and Educator
Michaela Ben-Sorek has been studying and practicing farming since 2019. She is invested in supplying communities with organic, nutrient-dense food while using ecological growing practices. Her mission is to help return the relationship between humans and the earth to a state of symbiosis. She is currently working on getting her degree in Sustainable Farming, and additionally values learning anything from psychology to culinary art. When she’s not on the farm she is either playing bass, reading or bicycling.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joan Sommermeyer, Board President
Reese Michaels, Treasurer
Patti Edwards, Secretary
Nicole Loizides
Dave Gugerty
Ex-Officio:
Alethea Vasilas
Joshua Marcus
A NOTE FROM OUR FORMER BOARD MEMBER, FAITH LEGENDRE
Hello Orkestai Farm family,
My name is Faith and I have the immense humbling pleasure of serving on the board of Orkestai Farm. I look forward to every moment I can spend on the farm helping out with whatever fun chores are needed.
Building & Supporting Our Local Community
As I sit on the soil that nourishes the plants and in turn nourishes us, I can’t help but think… How are we as humans taking care of and nourishing each other? How are we being inclusive? How are we elevating others up? How are we…? We…hmmm. How am I? How am I giving voice to values? How am I giving actions to thoughts? What am I doing to build a more inclusive, supportive community? For me it starts by educating myself through reading (see recommended reading below), hearing other’s stories of struggle, authentic, empathic listening, practicing mindfulness and then proceeding with actions. These actions for me, personally, are about chatting with others in the community about the farm and inviting them to come to explore and take in the beauty. It also encompasses providing healthy, organic, sustainable food to others in the community that are not able at this time to afford it. I was lucky enough that Alethea and Josh told me that a local soup kitchen and collector of food for those in need asked to pick up that week from the farm. I had been wanting to help out but wanted it to be for my local community. So, it was a great match. I remember when I was younger living with my parents how we lost our home and moved in to affordable housing. Many people were kind and donated food, but it was never fresh, never organic, never sustainable, and usually produced in another country and took a tremendous amount of greenhouse gas emissions with distribution. Nourishing food from soil that is well cared for is regenerative for people and planet. Organic, sustainable, local food is healthy food. It builds healthy communities which benefit us all. Please consider making a donation that helps all those in your local community. https://www.orkestaifarm.org/donatevirtualhugs
Food Waste Prevention
If you have food that you know is not going to be eaten by you or your family members post it for free on Olio This app has prevented millions of tons of food waste around the world. You can leave the food at the time agreed upon outside your door to continue to observe physical distancing. Everything is interconnected. When we help out each other, we also help out the planet.
My Recommended Reading
Many thanks for this recommended reading from the Avena Botanicals farm in Maine for sharing this on their newsletter. “Leah Penniman is a Black farmer, educator, and author of the book Farming While Black. This is a book for all people, whether you are a farmer or not. We all eat food and share Earth as our mother. Consider buying this book, reading or rereading it, and donating a copy to your local public library.”
“I will always carry with me the simple joy of discovering a brilliantly ripe tomato tucked inside a mess of vines, the laughter shared during a communal lunch, or over some chocolate at the end of the day. I will continue to be inspired by the sound of a days work : the repetition of shoveling mulch, the quick snap of a squash cut from the vine, the crickets in the meadow, the content sigh released at the end of the day””