Staff

The Metro Team is dedicated to “learning, connecting and engaging to achieve Healthy People and Healthy Places.” Our bilingual staff reflects the multicultural landscape of the San Joaquin Valley and showcases a diverse set of backgrounds, including city planning, community organizing, environmental justice, community food systems, public relations and communications.

Administration

Keith Bergthold

Position: Executive Director
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“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Emogene Nelson

Position: Deputy Director
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Fresno Metro allows me to use my gifts and talents to serve the community through outreach and service from a place of servitude, gratitude, and love. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou

Nora Chandara

Position: Fiscal and Operations Manager
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"Working for Metro allows me to practice my belief of self-empowerment… rather than giving people fish, I work toward teaching them how to fish."

Latrica Crutchfield

Position: Administrative Assistant
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Why do you love working for FMM: I love working for Fresno Metro Ministry because of the outreach and ongoing community work we are providing. Being able to provide food to our community is truly a blessing. The work that is being done with our Cooking Matters Team is just outstanding. Teaching each family and child about healthy eating, our Gardening team showing us ways to be able to grow our own foods. The work is just unending, bless to be part of it all.

Programs

Food to Share

Vue Vang

Position: Food to Share Lead Driver
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"I’m honored to be a part of the Fresno Metro Ministry team. I’m very proud of our vision to connect the community’s needs and passions to solutions for change."

Luis Hernandez

Position: Food to Share Project Coordinator
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"I want to be a facilitator for change... My work at Metro allows me to do so and remind people that we have not reached our final frontier and we need to work together to push the envelope for a better Fresno."

Shawn Owen

Position: Food to Share Driver
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"I enjoy working at Metro because I get to help the less fortunate and provide them with food, so they don't have to go without. And I love being able to help my city. "

Esperanza Ceja

Position: Food to Share Community Builder
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Food to Share is a great avenue to bring people together through food! I enjoy seeing an array of people of all ages light up and build community as they cook together and try new recipes.

Jennifer

Position: Food to Share- Project Coordinator
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I love working with FMM because I get to be a part of a great organization that's making a difference in our community! To be able to put a smile on the people we serve faces because of the resources provided and the opportunity to learn from us as we learn from them.

Richard Thibodeaux

Position: Food to Share Driver
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Working for Fresno Metro Ministry / Food to Share is an absolute thrill. Working to make a positive difference in the lives of all human beings is very rewarding and it's great to have awesome fellow co-workers helping along the way!

Jesus Galvez

Position: Food To Share Program Manager
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I love working for FMM because we get the opportunity to help people feed their families.

Jose Espinoza

Position: Food To Share Driver
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I love working for FMM because I like to be a part of the amazing work FMM is doing. As a food to share driver, I like to see the smile on people's faces when receiving food.

Community Garden Staff

Christopher De León (Chris)

Position: Community Gardens Program Manager
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"Fresno Metro has given me the opportunity, resources and framework to be able to engage community members in the development of community gardens/urban farms and work towards addressing core systemic issues within our food system. I love that I get to work with my hands, work directly with community members, and advocate for much needed resources. I am dedicated to the work and continue to stay motivated by the impact we have on our communities."

Yang Soua Fang

Position: Community Gardens Project Manager
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"Working with Fresno Metro has been an amazing experience because I am able to apply my skills to serve a wide range of demographic from little children to older individuals and more particularly the Hmong community. I love that I am able to fully apply my language skills to assist our elderly Hmong population as they create green spaces to grow fresh produce for their families to eat while also being able to teach young minds about the food systems and how to battle the issues of food waste and food insecurity. I appreciate the space that I am give to build a healthy community through collaboration and unity."

Itzel Escarcega

Position: Community Gardens Project Manager
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Metro has given me the safe and creative space to be able to utilize all of my skills while also being able to support my gardens team, be of direct service to the communities we serve, and sustainably come up with solutions to the day-to-day challenges we face to take care of the environment and people we are surrounded by. Planting seeds everywhere I go both literally and figuratively, while nurturing their growth is another way to express my experience working at Metro :)

Jesse Martindale

Position: Community Gardens Assistant
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Working at Yo'Ville enables me to grow food in community with people which I believe is one of the most powerful things we can do right now to create a regenerative and just food system while facing the climate crisis. I also love being able to tangibly explore and imagine with people what our world could be like if we didn't treat food and land as a commodity, but instead a human right. I'm reminded of the Aldo Leopold quote that says, "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." Through my organizing work I'm grateful to start to unlearn destructive systems and mindsets while helping grow something beautiful.

Raul W Ortega III

Position: Community Composting Site Operator
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I heard of Fresno Metro Ministry about 4 years ago and started working for them in January 2022. I enjoy working with Metro because it is quite different than all my other employers. Metro is full of diversity and inclusion, which makes it a safe and happy space to work at. My position at Metro aligns with my moral values and allows me to be happy with myself at the end of the day, which is something that all my previous job didn't allow. Metro is giving me the chance to do something good for my community and gives me the opportunity to make change and grow myself in ways that I feel I need to.

Food Policy Council

Tara Sweeney

Position: Food Policy Council Project Coordinator
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“I love working at Fresno Metro because I get to work alongside amazing people, that are mutually mobilized for the betterment of the health of our neighbors and our community."

Climate Action Corp Fellows

Chanel Lara

Position: California Climate Action Corp Fellow
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Fresno Metro has been my favorite place to work because everyone is so genuine and loving. I'm able to do my best work because I can be my true self.

Leierin Carney