THE TEAM
Amie Avila, Executive Director
Amie Avila has been a vital part of the World Farmers team since 2020, bringing her expertise and dedication to the organization. She holds a degree in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. Prior to joining World Farmers, Amie founded and successfully operated her own non-emergency medical transportation company for 18 years. Amie's favorite aspect of working with World Farmers is the opportunity to interact with farmers and assist them in developing business plans, helping them experience the rewards of owning and operating their own businesses. Her passion for empowering others and supporting sustainable agriculture is evident in her daily work. Outside of her professional role, Amie cherishes spending time with her husband, Charles, and their two daughters, Aaliyah and Mariah. They love going on new adventures together, creating lasting memories through exploration and shared experiences.
Jessy Gill, Program and Policy Director
Jessy is responsible for program management and development, coordinating organizational and strategic partnerships, and any advocacy efforts. Jessy works closely with the farmers at Flats Mentor Farm to develop and refine all programs and services to fit individual needs, ensuring each Flats Mentor farmer is fully supported in their farming goals. Prior to joining World Farmers Jessy worked with a local NGO in the Marsabit region of Kenya, lived and worked on a farm in the Green Mountains, and worked in community outreach and led federal, state, and local policy efforts for the Community Food and Justice Coalition in Oakland, CA.
Kurt Schuffels, Land and Conservation Manager
Kurt joins the World Farmers team, he first started out as a Merchant Marine for 18yrs travelling the world on ships, after leaving the Merchant Marines he began farming in Lancaster, Massachusetts [where he grew up] as a beginning farmer rehabilitating 200 acres of farmland over the course of 11yrs that had been neglected since the late 1980's and making it a fully functional hay operation producing quality blends of grasses for equine/cattle consumption. After some life changes he began working as an agricultural salesman at a local equipment dealer for 9yrs selling all types of agricultural equipment throughout Ma. and NH.to all the local farms, building lasting and trusting relationships with the farmers of our local communities.
Morgan Healey, Design Coordinator
Morgan Healey is a graphic designer with over 17 years of experience in branding, marketing campaigns, and production design across print and digital platforms. Prior to joining World Farmers, she worked at Holden Landmark Corporation and Worcester Magazine, developing a strong background in editorial design and high-volume production environments.
At World Farmers, Morgan develops and produces visual materials supporting the organization’s programs, communications, and outreach initiatives, with a focus on small business marketing, branding, and identity design.
Audra Gross, Administrative Assistant
Audra has lived in many different states, but has called Massachusetts home for a little over ten years. She is very involved in her church and has participated in four mission trips to build houses and churches in the communities in Haiti, Dominica, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. Audra has a deep love for nature, hiking, and photography. She also enjoys getting lost in a good book. Audra grew up working with family and is happy to bring her skills and talents to join the mission of the World Farmers community as an Administrative Assistant.
Maressa Nascimento, CSA Coordinator
Maressa is from Brazil and comes from a family that farms in Brazil. Although she moved here very young, she fully appreciates all the hard work from all farmers and will make sure that our farmers get all the assistance they need to succeed. She has been with us for the past two years part-time working on a portion of our CSA program but now joins us full-time to oversee our CSA program. Maressa previously worked in retail and has over 10 years of experience with customer service.
Rael (Rachael) Onyiego, Farm Outreach Coordinator
Rael Onyiego originally from Kenya, born and raised in Kenya from a farming community as Omogusii, relocated to USA in search for a better opportunities, joined World Farmers in 2011 and resumed her passion for farming, her rich background in agriculture both in Kenya and U.S.A, fuels her dedication to improving farming farming practices and supporting her community. Currently working as a Farmer outreach coordinator, serving as a primary point of contact for farmers.In this role she plays a crucial part in supporting farmers access vital resources and fostering collaboration within the farming community, she coordinates workshops, training sessions, and field days designed to enhance farmers skills and sustainable farming practices, market access and other essential aspects of farming.she has a strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build trust and rapport with diverse population. She enjoys spending quality time with her family and close friends.
