Sheryll Durrant is a Bronx-based urban farmer, educator, and food justice advocate committed to building community-led, equitable food systems. She manages the Kelly Street Garden and coordinates food and agriculture programming for the New York New Roots program at the International Rescue Committee, where she works alongside immigrant and refugee communities to strengthen food sovereignty. Sheryll also serves as Board President of Just Food, an organization dedicated to empowering historically marginalized communities to design and lead their own food system solutions. Drawing on her background as a corporate marketer and her years of experience in community food work, she cultivates spaces that grow food, connection, and resilience while challenging the systems that commodify land, labor, and nourishment. She was named 2025 Urban Farmer of the Year by NY Ag & Markets. She will among Women in Food and Agricutlture at Blue Hill and she will be receiving 2026 The Changemaker Award from The NYC Food Policy Center both in May 2026.
Bruce Zeines is currently the program director/general manager at KSG and co-founder of Earth to People Coalition Inc (E2P). During his tenure as program director he has overseen over 150 workshops at KSG since 2020. In his role as grant writer the garden has been the recipient of multiple grants including several from the Bronx Council of the Arts, (2 BRIO awards for drawing excellence,) City Parks Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Kalliopeia Foundation, Merck Family Fund to name a few. Previously he spent 40 years as an art director/graphic designer working in health care, hospitality and food advertising. He is an accomplished artist, musician and currently resides in the South Bronx.
The Coalition
Renee Keitt is a 2017 FarmSchool NYC graduate and has been working at KSG for the past 7 seasons the Garden Manager. She oversees every aspect of the physical space including volunteer groups, crop planning and several of her own projects which includes seed saving, herbal products, tea parties and cultivating mushrooms. She has been invited to part of the 2019-2020 HEAL School of Political Leadership and 2026 Seeding Power Fellowship. She is currently president ofThe Elliott-Chelsea Resident Association defending tenants rights in NYCHA housing.
Faylyn Bonas has been a Kelly Street resident for two decades and was instrumental in helping the garden since its’ inception. She currently manages the Farming Concrete data collection tool which keeps track of production, harvest, volunteer hours and food distribution. She is a Su Casa grant recipient from Bronx Council on the Arts..
Jason Duverney-Gaspar has been a working horticulturist for over a decade in NYC. He is well versed in ornamental and edible landscapes, with extensive experience in the propagation of natives, annuals, herbs and vegetables. He’s an experienced project manager, coordinator, creator and teacher of garden programs for children, teens and adults. Jason is on a mission to make horticulture training more accessible. He graduated from Longwood Gardens Professional Gardener Program and has held positions at Wycoff Farm, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, New York Restoration Project and currently is the director of horticulture and operations at Edible Schoolyard NYC.
Sia Pickett, known in her community as Chef Sia, started with Just Food as a Community Chef in 2011. She brings 30+ years of experience in fiscal oversight as a business owner, culinary/nutrition instructor, wellness coach, facilitator, management and mentoring, curriculum development, project/event coordination, marketing, business technology application, business consultation, and business development. She has worked in operational and sales management for various Fortune 500 companies, spent 12 years in personal banking with US Bank, and has held positions with several nonprofits. Sia currently serves as a program manager for the Business Outreach Center Network (BOC) and has worked as a project manager for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In addition to her community work, Chef Sia owns
Malata Cuisine, a “Natural Foods’’ personal chef service and culinary nutrition education company in Brooklyn, NY.
Michelle V. Jackson is a seasoned professional with 25 years of experience driving social and environmental impact through project management, facilitation, conflict resolution, and creative problem-solving. She has collaborated with community groups, nonprofits, corporations, and universities to advance equity and sustainability. Michelle excels in supporting and launching early-stage organizations and initiatives, including Prime Produce Apprentice Cooperative, Seeds to Soil, and Tiny Plots. She has been a community gardener in NYC since 2008 and a facilitator for NYC Parks and Recreation/Green Thumb. Michelle is an Associate and Capstone Advisor for Columbia University’s MS in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program and a Part-Time Faculty at The New School. A former Earth Institute Fellow, she holds an MS from Columbia and a BA from Smith College. She is also currently the co-director for Farming Concrete.
Ranya Perez was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and raised in the Bronx, New York. She is currently a doctoral candidate student at Cornell University, exploring the relationship between community gardens/farms, healing, and solidarity. She has a bachelors degree from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She is currently an intern for New York Botanic Gardens and co-director for Farming Concrete.