Sierra
She/They
Cofounder and Managing Director
Sierra is a 1st generation Filipinx-American whose experience with colonialism in America has continually led them to seek healing. They began training in energy healing at Healing in America in Ojai, CA in 2013 and they still offer free sessions for BIPOC community members. Sierra earned her A.A. in Holistic Health at Ventura College and their B.S. in Health Education with a focus on Community Health from San Francisco State University. They worked in food security with 18 Reasons, Hunger Free America, and AmeriCorps VISTA in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to the Midwest to manage the Life Skills program for Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. They then joined the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education’s Food Access Committee as well as the Cedar Valley’s Food and Farm Network. In 2022, they founded the Saticoy Food Hub in that runs two programs: the Saticoy Farmers Market and Saticoy Community Fridge. Both programs aim to further food sovereignty efforts in Saticoy, CA.
Fun fact: Sierra’s matrilineal line were rice farmers and owned rice paddies in the Philippines!
Daniel
He/Him
Cofounder and Farm Manager
Daniel is a 3rd generation Saticoy resident and identifies as Latinx. (His matrilineal line can be traced to parts of modern-day Central Mexico and the borderlands of Texas.) Growing up in Saticoy, he was often found at the Saticoy Library where he volunteered as a tutor, at the Jose Flores Community Center volunteering at the food pantry, or at his job working at Yeto’s Market. He earned his A.A. in International Relations from Ventura College and his B.A. in Political Science with a focus on Agricultural Economics from San Francisco State University. He managed restaurants throughout his academic career and transitioned to nonprofit management in his move to Waterloo, Iowa. He worked with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, AmeriCorps VISTA, and Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) where he specialized in workforce development and culturally-competent youth programming. Daniel is now the Food Bank Coordinator of the Associated Students’ Food Bank at the University of California Santa Barbara and a Board Member of the Saticoy Food Hub. He is proud to serve his hometown and his neighbors.
Fun fact: Norteño Mexican band, Los Huracanes del Norte, wrote a song called “El Corrido De Los Pérez” about Daniel’s family!