Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium Series

“Community, as an Ecosystem, for Liberation” a colloquium talk by Liv Peña, Vice Chair of the Vermont Releaf Collective Board and Samantha Langevin, Network Manager for the Vermont Releaf Collective.

What is the purpose of community and how do you build it? Join members of The Vermont Releaf Collective as we talk about this question and how Releaf is a compelling example of how community can be an ecosystem that benefits all its members. The Vermont Releaf Collective is a growing network whose goal is cultivating connection, sharing resources, and uplifting voices of people of color in Vermont in the focus areas of land, environment, agriculture, and foodways. With a membership of 260+, it intends to serve as a collaborative ecosystem for growing power and community.

Liv Peña (she/her) serves as the Vice Chair of the Vermont Releaf Collective Board and was a member of the first Releaf Organizing Squad. She also founded the organization in 2020. Liv studied Food Systems at the University of Vermont and has worked across a variety of spaces and roles related to food and agriculture, policy, and racial justice / social change. An aspiring farmer, she comes from a long line of agricultural ancestors in the Dominican Republic, and Virginia, New Jersey. She dreams of creating and contributing to physical and social spaces to advance food sovereignty and justice for Black people and other communities of color in Vermont and beyond.

Samantha Langevin (she/her) is the Network Manager for the Vermont Releaf Collective and has been a member since 2020. A graduate of Yale, Samantha has worked as an educator teaching about the intersections of agriculture, racial justice, and environmental science. She has also been deeply enmeshed in our food system as a chef for over 10 years and currently serves as the Vice President of the Middlebury Natural Food Co-op Board.