Meet the Residents
2022 Aspiring Farmer Fellows – Cohort Six
Kelly Alsup was born in California’s Bay Area and then attended K-12 in Millard, Omaha. She visited her grandparents in the Bay throughout childhood and spent most of the last decade and a half in Marin County, where she worked as a gardener and garden educator. Previously, she received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon and Master of Fine Arts in Writing & Poetics from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She began gardening and farming long ago and here highlights some soils she’s dug: Shadow Brook, Horton Road, and Green Gulch Farms along with Slide and Walker Creek Ranches. As well as gardening, Kelly started a small business, Flower Type Poetry, for which she types poems on her 1950s typewriter. You can find other poems of Kelly’s in her chapbook, when if ever alive. Kelly returns to Omaha to be near family and joins Big Muddy as Lead Farm Fellow. She’s enjoying the diverse local music scene, and she’d love to dance, sing, or collaborate with you and otherwise tromp, paddle, ride, or swim throughout Omaha’s hidden wild queendoms.
A 2018 graduate of Benson High School, Peter David currently attends the University of Nebraska at Omaha, double-majoring in Geography and International Studies, with a minor in English. He intends to complete a TESOL Certification, which he hopes to use as an ESL teacher when he graduates. At Big Muddy, Peter plans to learn how to manage a farm, expand his technical skills, and help provide for the community. In the future, Peter hopes to earn a PhD in Geography, specializing in urban planning. His interests (among many) include: gaming, photography, cooking, and meteorology.
Growing up in the country, Sydney Simpson fell in love with nature and found pleasure in exploring the vast, uninhabited land within rural Kansas. Due to limited access to grocery stores, she also learned how to grow a significant amount of produce using organic, chemical-free practices.
After moving to the city, she began to see how there is a tremendous need for the integration of agriculture in urban areas. While learning more about food scarcity in cities and living in a food desert herself, she found the desire to pursue an education in farming. Sydney is looking forward to the growing season ahead and is excited to get to know the local community. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and traveling to new places.
2021 Aspiring Farmer Residents - Cohort Five

Sophia Cooper

Decker Gabriel-Woods

Madi White

Henry Wisneski

Alexia Queen
2020 Aspiring Farmer Residents - Cohort Four

Irene Atayi

Katie Bettin

Carly Frazee

Jasmine Marr

Phalin Strong

Matt Wettengel
2019 Aspiring Farmer Residents - Cohort Three
2018 Aspiring Farmer Residents - Cohort Two

Kaya Baker

Jess Dooley

Gavin Johnston

Shatice Jones

Laura Simpson
2017 Aspiring Farmer Residents - Cohort One

Kia Beason

Emily Hefeli

Terry Salem

Cadence Hernandez
