FoodWhat Staff
Doron Comerchero
FoodWhat Founder and Co-Executive Director of Strategy. Doron (he/him) spent his 20s in the South Bronx as a community organizer for GreenThumb, NYC’s community gardening program, supporting community efforts to protect local gardens that the Guiliani administration sought to destroy.
Rich soil called, and he transitioned from city life to living in a tent on a beautiful piece of farmland in Santa Cruz as an apprentice at the UCSC Farm and Garden. Back East for one season farming full time at a 50-acre Food Bank Farm, he returned to Cali in 2007 to launch FoodWhat.
Doron is also in long-time service on the council that nourishes Rooted in Community, a national grassroots network of programs like FoodWhat that empowers young people from historically excluded communities to take leadership through food, justice, and local economic development.
Almost two decades in, Doron is driven to co-create safe spaces for and with youth to grow and cultivate their power and resiliency. He continues to co-lead the organization with heart, laughter, and intention.
Email: doron@foodwhat.org
Kellee Matsushita-Tseng
Land Stewardship Manager. Kellee (she/they) joined the FoodWhat?! Team in 2023 with over a decade of both farming and education experience, with a special love for connecting people to seed stewardship. Kellee is a fourth generation Japanese-Chinese American, born and raised in Los Angeles.
Kellee received a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History/Photography from University of Southern California, and went on to work with youth as a mentor and educator through media arts/community storytelling programs in Los Angeles, before starting their journey in farming. Kellee leads community and education programming for Second Generation Seeds and is a co-founder of Bitter Cotyledons.
Kellee’s work has focused on building possibilities for community health and self-determination through tending the land, growing food, and uplifting ancestral knowledge and the cultural brilliance of our traditions and foodways.
They are passionate about the magic that can happen when young people have the opportunity to build their own connection to this work and are honored to be part of that process.
Email: kellee@foodwhat.org
Puiyee Tse
Finance Manager. Puiyee (she/her) comes to FoodWhat with over 20 years of experience in profit and nonprofit sector in Santa Cruz County. She oversees the accounting function from accounts payable to year end audit.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Puiyee earned a degree in Liberal Art at the National Taiwan University, and an Associate of Science degree in Accounting at Mission College, Santa Clara.
When she’s not crunching numbers, she likes to travel around the world. Puiyee enjoys her work and often shares how honored she is to be with what she considers such an amazing organization.
Email: finance@foodwhat.org
Dakeya Sampson
Seasonal Youth Farming Coordinator. Dakeya (she/her) graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Anthropology and Literature, and a Concentration in Creative Writing. Having always been interested in the world of growing food but never being surrounded by people engaging in these practices or having access to land on which to grow, she finally discovered the UCSC Center for Agroecology halfway through her studies and made her way through the farm program - first taking an internship, then joining the team as a student staff, later becoming a student manager, and after graduating staying on for a season as an assistant manager. Since then she has split her time between traveling the world, studying West African drum and dance (among other African diasporic percussions), and returning to Santa Cruz to work as a seasonal farmer.
She is excited to join FoodWhat?! this summer as a Youth Farming Coordinator, and have this opportunity to engage with the youth in meaningful ways and highlight to them that farming can be accessible, sustainable, rewarding, fun, and empowering in so many different ways.
Email: dakeya@foodwhat.org
Irene Juarez O’Connell
Co-Executive Director of Programs. Irene (she/they) is a mentor, educator, and advocate for youth and young people in Santa Cruz County.
Originally from Los Angeles, Irene came to Santa Cruz to study Public Art and Latin American & Latino Studies at UCSC.
Having previously served the community in mentorship roles in local high schools and in the Santa Cruz Juvenile Detention Center, Irene joined FoodWhat in 2016 with experience in community organizing around youth violence prevention.
She is passionate about the intersections where youth expression and creativity can meet empowerment for lasting, impactful change for their lives and their communities. Irene is excited to work with young leaders and have her hands in the soil! Irene has received the NEXTie for Artist of the Year 2017 Award and the Eduardo Carrillo Healing the Community with Art Award that same year.
