Veteran Farmers Project
From Seed to Table: Military Veteran Training for Sustainable Urban Farming Initiatives
Meet our Team
Angela Cottrell
Dr. Angela Cottrell is the Director of Research and Institute Programs for the Missouri Institute for Defense & Energy (MIDE) and Adjunct Instructor in the UMKC School of Education. Angela has over 20 years of experience in educational leadership and policy initiatives and has been engaged in Kansas City and national non-profits for over 10 years. Additionally, Angela has successfully created collaborative programs and initiatives to assist underserved populations in Kansas City, including the UMKC Kangaroo Food Pantry, and has been successfully funded by the Aurora Foundation and Heart of America Patriot Foundation to advance veterans initiatives on the UMKC campus. Angela is the proud daughter of a US Navy veteran and serves as Program Director.
Juan Cabrera-Garcia
Dr. Juan Cabrera-Garcia, Assistant Research Professor at UMKC, and State Vegetable Specialist at University of Missouri Extension, is a plant scientist and expert in hydroponics and horticulture. Juan has executed several research and extension projects related to hydroponic production and has taught hydroponic crop production to commercial growers, Hispanic beginning farmers, high school students, and college students.
Jessica Green
Jessica “JD” Green serves as the Agriculture Foreman for the project, including the day-to-day operations and scheduling of the farm. JD has a background in earth and environmental sciences and also served as a member of the US Air Force.
Jeff Hornsby
Dr. Jeffrey Hornsby, Henry W. Bloch Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and Director of the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation has authored or co-authored 148 refereed journal articles and has coauthored five books focused on providing educational and immersive training for businesses, startups, and nonprofit corporations. Under the leadership of Jeff, UMKC has implemented the “Vets to Ventures” entrepreneurship training program which provides participants the business and financial acumen to manage future ventures. Dr. Hornsby has an extensive network of businesses, organizations, and veteran entrepreneurs that will partner with “Vets to Ventures” to provide military veteran beginning farmers ongoing mentorship during the program.
JJ Lee
Dr. Jejung “JJ” Lee, Professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences, has spent his career researching and developing support systems for underserved populations both domestically and internationally. Dr. Lee has led water resource projects from northern sub-Saharan Africa to the local level working within the greater Kansas City area developing real-time water quality information via smart technology. Dr. Lee has received over $1M in grants from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Lee is currently working in collaboration with local urban farmers and non-profit organizations in Kansas City to support populations through green infrastructure, water quality, food desert remediation, and urban agriculture initiatives using Internet of Things (IoT)-based sensors, micro-transportation, and virtual information systems.
Karin Chang
For the past twenty years, Dr. Karin Chang has managed numerous local, state, and national evaluations, including 10 federally-funded evaluations in the areas of K-16 education and workforce development. Currently, Karin is partnered with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning to conduct an evaluation of adult learning practices in the Kansas City area. Karin serves as the external evaluator and supervises undergraduate research assistant, Lane Starks.