Justina Thompson

Justina Thompson (she/her) enters all new spaces and opportunities with immense gratitude to the ancestors and generations before which have stewarded land and community where she engages. She has worked at the intersections of food, land, environment, and community for over 10 years, since her first job working at a farmer’s market in a community impacted by food apartheid. She then went on to pursue a dual degree in sustainability and design from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and used these fields to shape a practice of environmental education for Black youth in Albany, NY. After completing her M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania, she continued her youth-focused work through urban farming in Philadelphia. After being grounded in community strengths and needs in this role, she took the spirit of humble servitude to government work. She currently works as the Program Strategist for Environmental Justice in the Office of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability. With the city, she works with residents and community organizations to co-strategize on ways to advance environmental justice and deliver resources from state and federal levels to communities directly.

Justina describes herself as a storyteller and steward who aims to bring the stories and lessons from elders into the present and future as the foundation for stewarding land and community in harmonious relationship with the Earth.