Staff

Anna Hammond, Executive Director

Anna has been the architect of many successful educational programs for children and young adults, in both academic and community environments. She came to The Sylvia Center in 2009 with a mission to transform the way children eat by creating and implementing farm-to-table programs with a focus on the table – what happens to vegetables after we grow and harvest them. She is particularly interested in issues of access regarding food – who gets to eat what; good food as a choice, not a privilege; putting basic cooking skills back into children’s lives so that they can choose to eat well.

Most recently, Anna worked as a political speechwriter and community organizer in New York City and Rockland County. Prior positions include deputy director for education, programs, and public affairs at the Yale University Art Gallery (2003-2008), and director of writing services for the Museum of Modern Art (1997-2002). She has published numerous articles and essays, directed over a dozen public art projects, and co-written a non-fiction children’s book about a community project intended to integrate children with diverse backgrounds in a neighborhood in the South Bronx.

Ms. Hammond graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a degree in classics and archaeology. She is A.B.D from University of Chicago, in South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and in 1995 earned an M.F.A. in painting from Hunter College, New York. She is currently studying for a certificate in biodynamic agriculture from the Pfeiffer Center.

Julie Cerny, Farm Education Director and Garden Manager

While working to create a more simple and sustainable lifestyle for herself, Julie finally discovered real food in 2007. She never felt better, and never looked back. Since then, she has been spending each year growing her own food, cooking whole foods with the seasons, living simply and healthfully, and working to create welcoming spaces where others can learn to do the same. With a B.S. from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and after several years of experience in the fields of outdoor education and farming, Julie joined The Sylvia Center in February 2011 as the Education Director and Garden Manager at Katchkie Farm.

“This is my dream job.” Julie loves teaching, learning, growing (and eating!) with The Sylvia Center.

Nina Simmons, Program Manager

A cordon-bleu graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, Nina Simmons began at The Sylvia Center as a Chef Instructor in 2008. Former Education Director, she developed The Sylvia Center’s programming both on–site and off-site  in New York City.

Raquel Rivera Pablo, Chef Instructor

Raquel graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education culinary program and soon after created A Pinch of Salt a company offering private cooking classes to food lovers of all ages. After being invited by City Harvest to attend the launch of Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, Raquel began focusing on teaching children and families how to cook healthy, easy and deliciously satisfying meals at home while keeping within a budget.

Annie Morgan, Chef Instructor/Assistant

Annie graduated from Penn State University with a B.S in Hospitality Management and later graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health Supportive Culinary Arts in NYC. She has years of experience in the hospitality industry including banquet and event management. Her passion for healthy food stems from growing up in Ithaca, NY with her mom, a vegetarian Chef. She also currently works for Wellness In The Schools. She gets a thrill out of introducing new veggies to kids and adults and watching their reaction when they discover they enjoy it!

Andrea Sperling, Chef Assistant

Andrea Sperling is a photographer and writer whose mission in life is to photograph and eat her way around the world. She is the photographer of several books, including Greenmarket, written by Pamela Thomas, and is active in various New York programs that help children learn about healthy eating. She believes if you get a child cooking at any early age, they will grow up passionate about food and will automatically eat well. She blogs about eating with kids at www.EatingWIthGrace.blogspot.com. She received a certificate in health supportive cooking at The Natural Gourmet Institute last summer. She is also on the board of the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance. She is honored to be involved in The Sylvia Center’s cooking program.

Nancy Ziegler, Chef Instructor

Nancy Ziegler is the founder of Verdura Consulting, a culinary education consultancy in New York City that combines her fifteen years’ experience in two fascinating fields. A graduate of Amherst College and the French Culinary Institute, she holds master’s degrees from New York University in Food Studies and in Cultural Reporting and Criticism. Prior to returning to graduate school, she was an associate producer of culinary travel programs for public television and a culinary book editor.  Nancy has snacked, sipped and supped in more than 45 countries and six continents as an educational tour leader and passionate backpacker. She lives in Brooklyn.

Adelaide Mueller, Chef Assistant

Adelaide graduated from the French Culinary Institute (FCI) in 2009 and is a member of the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance (NYWCA). She freelances as a private chef, recipe tester and developer and children’s culinary instructor. In addition to working with The Sylvia Center, she currently teaches with The Cooking Room, a non-profit whose goal is to promote food literacy to elementary school children. She also teaches the Young Chefs class series with the P.S. 3 ‘til 6 afterschool program. Before joining the culinary world full time, Adelaide worked as a non-profit fundraiser for seven years at Jazz at Lincoln Center and most recently The Spence School.

Natasha Decena, Chef Assistant

Natasha HeadshotNatasha currently attends the New York City College of Technology for her baccalaureate’s degree in Hospitality Management. She previously graduated from C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program) where she acquired her Culinary and Pastry Arts training. Subsequently, she has continued her training by working in various establishments ranging from corporate dining, to fine dining and catering; she also volunteers for city events including Harvest in the Square. She also has a strong interest in nutrition and plans to continue her education in nutrition science.

Jenn So, Culinary Intern

Jenn is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where she received her BA in Film Studies in 2010. During college, she began actively pursuing her passion for creating good food. Since then, Jenn has worked the line at a bistro, cooked at a summer camp in Maine, interned at the Momofuku office in Manhattan, catered several independent film shoots and eaten her way across Europe and China. Her earliest memories are of emulating her mother’s technique at a cold wok with dried beans and sharing scratch-made meals around the dinner table every night. Since her gastronomic curiosity sparked so early on in life, she hopes to inspire others to create adventurous taste buds, establish healthy eating habits and love good food.

Meg Kruithoff, Garden Intern

Meg Kruithoff hails from one of the more rural parts of Maine, where she spent her formative years playing “Laura Ingalls” by the creek in the woods, taking ballet lessons, and foraging for blueberries in the summertime. In high school, her search for the freshest fruit and vegs to cook up into tasty meals for her family first led her to the warm, crumbly soil of the garden. A grow-your-own novice turned into aspiring-farmer: Meg loves to garden where ever she goes. She wasan esteemed and ever-dirty member of the Edinburgh University Allotment and Permaculture Society while studying abroad in Scotland during her junior year of college. She also managed the student-run garden “2 Feet 2 Bedrock” during her time at Colby College. She’s delighted to join to crew at The Sylvia Center at Katchkie Farm and share her passion for growing food with some great kids!

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