Our Team
Staff
NRFF’s staff leads the day-to-day operations of the organization including programming, events, communications, and more. When you join NRFF in The Three Sisters Garden, these are the faces that will greet you!
Courtney Streett - President/Executive Director
Courtney Streett (Nanticoke Indian Tribe) co-founded Native Roots Farm Foundation (NRFF) and uses her knowledge of Indigenous communities, horticulture, and visual storytelling to lead the organization. Prior to NRFF, Streett was a television news producer at CBS News and Business Insider. She received an MS from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and wrote her thesis on the local food movement. She earned a BA in Environmental Studies and a BA in Africana Studies from Wellesley College. She focused her undergraduate studies on environmental justice and conducted research in Wellesley's greenhouses on plant responses to organic and conventional growing methods.
Courtney’s favorite native plant: Chakinkwem (Lenape for Pokeweed)
Ares Cabigting - Program Coordinator
Ares Headley Cabigting is a nonprofit professional dedicated to building and repairing the public’s connections with nature and culture– particularly through food and art. Ares has held coordination and leadership roles at organizations including Play on Philly, Mt. Cuba Center, Philabundance, and several grassroots community gardens and food pantries. In addition to their work with public institutions, they’ve completed freelance editing, design, and education work including a nature poetry workshop series and a modular, asynchronous cultural competency workplace training. Ares studied sociology, gender studies, and English literature at The Ohio State University and Ecology at the University of Delaware. When they’re not working you can find them rock climbing, making mixed media art, or watching scary movies with their husband, Nate.
Ares’ favorite native plant: Wisaòtaèk (Lenape for Goldenrod)
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is responsible for guiding NRFF. These dedicated individuals ensure that our organization has a bright future and makes a meaningful impact in the community.
Denise Dunkley - Chair
Born and raised in the southernmost tidewaters of Lenapehoking, Denise Bright Dove Dunkley is an award-winning Master Artisan, Educator, Public Speaker, Tribal Councilwoman, and an enrolled citizen of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation of New Jersey. For over twenty-five years, Denise has used her artwork as vessels to carry forward the histories, traditions, and cultural practices of her people, particularly those passed down by her grandmothers.
She holds a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, strengthening her ability to pair art with advocacy, advance self-determination, and secure Indigenous rights. Denise has served as an ambassador amplifying Indigenous voices internationally, including in Canada and the Netherlands. Her work has been exhibited at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Stockton University, and the Amsterdam Museum, and appears on Philadelphia’s first Climate Justice Initiative mural. Guided by the belief that art is power, her work addresses MMIW, climate justice, and the protection of Indigenous peoples and the Earth.
Denise’s favorite native plant: Winakw (Lenape for Sassafras)
James Emrich - Treasurer
Jim Emrich has fifty-four years of experience in the fields of general management, corporate finance, leadership development and organizational behavior. His professional responsibilities have included CFO of a multi entity not-for-profit health care chain; Presidential Exchange Executive serving in the Carter Administration; Senior management at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of a privately held enterprise which provided organizational consulting services and marketed employee assistance programs.
Jim has an undergraduate degree from Wharton School of Finance and Commerce and a graduate degree in hospital administration from the University of California, Berkeley. He has held adjunct faculty appointments at both the Universities of Pennsylvania and California and Bethel Seminary of the East. During his career, Jim has served on 30 boards and has a particular interest in trustee governance.
Jim’s favorite native plant: Anise Hyssop
Eileen Hazard - Secretary
Eileen Hazard is the owner of Under the Maple, LCC a garden consulting, education and design business in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In addition to helping homeowners add eco-friendly gardens to their landscapes, Eileen teaches for the Chester County Lifelong Learning program and at local conservation organizations.
Previously Eileen ran the community outreach program at Mt. Cuba Center and worked in environmental consulting and education. She earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Lafayette College and an M.S. in Water Resources from the University of Vermont’s School of Natural Resources. Eileen enjoys native plant and vegetable gardening at her home and is thrilled to contribute time and energy to Native Roots Farm Foundation.
Eileen’s favorite native plant: Virginia Bluebells
Kesha Braunskill is the founder of Delaware Bat Rehabilitation and Conservation, an organization dedicated to the care of bats and promoting wildlife conservation in Delaware. She deeply connects with the mission of NRFF, focusing on preserving indigenous communities' ties to the land and reviving agricultural practices.
