Education and Outreach

Elicia comes to Quivira with a curiosity about the promise of personal, social and ecological healing through agriculture. Elicia began her farming journey at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in California over a dozen years ago, and worked for Fort Lewis College running a farmer training program before coming to Quivira. Elicia holds a bachelor’s in Environmental Analysis from Pomona College and a master’s in Geography from the University of Minnesota. As part of the Education and Outreach team, she is excited to connect with farmers, ranchers, and land stewards across New Mexico and Colorado to foster community and share knowledge and information. She lives in Mancos, Colorado with her husband and daughter, and their small yard is filled with apple trees, herbs, and flowers.

María Leonor was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and often finds herself daydreaming about the ocean now that she lives in New Mexico. Early on, María found her love for the outdoors and learned how shared outdoor experiences could help build positive and powerful communities. These experiences and communities led her to pursue work in environmental and ecological programs across New Mexico, Idaho, Chile and North Carolina. Through her work, María grew passionate about creating culturally-relevant programs to strengthen connections to land and inspire long-lasting environmental change. As one of Quivira’s Education and Outreach managers, María designs and implements educational programming, facilitates regional network building, and develops one-on-one relationships with farmers, ranchers and land stewards. María is excited to continue building connections at Quivira and expanding education programming to create more equitable and accessible opportunities for all. In her free time you can find María romping around New Mexican landscapes, cooking elaborate meals, and attempting to successfully take care of her plants!

Nina joins Quivira with an excitement for sustainable and equitable food system management. Before recently graduating with an MA in Food Studies from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA, where they focused on US agricultural policy, agroecology, regional value chains, and justice oriented food practices, Nina spent a decade working on diversified vegetable and livestock farms across the US, and growing as a facilitator, advocate, and educator at organizations such as Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions, The Santa Fe Botanical Garden, and Girls Inc. of Santa Fe. As part of Quivira’s Education and Outreach program, Nina merges their passions for human systems and food systems while facilitating conversations and programming around regenerative agriculture, as well as kindling connections throughout the Mountain West. Outside of Quivira, Nina can be found working at their other career as a food writer and recipe developer for various regional and national publications, as well as tending to their hobbies of needle felting, cooking the perfect pot of beans, and taking long walks.