Our Team
Laquida Landford
Lead Visionary for the AfroVillage Movement
Laquida - “Q” - is a community health worker, community activist and organizer, and a community navigator with roots in Los Angeles and Belize. She serves on the Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities Rules Advisory Committee for the state of Oregon. She is the founder of the “Green In The Hood PDX“, an initiative based on flipping the historical stereotypes about BlPOC communities. LaQuida’s work focuses on housing, food and environmental injustice, policy advocacy and restorative healing.
Raissa Lyles
Director of Operations and Communications, Digital Navigator
Bio and photo coming soon
Wanda Abioto
Development Director
Bio coming soon
Marta Petteni
Designer & Researcher
Marta Petteni is an Architect from Italy currently working as a designer and researcher at the Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative at Portland State University. Her work focuses on addressing the social-environmental needs of the most vulnerable communities in Portland and worldwide through design, architecture and community engagement practices. She also volunteers as Disaster Shelter Supervisor with the American Red Cross.
Kirk Rea
Operations & Technical Supporter
Kirk is the Co-Executive Director, Volunteer Co-Coordinator, Placemaking Organizer and Diversity and Equity Program Specialist for the City Repair Project, a nonprofit based in Portland which educates and inspires communities and individuals to creatively transform the places where they live. As a queer person of color, Kirk works in service to marginalized communities using his skills in visual art, facilitation, and permaculture design to engage in activism, advocacy, and education.
Sahara Defrees
Village Site Project Coordinator
Bio and photo coming soon.
Sarut “Jung” Choothian
Designer
Jung is an architecture enthusiast with a Master in Architecture (2019) and Urban Design Certificate from Portland State University in Oregon. He is originally from Thailand, and he currently resides in Portland since 2007. He is working on his second masters degree from Portland State in Urban Studies. Through his research and industry experience, Jung has found a strong passion for designing creative spaces that reflect social issues through thoughtful architecture and urban design. Additionally, he also likes to take street photography with his compact mirrorless camera as they are painting emotional responses to people and space.
Edward Benote Hill
Board Member
Edward “Eddie” is an community and neighborhood scale urban planner, designer and community food systems currently serving as Director of the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition and Community Food Systems Navigator at Oregon State University’s Community Food Systems Program. Hill brings a directness and sincerity to his work advancing environmental and social justice through food systems, climate impact management, and economic development in vulnerable, historically marginalized, and undercapitalized communities.
Partners
