FOUNDER

Davíd Toledo (he/they) is a queer Xicano, ecofeminist, a native Illinoisian, and has been growing food organically for seven years. He has a degree in Sustainable Community Development with minors in Sociology and Social Justice from Northland College in Ashland, WI. After school he was a teacher through City Year and volunteered at a community farm which led to the idea of starting a business himself. He founded Contemporary Farmer, Inc. in 2019 with the goal of connecting urban, rural, and suburban farming initiatives and fostering intergenerational education around regenerative agriculture.

In the long-term, he plans to help others start businesses that build equity locally. When Davíd isn’t volunteering with other local farming initiatives, he spends time cooking, gathering with friends and family around food, biking, and being intentional about personal time through self-care routines.

GARDEN STEWARD

Born in Southern California, Tulio Hernandez moved to Chicago in 2020 and has since been a steward of the McKinley Park Community Garden. They bring an array of experience from their time as a student gardener at UC Santa Cruz Class of 2020 and working for nonprofit organizations such as Gardeneers and The Morton Arboretum. As a Spanish bilingual ----- at Contemporary Farmer, they empower garden clients and students through a lens of care and curiosity. They are instrumental in building communal trust and bringing folks together through education, community organizing, and growing food with love and care. 

GARDEN STEWARD

I am a college student at the University of Washington-Seattle studying aerospace engineering. I bring years of amateur gardening experience, but above all, a love for the outdoors and eagerness to learn and improve the spaces around me. I’m excited to help grow sustainable urban horticulture this summer!

Elise (she/her) is a community builder in Chicago. She first learned about CFI through her role at Plant Chicago, where she helped small business owners work on their circular economy goals. At CFI, Elise updates clients on the development of their gardens, as well as provides hands-on support to both residential and school gardens.

In her free time, you can find Elise advocating for degrowth (check out the Chicago-based Degrowth Institute!) and spending time with her loved ones, including her family's rescue bulldog Hank.

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Mabel (they/them) manages the website, newsletter, and helps with copywriting, branding, and editing endeavors. They’re also a farmer and participant of CFI’s pilot Citizen Scientist program.

They are farming at OTIS Fresh Market in Back of the Yards, a worker cooperative that runs a CSA match program and coordinates weekly food distribution with neighbors and volunteers with the #LetUsBreathe collective. Also co-founder of non-profit Grow-Op, Mabel helps with grantwriting and marketing services for other urban agriculture initiatives and created the Home Growers Program, a seed-starting initiative mobilizing volunteers to start seeds at home for local comunity gardens and capacity building gardens.

Mabel is also a musician, performer, and producer with Glad Rags and SUPERFUND and helps run Chicago label Sinkhole Sounds.