Since joining the NRFF board, Kesha has been actively involved, serving as the past Chair and contributing to several committees, including fundraising and leadership. Her commitment to advocating for the reconnection with indigenous roots is unwavering. Kesha has a professional background in forestry, and ecology. She has held leadership roles in the public sector in urban forestry with experience in community engagement and education.
In her spare time, Kesha is an artist, creating nature-inspired beadwork and fish skin leather.
Kesha’s favorite native plant: Winakw (Lenape for Sassafras)
Tessa Lowinske Desmond - Bio coming soon
Dr. Karelle Hall is an assistant professor at University of Massachusetts Boston where she teaches anthropology and Indigenous studies courses. She received her PhD in anthropology from Rutgers University. She received her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in anthropology with a minor in Native American studies. Her research explores Indigenous sovereignty within the Nanticoke and Lenape tribal communities through relationships and practices of care. As a member of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe, she has represented her nation at numerous events as both a speaker and dancer. She is actively working on Nanticoke language revitalization, including publishing a children’s language book, creating a language website, and organizing community classes. She continues to work as an activist and representative for her community, promoting visibility, decolonization, and education.
Karelle’s favorite native plant: Winakw (Lenape for Sassafras)
Lauren “Sun Turtle” Peters is a seedkeeper, citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and a member of the Bear Clan. She was born and raised in Mashpee, MA (Cape Cod), where her people have lived for over 12,000 years. Today, she lives between Mashpee, during the growing season, and Brooklyn, NY. For the past four seasons, she has led the Corn Sister Circle, a traditional three sisters garden on their ancestral homelands, rematriating Metacom corn, a seed that was destroyed during the King Philips War, 400 years ago. They use ancestral practices that have been used on their land for thousands of years. The garden offers a space for tribal members to keep their traditional teachings alive, while maintaining a healthy relationship with Mother Earth, themselves and each other.
Lauren’s favorite native plant: Chixamokànatae (Lenape for Coneflower)
John Reynolds co-founded Native Roots Farm Foundation with Courtney Streett in 2020 at their kitchen table. When not tabling for NRFF or working in the garden, John serves as the Deputy Policy & Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Delaware. At the ACLU of Delaware, John's work focuses on organizing communities around criminal legal system issues and advancing needed policy change at the state level.
John is a committed advocate for racial justice, graduate of UCLA School of Law with a specialization in Critical Race Studies, avid tennis player, and eternally optimistic fan of mediocre sports teams.
John’s favorite native plant: Anise Hyssop
Asa Shenandoah Daiawendodeh was raised on the Onondaga Nation in Central New York. She works in the energy infrastructure sector as a lineman with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. She also serves in a project management role in the general construction division as a LEED Green Associate, bringing a sustainability driven systems perspective to her work. In her spare time, when she is not watching her teenage son play hockey, Asa offers a Haudenosaunee perspective as a contributing writer for the Syracuse Post-Standard. Her work centers on Indigenous food sovereignty, land stewardship, and the long term resilience of communities through thoughtful infrastructure and environmental practices. Asa is involved with Electrical Workers Without Borders, supporting international service efforts and helping build connections between the organization and the Navajo Nation to explore pathways for community centered energy and workforce collaboration. Across all of her work, Asa focuses on bridging modern construction and energy systems with traditional ecological knowledge, prioritizing relationships, accountability, and intergenerational responsibility so development remains shaped by a respect for land and community.
Asa’s favorite native plant: Bald Cypress
Ronney Wright is the USAA, Joint Military Affairs Representative, LEAD (National Capital Region, Maryland, and Delaware) where he began in 2011. Ronney’s background includes serving a Hospital Corpsman with the USMC. He retired as a Force Master Chief representing over 68K service members after 31 years of service with the USN.
Ronney earned a Bachelor of Science, Liberal Studies, from Excelsior College. He serves as Board Member for Association of United States Navy, Native Roots Farm Foundation, and Tribal Council Member for Nanticoke Indian Association. He is a Life Member of American Legion, Fleet Reserve Association, and Navy Enlisted Reserve Association.
He’s been married to Donna for 44 years and has a son Ronney C. (CDR USCG), daughter Courtney (Manager, NFCU), and 5 grandkids to keep him motivated- the best part of his life.
Ronney’s favorite native plant: Tehim (Lenape for Strawberry)