Heather Baylis, Farmer Developement Specialist
Heather Baylis, Farmer Development Specialist works with farmers on grants and accessing USDA programs.
She worked for Eastern States Exposition and the Farm Service Agency. She resides in Middlefield MA
with her husband Jack. In her free time she enjoys backpacking, spinning yarn and weaving.
Dominic Iacopino, Production & Sustainability Coordinator
Dom manages the current operations on our farm sites by coordinating farmers’ access to production resources like irrigation, farming implements, seeds and seedlings. He also manages the World Farmers Food Safety, Integrated Pest Management, and Soil Health Programs. Dom is a Marine Corps veteran with experience in aviation, fine art academia, and long-distance hiking. If he’s not facilitating production on a World Farmers’ farm site, he is probably working on his own cut flower farm start-up in Fitchburg.
Endy Brevette, Intern
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Endy Brevette is an upcoming sophomore at MWCC to study Computer Science. He is a child to farmers at the flats and has been helping them ever since with both farming and farmer markets. While interning at World Farmers, he has learned the important role that farmers have in the community and the management it takes for the satisfaction and safety of our farmers. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family and close friends.
Thereza Ndayiragije, Intern
Thereza daughter to Fabiola, born in Tanzania and raised in America. She is a rising sophomore at Johnson and Wales University as a Culinary student. Thereza grew up helping her mom out around her land and making friends with other farmers. Her biggest hope is to one day have her own catering business.
OUR BOARD
Name and Position: Maria Moreira, Board President
Affiliation: Farmer, founder and former Executive Director of World Farmers
Town/City live in: Lancaster, MA
Maria has been mentoring beginning farmers since 1984. She has created several businesses, her first at age 23. She is a former dairy farmer who developed and operated a value-added cheese-making business to sustain her family’s dairy operation during its twenty-five-year existence. She directed the marketing for the Ethnic Crops Program and the Beginning Farmer program at UMass Amherst from 2002 to 2012 and was instrumental in accessing USDA’s “Know Your Farmer Know Your Food” high tunnel pilot program for socially disadvantaged farmers in Massachusetts. Maria served as FSA County Committee Advisor for nine years, has been a member of the USDA Beginning Farmer & Rancher Advisory Committee, a Board Member of the National Immigrant Farming Initiative, a 4-H Sponsor, and a member of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau since 1985. Currently, Maria is a Board Member of Rural Coalition, a Board Member of the Worcester Regional Food Hub, and a Steering Committee member for the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative. Maria has worked with local farmers to access new ethnic markets resulting in over five million dollars of ethnic produce sold over the past 12 years. Maria works tirelessly to prioritize and uplift the farmer voice.
Name and Position: Oliver A. Kia - Vice President
Affiliation: Farmer in Flats Mentor Farm program
Town/City live in: Lowell, MA
Native to Cameroon, Oliver farms at Flats Mentor Farm between working as an Electrical Engineer and raising three children. He balances work, family, and farming, often taking his children to the farm to assist. Having lived in Cameroon’s countryside with his grandparents, where he developed farming skills, he grows most of the crops at the Flats that he grew there, including bitter leaf, garden huckleberry (Solanum scabrum), amaranth, taioba, tomatoes, pumpkin leaves, kale, okra, peppers, and more. He sells commercially, including through the World Farmers’ wholesale operations and at various community gatherings. Oliver enjoys the cooperation between farmers at the Flats, and he helps others in farming whom he knows. He has received valuable information, from marketing and sales to different farming techniques both from fellow farmers and from World Farmers staff. He notes the biggest difference between farming in New England and farming in Cameroon is the spacing of crops and planting in rows, a practice he now employs. Oliver works in Maine, farms at the Flats, and enthusiastically brings his experiences to the Board.
