JULY 26, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Air Rhodes
Phone: 845-202-1091
Email: air@hudsonvalleyseed.org
HUDSON VALLEY SEED HIRES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Social justice-grounded education expert poised to lead thriving local school garden team
[Beacon, NY, July 27, 2018]
Hudson Valley Seed is thrilled to announce that they have hired a new Executive Director, Hans Hageman, who will start in his new role in mid-August.
After Hudson Valley Seed’s founder Ava Bynum left last year to pursue new work, Hudson Valley Seed’s Board of Directors and staff have sought out an organizational leader who will continue the organization’s highly successful program implementation, commitment to systems change, passion for education and nutrition, and local Hudson Valley focus.
Hans was raised on a diet of social justice, growing up in Exodus House, a residential drug treatment center in East Harlem run by his parents Rev. Lynn Hageman and Leola Hageman. Hans and his brother Ivan later changed the space into the highly-regarded East Harlem School, where they not only transformed the academic outcomes for their students, but also radically shifted publicly-funded cafeteria system norms by feeding their students entirely plant-based meals.
A graduate of Princeton and Columbia Law School, Hans brings expertise as founder and Executive Director of multiple schools and education-based nonprofits including the Boys and Girls Harbor in NYC. He is also certified as a Permaculture consultant through Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Research Institute, and has worked with Cheryl Rogowski (the first farmer to win a MacArthur Genius Award) to plan a farming school for women from around the world. Most recently he has served as Interim Executive Director of Children of Conservation, an African wildlife sanctuary program, as well as leading his own marketing consulting business.
After deciding to move with his family out of the city, Hans now calls the Black Dirt region of Orange County home, and is glad to apply his expertise and time to improving the education and nutrition of local kids in the Hudson Valley.
Hans will be leading Hudson Valley Seed’s garden education programs and staff; liasing with the four school districts in which the organization works and with the many farms, business partners, and individuals that make local students’ garden learning possible; and laying the groundwork for the organization’s continued expansion. Hans also contributes to the local community as a volunteer firefighter and fitness trainer, and enjoys blacksmithing - an excellent fit with the multi-talented staff team he will lead.
Hudson Valley Seed is a nonprofit based in Beacon, NY, and operating in ten elementary schools serving more than 5,000 students in Newburgh, Kingston, Beacon, and Garrison. Hudson Valley Seed garden educators teach children in school gardens, empowering students during the school day through curriculum-integrated lessons focused on healthy eating, food literacy, outdoor learning, and academic success. Learn more about their work at hudsonvalleyseed.org.
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