Our Team

 

 



Jeremy Porter is the Director of the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition.  He graduated from the University of KY with a B.A. in anthropology. He served as a church youth pastor for 10 years and was drawn to community food systems work in 2008. He founded Eden’s Gate Farm in Midway, KY and finds deep connection in being rooted in a place, particularly his neighborhood in North Lexington and the Cane Run Watershed.

Jeremy’s big questions: How do we cultivate relationships that center the primary voices of people marginalized by our food system? How do those relationships translate to work that accompanies people on a journey toward healthy communities for all?

Favorite food quote: “Never underestimate the power of a good meal.” porter.jeremy.r@gmail.com

Anita Courtney, MS, RD, is the School Wellness Action Plan (SWAP) Coordinator. Anita  is a public health nutritionist who  received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in nutrition from the University of Kentucky. She served as the Director of Health Promotion for the Lexington Fayette County Health Department for 25 years where she started the agency’s employee wellness program. She is a long time advocate for healthy eating and has started community gardens, taught vegetarian cooking classes, spearheaded the local and state 5 A Day Challenge and developed We Can! KY. She worked on the KY Junk Food Bill (SB 172) which helped earn KY the highest score, an A-, on the Center for the Science and the Public Interest School Nutrition Report Card.

Anita is the author of Shaping Kentucky’s Future: Policies to Reduce Obesity, Shaping Kentucky’s Future: Local Success Stories, and the Kentucky Farm to School Handbook. She is the co-author of  Cultural Feast: Understanding Food and Society. anitac@qx.net

Nigel Vinegar is the Better Bites Coordinator here at Tweens. Nigel is graduate of the University of Kentucky with a B.S. Human Nutrition and Master’s Degree in Nutritional Sciences with an emphasis in Community Nutrition. She wants to be a Physician Assistant and use her nutrition background to not only treat, but educate her patients about the importance of proper nutrition. Nigel believes it takes a village and that community support is essential for organizations like Tweens. Nigel loves to cook, exercise, and travel.
Cubaka Mutyoangwa is serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition for 2017-2018 year. Cubaka is a student at Transylvania University and is currently studying nonprofit management. He hopes to work in the nonprofit and public sector after graduation. Cubaka as served in many local leadership roles, including TWEENS, before becoming an AmeriCorps VISTA, president for the Young and College for Lexington NAACP branch. As Fresh Stop Community Development and Community Outreach Leader, Cubaka has a firm belief in the power of community and providing resources for the individuals in the community to grow as one. His favorite quote: “We are all leaders in our community.” Jeremy Porter. cmutayongwa@outlook.com

Laura Flowers, MSW, is the Farmer Organizer for Fresh Stop Markets. She has lived in North Lexington neighborhoods for more than 12 years and has been involved with numerous non-profits and neighborhood initiatives during that time. Her background is in social work; and she teaches part-time in the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. Laura loves to spend time with her family and in her garden. She believes that growing and sharing food is the strongest root of a healthy community.