Michelle is an avid gardener and seed collector, and is passionate about supporting local food systems. Michelle’s father introduced her to home gardening with her first tomato plants when she was 10 years old and today she is teaching her 1 year old daughter how to grow her first pea plants. Michelle attend Cornell’s College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and, as a hobby home gardener, collaborates with plant breeding professors on the next generation of pea plants bred for flavor. In her free time, Michelle also helps to organize a community-supported agriculture program with the goal to keep local sustainable farms and local food safe for future generations.