Hope Guardenier (she/her/hers) 
Founding Director
Hope founded The Farm Education Collaborative  in 2008 with 2 fellow educators and moms.  Since 2009 she has been gardening and farming with campers, including her own sons, at the Farm and Garden Camp at Hampshire College. Hope is also the Executive Director of School Sprouts Educational Gardens and has been instrumental in designing and implementing over 15 teaching gardens throughout the Pioneer Valley.  She works to realize a vision of outdoor classrooms that allow for hands-on learning and meaningful work.  Hope has a M.S. in Environmental Science from Antioch University and additional experience in curriculum development, program coordination, and over two decades of teaching in the outdoors.  She  is passionate about connecting youth of all ages to their food and bringing learning to life.  She and her family live and garden in Belchertown.

Cara Michelle Silverberg (she/her/hers)
Camp Director
Cara is passionate about identity development, embodied leadership, and critical pedagogy in place-based education. She has worked in related fields, including summer camp management, for over thirteen years. She holds an M.A. in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation with a Training Specialization from SIT Graduate Institute and a B.A. in Bioregional Studies with an emphasis in Environmental Education from Prescott College. Cara is enthusiastic about fostering community experiences that help people to explore and express themselves, their relationships with place, and their relationships with each other. She is an herbalist, dancer, musician and blogger. She has been directing Farm and Garden Camp for three years.

Ana Gabriela Ascencio (she/her/hers)
Jr. CIT Coordinator & Animal Apprentice
Formerly the Lead Instructor with the Harvesters (two summers running), Ana is feeling incredibly grateful and excited to begin a third summer as part of the Farm and Garden Camp leadership team! Originally from the urban cityscape of Oakland, CA, Ana moved to Western Mass in 2013 to attend Amherst College, where she majored in Environmental Studies. While at Amherst, Ana discovered her love of farming as an intern and work study participant at the organic farm on campus: Book & Plow Farm. In addition to courses at Amherst, Ana has also studied Agriculture, Ecology, and Society at Hampshire College and will be facilitating a course called Grassroots Community Organizing at UMass Amherst this Spring. As a post-graduate this year, Ana has begun to tap into the world of local CSAs (community-supported agriculture) as part of the field crew at Simple Gifts Farm in North Amherst. Taking on a new role at camp this summer, Ana is eager to continue learning and growing alongside brilliant, courageous, and compassionate campers who fill her with hope about the role of young farmers in creatively shaping the kind of community where we can show up as our whole selves and engage collectively in this joyful work.