Email: irene@foodwhat.org
Sergio Garcia
Culinary Education Manager. Sergio (he/him) has over 15 years of experience in the culinary arts. He was raised between Watsonville and Michoacan, and then went out in the world and earned a business degree, gained extensive culinary experiences and education, and created his own project and style of cuisine - “Chicano Soul Food”.
Sergio has been a community leader in plant-based Mexican-inspired food, cultivating ancestral foods and holistic nutrition to create healthy and delicious food that is accessible and celebrates cultural traditions. For Sergio, food is medicine and an act of community nurture.
Sergio is proud to be returning to his community in a role where he can offer learning opportunities to youth and support their health and well-being through connections to food, culture, and the land.
Email: sergio@foodwhat.org
Sara French
Development Manager. Sara (she/her) brings a decade of non-profit fundraising experience to FoodWhat. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sara studied Environmental Studies and Anthropology as an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz, and studied Range Management as a Masters student at UC Berkeley.
She is passionate about work that connects people to the land in ways that are healthy, harmonious, and rooted in community traditions.
Sara developed much of her experience as a fundraiser working alongside the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band as they developed the Amah Mutsun Land Trust.
Sara is excited about fundraising because it is a powerful way to build relationships to help realize community goals.
Email: sara@foodwhat.org
Elana Lee Solon
Director of Resources & Relationships. Elana (she/her) is a natural connector with longstanding roots in Santa Cruz County, cultivating purposeful relationships among donors and partners, and always centering underrepresented voices and perspectives.
Elana holds two degrees in Linguistics, with a bachelor’s from Yale and a master’s from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Bringing this passion for intercultural exchange to food-related industries, she worked in F&B management, hospitality, supply chain, and event production. Most recently, she co-produced 2024 TEDxSantaCruz “Rising Together,” which served to amplify the brilliance of local leaders of color and raise awareness of issues related to social, climate, and food justice. She also serves on the planning committee for the 2025 California Earthworkers Summit.
Additional community commitments include board service for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz County, Leadership Santa Cruz County, Project Daraja, and the Square One Foundation, as well as serving as an Ambassador for the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce.
An avid adventurer, Elana’s appetite for all things delicious has led her to many corners of the continent and the world, including a journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway and, most recently, cooking classes in Hội An, Vietnam.
Elana is thrilled to lend her talents and vision in relationship- and community-building to the revolutionary mission of youth empowerment at FoodWhat.
Email: elana@foodwhat.org
Lily Lucero
Farm Education Program Manager. Lily (she/her)
Lily (she/her) grew up in central San Diego on unceded Kumeyaay land and comes from a long line of land stewards, farmers, and farm workers. She spent her childhood growing food with her family and neighbors and stewarding a plot that is now a cornerstone of their community.
She spent her college years working in immigration advocacy and graduated from UC Berkeley in 2022 with a B.A. in History with a concentration in Indigenous and immigrant histories of the Americas and a B.A. in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture. Shortly after her graduation Lily relocated to Santa Cruz and began a farm stay traineeship at Common Roots Farm. She spent an additional two seasons as staff, teaching accessible garden and farm education to individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities, guiding them in growing culturally relevant and nutritious produce to enjoy with their families.
Lily is committed to expanding access to regenerative farming practices, community empowerment through food sovereignty, the nutrition and health of land stewards, and reclaiming farming as a tool in building safe and liberating spaces.
Email: lily@foodwhat.org
Mara Waldhorn
Organizational Manager. Mara (she/her) is an operations and business development professional who has launched dynamic global projects and programs in social justice, climate, and education spaces. She has also worked extensively with youth as a middle school teacher, filmmaker, and anthropologist where her work focused on English Language Learners in New York and Pennsylvania.
Most recently, Mara was the Director of Programs and Operations for Earthbound Foundation, supporting environmental entrepreneurs through grants and curriculum, as well as the Chief Operating Officer of Hummingbirds Global, a philanthropic startup supporting social and environmental change makers.
She is passionate about creating generative HR, IT, programs, and other administrative systems that allow “do good” businesses to mirror the work they’re putting out into the world, behind the scenes as healthy teams and orgs.
Email: mara@foodwhat.org