Cynthia James

Cynthia James received her B.A. in Design of the Environment from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College. Originally from Reading, Pennsylvania, Ms. James has been working in the field of sustainable food systems for over 20 years. Her work has included growing organic food for direct-to-consumer markets in both urban and rural settings, as well as developing and conducting education programs for new farmers, urban gardeners, college students, and youth. Before relocating to New York with her family in 2017, Ms. James spent six years at the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA, where she designed and ran a community-supported agriculture (CSA) model that focused on bringing affordable fresh food to underserved urban communities and doubled as a training program where new farmers gained skills in diversified organic growing practices as well as business planning. When Ms. James joined Cornell’s Food Venture Center team in 2018, she expanded her knowledge base from raw agricultural products to value-added products by working with the Process Authority in helping to validate food products for safety and stability. She currently manages the development of the program’s online certificate training program.