The Food Project Welcomes Lincoln Resident Carole Kasper as Elected Board Chair
CAROLE KASPER
LINCOLN, Mass. – The Food Project, a nationally recognized youth development model that employs teens to work alongside adults and strengthen local food systems, has elected Carole Kasper, of Lincoln, as the Chair of its 21-member Board of Trustees.
Kasper was recruited to join the organization’s board in 2020. She was inspired to serve in this capacity after consistently attending the organization’s Farm Lunches, held annually at Lincoln’s Baker Bridge Farm, walking distance from the home on Concord Road which she has shared with her husband and two college-age sons since 2009.
Growing up in a New England family with deep farming roots, Kasper developed an early appreciation for gardening and a passion for the land. Her professional experience as an organizational consultant and process facilitator, coupled with many years of public service, made her a natural fit for this leadership role at The Food Project.
Prior to founding and leading an organization development consulting company, Kasper was a partner and senior consultant in a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, account manager in an Atlanta-based change management firm, and a professional administrator at two major universities.
She holds a B.A. in Communication Science and a Master of Education in Multicultural Organization Development. Outside of her professional work, she brings more than twenty years of volunteer experience contributing to her local communities.
“What sets The Food Project apart is our emphasis on collaboration and partnership to better understand local needs so that we can adapt our processes to best serve communities,” says Kasper.
“We don’t only provide the food our youth and farmers grow to those facing food insecurity, we also empower individuals to grow their own produce in a sustainable way. And our youth, who are doing the work to create more equitable food systems, help us share our model with like-minded organizations nationwide committed to revolutionizing local food systems.
Working together and fostering diverse relationships while your hands are in the dirt can be a transformative equalizer.
That’s the power of The Food Project.”
As Chair, Kasper will partner with Interim Executive Director Jonathan Rosenthal and support her fellow trustees to sustain the work of The Food Project.
She will provide governance leadership, strategic fundraising support, and aid in the organization’s search to identify its future long-term leadership. In addition, she will be responsible for leading board meetings and planning retreats.
She is most excited to facilitate and help deepen the nonprofit’s ongoing JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) work, ensuring that The Food Project’s board and staff model the same commitment to shared values and best practices that the organization’s teenage employees learn through their social justice-themed curriculum.
ABOUT THE FOOD PROJECT
Founded in 1991, The Food Project grows food, grows leaders, and grows change through a program that is grounded in food justice and farming.
Each year, the nonprofit employs 140 youth from cities and suburbs to work alongside staff members and volunteers to run the organization’s farms and community programs in Lincoln, Lynn, Wenham, and Boston’s Dudley neighborhood.
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