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

Johan has been a part of VINES since its inception in 2007. As a co-founding member and early board member through 2013, he helped steer the organization’s direction while establishing several of its first community gardens and the Binghamton Urban Farm. Johan moved to the area in 2001 to attend Binghamton University, double-majoring in Integrative Neuroscience and Environmental Studies, and later licensed as a massage therapist, still currently operating a private practice. Rejoining the VINES team in 2022 to manage the Community Gardens Program, he thrives in the dynamic, community-facing role—balancing communications and logistics with hands-on building and dirt therapy. Outside of work, Johan enjoys playing with his daughter, drumming with his band, running in the woods, reading, and gardening. 

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 

Evelyn joined VINES in the summer of 2021 as a participant in the Grow Binghamton youth employment program.  Evelyn previously worked 5 seasons as a part-time youth employee with VINES, and through the many springs, summers, falls, and overall years, she learned the ins and outs of the Grow Binghamton program as well as the Binghamton Urban Farm. Through those experiences, in 2026, Evelyn joined VINES as Staff, taking on the role of the Youth Program Coordinator. To Evelyn, music is community, so she frequently attends Community Theatre, Punk/Metal/Rock Shows, and many Open Mic/Karaoke nights to support her local Music Scene. 

Contact: evelynbarron@vinesgardens.org

Taylor joined VINES in early 2026 and is incredibly excited to be a member of the team. Taylor has lived in Binghamton most of her life and has been a big fan of VINES since 2017 when she rented her first garden plot at the Laurel Ave Community Garden. She is a SUNY Broome and Binghamton University alumni, and she holds a B.S. in Environmental Science. While earning her degree, Taylor became deeply interested in sustainable agriculture through hands-on learning opportunities such as interning at the B.U. Acres campus farm and spending a summer helping out at Bloodnick Farms in Apalachin. Much of what she learned has adapted for her small Southside yard, where she keeps a few chickens and collects pumpkins to compost in the fall. Taylor’s work experiences prior to VINES’ were quite varied, the most recent being a two-year stint as a prosthodontic dental assistant. When not working, she spends most of her time outdoors and is an avid hiker and backpacking enthusiast, and she volunteers as a trail maintainer. She attempted to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2025, making it nearly 1,000 miles before being sidelined by injury. Taylor also loves birding, cooking, rock climbing, reading. 

Contact: taylor@vinesgardens.org