Amelia joined VINES as the organization’s first Executive Director in February 2016.  As a volunteer, Amelia began working with VINES in 2007 as a founding board member and the coordinator of the Liberty Street Community Garden.  Prior to joining VINES, Amelia worked for United Way of Broome County spearheading the Healthy Lifestyles Coalition’s Eat Well. Play Hard. Binghamton! project (a pilot initiative working to improve the health of families on the North Side of Binghamton) and the City of Binghamton as the City’s Sustainable Development Planner.  Amelia holds a Master’s degree in Agriculture, Food, and the Environment from Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Having grown up on a farm in Otisco, NY, she enjoys working with other community members to make space in the urban neighborhoods for people to grow their own food and connect with the local environment.

Contact: amelia@vinesgardens.org

Evelyn Hale joined VINES in 2024 as the Operations Director, bringing over 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience and a deep commitment to building healthy communities. As a former VINES board member from 2014-2019, Evelyn is passionate about the impactful work VINES does. With expertise in health & wellness, operations, finance, and administration across environmental and healthcare sectors, Evelyn is prepared to ensure VINES’ operational excellence and financial success. Her background includes building high-performing teams and creating supportive, mission-driven work environments. Her experience teaching fitness and wellness courses and running a trauma coaching business has reinforced her ability to foster positive, collaborative spaces. Evelyn is excited to apply her skills and passion to VINES’ vital work in the community.

Contact: evelyn@vinesgardens.org

Johan joined the VINES staff as our Community Garden Manager in February 2022.  A founding board member starting with VINES back in 2007, Johan also helped with much of the physical development of the first several garden sites and the Urban Farm. He was the co-coordinator for the Laurel Ave Community Garden for close to a decade. As a staff member, he’s looking forward to helping the organization with continuing its fundamental mission and continued expansion. A long time resident of Binghamton, Johan moved here in 2001 to study PsyBio and Environmental studies at SUNY Binghamton. In 2006 he attended massage therapy school and became a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) in 2007. He has had his own therapy practice since 2015. When he’s not tending his home garden, he enjoys playing music or might be found running through the woods on all the nature trails in the region.

Contact: johan@vinesgardens.org

Max joined VINES in 2024 as the Urban Farm Manager shortly after relocating to the Binghamton area from his hometown of Buffalo. He started to develop an understanding of the importance of agriculture and livestock raising to community self-sufficiency as an English teacher in Mongolia, in both the remote Gobi-Altai province working with the children of semi-nomadic herders and in the sprawling capital city of Ulaanbaatar working with students from the “ger districts” – communities of displaced herders and farmers. Max then worked in various roles in refugee resettlement and outreach in Buffalo before shifting his focus to agriculture after visiting a relative living in North-central Montana. He worked two seasons on an organic grain farm that also utilized rotational cattle grazing before returning to Buffalo to work on an urban vegetable farm for a season. Just before joining VINES, Max was working at Providence Farm Collective, a 37 acre non-profit farm in Orchard Park that focuses on expanding access to community and incubator farm plots for refugee diaspora groups resettled in Buffalo. He is passionate about collective farming, food systems of localized production and consumption, and teaching and learning from future generations of farmers. For fun, Max enjoys DIY punk/hardcore shows, neorealist and new-wave cinema from around the world, dabbling in other languages and cuisines, and (regrettably) watching the Buffalo Bills. 

Contact: max@vinesgardens.org

Ethan joined VINES in 2026 as Farm Share Manager after relocating to the Southern Tier from Shanghai. He brings over ten years of experience in language services, editorial coordination, and project management, including six years managing large-scale editorial and translation projects for a global research organization. His background in leading teams, coordinating complex workflows, and supporting cross-cultural communication now informs his approach to member communication, documentation, and program coordination at VINES. Since moving to the area, Ethan has been actively involved in the local community through volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and community dinners. He had long admired and supported VINES’ work before joining the organization, first connecting as a participant in workshops and gardening programs. With years of hands-on gardening and composting experience—from rooftop gardening in Shanghai to maintaining raised beds and building a home greenhouse in Endicott—Ethan is deeply committed to local food systems and community-based programs.

Contact: ethan@vinesgardens.org

Chauna joined VINES in the Spring of 2024 as the Education and Communications Coordinator after several years as an enthusiastic supporter of their various programs. From enjoying fresh farm shares, to finally growing her own community garden plot and volunteering at some hands-on straw bale work days, she is excited to contribute to the services and knowledge VINES shares with its communities. Chauna graduated from Binghamton University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts and generally enjoys exploring artistic expressions. A laminated 5th grade self-portrait floating around somewhere out there would reveal a girl in a purple shirt with three pillars of joy: music, art and cats. Not all that much has changed. Her work background has varied from hands-on mediums such as screen-printing and painting, to human services in a hospital setting. She is excited to help facilitate the health of her community and get her hands dirty when she can!

Contact: chauna@vinesgardens.org

Jamie joined the VINES staff in January 2023 following an AmeriCorps service membership with the organization in 2022. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in rural south Mississippi, he grew up in a community of hunters, fishers, gardeners, and talented cooks where bartering and preserving was common and trips to the grocery store were not. Growing up with a bounty of delicious foods inspired him to dedicate his life to feeding people. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and spent nearly three decades in the hospitality industry working in restaurants, cafes, and pubs across the globe including Union Square Cafe in NYC. He is passionate about supporting local, sustainable agriculture and using traditional and culturally diverse ingredients & cooking methods. Jamie began to fully realize the power and beauty of community building and mutual aid as well as the importance of food justice/sovereignty while working as a manager, subsequent board member, and perennial volunteer of the Food Co-op Shop & Cafe in Canberra, Australia. Jamie is excited to bring his unique perspective and experience to VINES and Binghamton where he continues to feed people in a variety of ways. Outside of work, he enjoys the awe inspiring splendor of nature, a wide range of music, creating and appreciating arts & crafts, travel (when possible), and learning & growing.

Contact: jamie@vinesgardens.org 

Alexander is an AmeriCorps service member serving as the Community Garden Assistant for VINES in 2025. Born in Virginia, Alexander grew up in Colorado, and moved to New York in 2017. He moved to Binghamton in 2024 after earning his associate’s degree to continue studying Environmental Science at SUNY Binghamton. Working with people is a passion of Alexander’s, but he also enjoys playing video games such as Baldur’s Gate and Minecraft, creative writing, and spoiling his two cats: Maple and Obsidian. During his service, Alexander is excited to learn more about seed propagation, garden maintenance, and soil testing. He’s looking forward to working with and giving back to the community.

Dean joined VINES as an Empire State Service Corps member in the Fall of 2025. A senior at Binghamton University pursuing a B.A. in Urban & Regional Planning, Dean is passionate about sustainable development and food justice, making VINES the perfect place for him! During his time here, Dean looks forward to serving members of the community, learning the needs of different groups, and practicing methods of sustainable agriculture and community outreach. He hopes to continue serving people and the environment as a full-time career by practicing environmental law in the future. Outside of work, Dean enjoys traveling, being outdoors, live music, and watching films.