Name and Position: John Peter Pacheco Jr., Treasurer
Affiliation: Business and Branch Manager for Fidelity Co-Operative Bank
Town/City live in: Lancaster, MA
Born in Fall River, John is a Massachusetts native. During the day, John is Vice President for Fidelity Bank, a Community-based bank rooted in North Central Massachusetts; he has been with the organization since January 2018. John has worked in the financial sector his entire adult life. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a dual degree in Biology and Criminal Justice, John grew up running a family business and naturally developed a sense of community where he resides in North Worcester County. He is heavily involved in the community through the Montachusett Area Rotary Club and volunteers at Mansfield High School teaching students in the color guard program. John has been teaching students since he was in college and continues to work and volunteer in the community where he lives.
Name and Position: Lorette Picciano, Board Member
Affiliation: Executive Director of the Rural Coalition
Town/City live in: Arlington, VA
Since 1992, Lorette has led Rural Coalition, a Washington, DC-based alliance of more than 60 culturally diverse community-based organizations representing small producers and farmworkers in the US and Mexico. She works with RC’s diverse board and members to promote just and sustainable development in rural areas, particularly in civil rights in agriculture. She is now leading efforts in her 8th Farm Bill Debate where in the past she has coordinated unified efforts to assure equal access to USDA programs for farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers helping to secure more than 35 sections of new Farm Bill Policies. Her education includes a BS in Agriculture and Life Sciences from Cornell University, and an M. Ed. from the University of Hawaii, where she was a participant in the Food Institute of the East-West Center and did fieldwork in the rural Philippines. She has worked on the farm crisis of the late 1980s, on equity in food and farm policy, and on food security and fair trade issues. She helped secure farm credit borrowers’ rights and programs for historically underserved farmers in the 1987 Agriculture Credit Act and Section 2501 of the 1990 Farm Bill. She has long served on the Steering Committee for the USDA National Small Farmers Conference and also serves on the Boards of Directors of Agriculture Missions, Inc., and the Solidarity Economy Network.
Name and Position: Fabiola Nizigiyimana, Clerk
Affiliation: Farmer in Flats Mentor Farm program
Town/City live in: Worcester, MA
Fabiola Nizigiyimana, a White House Champion of Change, is a farmer in our program since 2010 who runs her own business: Fab Farms. Fabiola was a founding member of the Immigrant Farmer Marketing Cooperative – a USDA-Rural Development project established in 2013 that supports socially disadvantaged farmers. Fabiola continues to be a leader with the Flats Mentor Farm’s immigrant community and beyond. Fabiola’s roots are in Burundi, but was born in a refugee camp in Rwanda. In 1994 she and her family fled the Rwandan genocide to a Tanzanian refugee camp until she was welcomed into the US in 2007. Driven by the impact her cultural crops have had on her Burundian community within the US, Fabiola has continued to scale her farm production. In addition to feeding her family, Fab Farms cultivates crops to serve diverse cultural needs, selling to a wide variety of customers and markets. Fabiola is a great mentor to new and existing farmers in World Farmers’ program. Not only does Fabiola have a passion for growing, but she also has a passion for educating new farmers about production and how to run successful farming enterprises.
Name and Position: Willie Booker, Board Member
Affiliation: Director of Rural Advancement Fund of the National Sharecroppers Fund (RAF)
Town/City live in: Orangeburg, SC
Willie Booker was born in Earle, AR and graduated high school from the AR public school system. Mr. Booker graduated from University at AR Pine Pluff (formerly AM&N) with BS in Agriculture, holds a master’s degree from University Steven Point Wisconsin MI with MS in Fishery, and a master’s degree from South Carolina State University in Science and Math. Mr. Booker retired after 40 years from the Department of Interior US Fish and Wildlife Service as a fishery Biologist where he served in several states. He also serves on the Boards of the Rural Coalition. Serving as the Director for the Rural Advancement Fund of the National Sharecroppers Fund (RAF), Mr. Booker works with farmers, ranchers, and foresters, providing technical assistance on agriculture methods. Nationally, Mr. Booker promotes policies that advocate for socially disadvantaged growers. His philosophy is “when we care for our land, air, and water we take care of ourselves and future generations.”
