MICHAEL PITULA

Iowa State University, Universidad de Murcia, B.S., Environmental Science, B.A., Spanish

While at Iowa State, Michael focused on watershed ecology and immersed himself in Spanish language, culture, and history in Murcia, Spain. He is a multilingual educator and organizer with over a decade of nonprofit experience facilitating youth and adults in small groups focused on sustainability. In 2003, Michael traveled to Cuba on a people-to-people sustainable agriculture delegation. He has shared his love for capoeira angola, a traditional Afro-Brazilian art form, by performing at street fairs and teaching it to young children. Over the past year and a half as a community organizer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Michael has worked to connect youth to sustainable agricultural traditions through the Environmental Justice & Action Promotores program. Michael is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese and Italian. This fall he will be returning to New Mexico as the desert cools off and the chile harvest picks up.

LIZ WIIG     

University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A., Language Studies and Linguistics

Liz grew up in the foothills of the Sierras in central California, near the birthplace of the U.S. farm-to-table movement. She began gardening and cooking before she could read or write and remembers her father taking her to deliver fresh peaches to Alice Waters’ renowned restaurant, Chez Panisse, the paragon of fresh and local cuisine. At UC Santa Cruz, Liz focused her studies on Italian language and culture, and spent a year studying abroad in Italy. During college, she also worked as a gardener at the UCSC Arboretum, taught creative writing to university students, and learned the ins and outs of a professional kitchen with a sustainability-focused catering company. She has lived in and led group trips to Italy and India, as well as traveled to countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. She is currently based in Boulder, Colorado, where she is pursuing a master certification in medicinal plants and working as the School and Partnership Program Coordinator for Where There Be Dragons. She spends her free time hiking and participating in food- and gardening-related classes with Growing Gardens, a local community garden organization. Liz is fluent in Italian and proficient in Spanish.