Cathy Wirth Email & Phone Number

Durham, Nc

Served remotely as Interim Executive Director from February 2022-August 2022 for Just Roots, a community farm and food justice non-profit, during a period of significant transition after the departure of the founding Executive Director. Managed a budget of over $2M and a staff of 20. Responsible for budget management and planning, HR decisions and systems, partner relationships, and fundraising. Led an extensive search for the next permanent Executive Director and worked closely with board and staff on a collaborative search and hiring process. As of August 2022, transitioned to an Interim Development Director role to support the newly hired permanent Executive Director. Hired and onboarded a permanent Development Director in summer 2023 and continued to provide fundraising support to the organization through June 2024.

Carrboro, North Carolina, United States

Conducted research and provided consulting support for food, farming, and public health organizations.

Boston, Ma

Led the statewide Agriculture Program at The Trustees, the largest and oldest land conservation organization in Massachusetts. Responsible for shaping and implementing the agricultural vision for the organization and overseeing agricultural operations on all Trustees farm properties. Managed a team of over thirty staff members, including Program Managers, administrative staff, and farm staff on multiple farms and projects throughout the state. Managed a total budget of over $1.5 million and was responsible for setting and achieving revenue goals across five farms with diverse vegetable and livestock operations. Funded, developed, and implemented the Trustees Mobile Farmers’ Market, a food access initiative to bring food from Trustees farms to Boston neighborhoods with limited access to healthy foods. Engaged in statewide advocacy and policy work. Served as the organizational liaison to community and government partners in the agriculture sector.

Boston, Ma

Implemented all programming components of Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures, an early childhood obesity prevention initiative that promotes physical activity and healthy eating for low-income preschoolers and their caregivers. Recruited, trained, and supervised a team of up to thirty undergraduate and graduate students each semester to assist with programming. Served as primary liaison for all funding and community partners, planning and leading regular partner meetings. Conducted program monitoring and evaluation, including designing and administering focus groups and surveys, collecting and managing data, and ensuring compliance with IRB procedures. Wrote annual report, as well as academic articles and abstracts. Managed budget, wrote grants and grant reports, and coordinated fundraising efforts.

Boston, Ma

Managed all health center initiatives related to food access, including a weekly farmers’ market and a healthy corner store initiative. Increased farmers’ market sales by over 200% and attendance by 90% through extensive community outreach and promotion. Designed and piloted one of the first subsidized CSA programs in Massachusetts. Created an innovative model utilizing full-price CSA shares to subsidize shares for low-income families. Led community-based youth programming, including a gardening project for children struggling with obesity and a teen leadership initiative focused on food access and health equity.

Davis, Ca

Managed a variety of research projects on public health, farm labor, and sustainable agriculture, with a focus on farmworker health and nutrition. Recruited, trained, and supervised teams of graduate students, community advocates, and volunteers to implement research methodologies and conduct complex surveys. Designed databases and analyzed data, generating statistics used locally and at the state level for policy and advocacy work. Served as primary or contributing writer on five final research reports. Presented research results at academic conferences, community meetings, funder meetings, and other public forums.

Philadelphia, Pa

Implemented school-based programs focused on improving student nutrition and awareness of food systems and resources. Provided training and ongoing support for teachers, developed curricula, compiled and distributed lesson materials, and helped teach lessons and conduct outreach activities in the schools. Conducted policy research on improving access to urban markets for local farmers and strengthening linkages between farmers and urban consumers. Helped develop policy recommendations and leverage support for recommendations at the local and state levels.

Quito, Ecuador

Conducted participatory research on the health, economic, and community impacts of urban agriculture in partnership with the Urban Management Programme (UMP) of the United Nations. Completed a city-wide assessment of urban agriculture activities in collaboration with the Municipality of Quito and produced a report to inform design of a new program for urban farmers. Assisted UMP staff with coordination of a month-long, intensive course on urban agriculture for professionals from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Philadelphia, Pa

Managed large caseload of unemployed clients transitioning off public assistance. Counseled clients on a regular basis and connected them with job leads and training programs. Planned and organized job fairs and networked with employers to pursue job leads for clients. Coordinated a summer youth leadership and employment program for high school students and conducted workshops with students throughout the school year.

Laguna De Alfaro Ruiz, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Interviewed farmers about their experiences switching to organic agriculture. Designed and conducted an experiment to evaluate a new technology being used among farmers in the region. Completed a training course on organic agriculture and participated in farmwork. Taught English classes twice a week to farm employees and community members.

Amherst, Ma

Conducted research for an integrated pest management study on apple orchard pests. Made daily observations in the field. Recorded and entered data.

Holyoke, Ma

Assisted director with efforts to build a new garden and community center. Assembled a magazine to be used for fundraising and drafted grants. Helped maintain and construct gardens.

South Deerfield, Ma

Assisted with projects to establish a farm labor cooperative and to develop a support system for local farmers. Communicated with and facilitated contact between farmers and farmworkers and researched farm labor legislation. Drafted reports and grants. Performed data entry and analysis. Attended meetings and took minutes. Handled general office tasks such as bookkeeping and correspondence.

M.S., International Agricultural Development

GPA: 3.9

B.A., Environmental Anthropology

GPA: 3.9, Phi Beta Kappa.