Hugo Mogollon, Executive Director
Hugo brings 20 years of experience working for nonprofit organizations covering a range of issues from food systems to sustainability to biodiversity conservation. Previous to his role at Community Foodworks, he was the Executive Director of Finding Species, an international nonprofit organization. Hugo has deep experience in NGO management, planning, development, outreach, and stakeholder engagement, particularly in multicultural settings. A native of Ecuador, Hugo is fluent in both English and Spanish. He has a Bachelor of Science in biology from the Catholic University of Quito, Ecuador and an Executive Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Leadership for Sustainability from Virginia Tech.
Renee Catacalos, Director of Strategic Investments
Renee brings extensive management, communications, and fundraising experience to her role as FRESHFARM Director of Strategic Investments. Most recently, she spent five years working in national food systems philanthropy with Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, where she was Vice President for Strategy and Impact. She has previously worked for or served on the boards of several local food/agriculture organizations, including twice serving on the FRESHFARM board. Renee has been a champion of Chesapeake regional farms and food since her days as publisher and editor of Edible Chesapeake magazine and is the author of the book The Chesapeake Table: Your Guide to Eating Local. She is committed to developing strategic partnerships with philanthropy to build FRESHFARM’s capacity to address the most pressing regional food system challenges.
Rebecca Chávez, Director of Agricultural Programs
Rebecca is a food systems expert with over ten years of experience leveraging community-based change within local and global agricultural supply chains. She is passionate about food sovereignty and about using the joy of mealtimes to influence community engagement, local economies, public health, and our natural environment. A Mexican-American native of Washington, DC, Rebecca is motivated to collaborate with our region’s diverse and intersectional communities in co-creating a more equitable food system. She holds a Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the UNC-Chapel Hill.
Juliet Glass, Director of Communications
Juliet leads communications and marketing efforts for FRESHFARM. Although trained as a historian, her passion for food and cooking led her to work as a freelance food writer for over a decade. Then, driven by a desire for more real-world experience in food system work, in 2009, Juliet joined FRESHFARM, where she managed markets, programs, and led communications efforts. After seven years with the organization, Juliet shifted her focus to the Maryland nonprofit food space, where she spearheaded communication efforts for a statewide farmers market food access program. She is delighted to be back at FRESHFARM and is excited to connect shoppers, farmers, and funders with the mission of supporting sustainable and equitable foodways that work for everyone.
Caron Gremont, Director of Food System Resiliency & Innovation
Caron Gremont is the Director, Food System Resiliency & Innovation at FRESHFARM. Most recently, she served as the Director of Early Childhood Nutrition Security at Share Our Strength No Kid Hungry, where she launched their first-ever national strategy to address food security across the U.S. in children under the age of five. Under her leadership, she secured a national partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that will ensure every pediatrician across the US is trained on how to screen for food security at wellness visits, and is part of the White House transformational vision for ending hunger and reducing diet-related disease by 2030. Prior to that, she was the Director of Healthy Eating at Martha’s Table, where she launched and scaled the Joyful Food Markets program, providing healthy food access and education each month to thousands of children and their families in Washington, D.C. She started her career in the private sector at the global PR firm Porter Novelli, where she served as a Vice President in the Food & Nutrition practice in Washington, DC. Caron loves to cook and throws pottery in her free time.
Sara Hjelstrom, Director of Finance & Operations
Sara has worked in nonprofit accounting for 25 years with 45+ different organizations. She is continually inspired by the people, ideas, and energy she finds in this industry.
Jenn Mampara, Director of Education
Jenn oversees FRESHFARM’s FoodPrints program, which provides children in-school, hands-on experiences with growing, harvesting, cooking and eating. Under her direction, FoodPrints has grown from a program serving 200 students at one school to reaching more than 5,700 students at 15 DC public schools. She holds a master’s degree in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and has over 20 years of teaching and food education experience. Jenn fell in love with food during a summer abroad in college studying art history in Rome. She finds so much joy in cooking beautiful, nutritious, delicious food and sharing it with family and friends. Developing and growing the FoodPrints program has been an wonderful way to share this joy and passion with the world.
Nick Stavely, Director of Incentive Programs
Nick leads food access programming across the FRESHFARM network of farmers markets and partners, leveraging regional partnerships, collective action, and data to improve the local food system. With more than seven years of experience working with local farmers and food producers, social service organizations, and government partners, Nick has created and implemented program strategy to increase food access points for SNAP shoppers across the region, grow direct-to-consumer agricultural sales, and bolster organizational program impact. Nick previously oversaw the day-to-day implementation of 15 farmers markets and staff for Community Foodworks. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park and loves sourdough from market.