Executive Director

Katherine serves as the Executive Director of the Warwick Area Farmworker Organization. Following the retirement of Stanley Grajewski, in 2016,  she assumed the position at that time.  Katherine has worked in a number of capacities with the farmworker community over the last thirty years.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Foods and Nutrition from the College of Saint Elizabeth and a   Master’s degree from NYU in Clinical Nutrition.  She is a Certified Content Expert with the National Committee for Quality Assurance,  a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality.  Katherine is also employed as the Executive Director of Planetree, a division of Sunriver Health that manages a network of Federally Qualified Community Health Centers. In her role,  with Planetree, Katherine has also served as the Executive Director of the ALAMO Community Center and the Warwick Area Migrant Committee (the parent organization of the WAFO).

Katherine has focused much of her career in the area of Migrant and Seasonal farmworkers.  She has served as a National Advisor on several programs, including serving as the Chair of the National Advisor Council on Nutrition for Women, Children and Infants-USDA and the National Center for Farmworker Health-Women’s Health Project.  She is recognized as an expert in nutrition, publishing curricula for early childhood education programs.  Katherine lives in Pine Island, New York-the heart of the black dirt region.

Student Teacher

Maya Henderson is a third year college student and a Warwick, NY resident. I started working at Dulce Esperanza when I was 19, and it was my first job. The experience I had my first summer taught me valuable lessons about how to manage a classroom and quickly adapt to change. I feel like the kids and I truly have a special bond, and I love seeing how much they’ve learned and grown over the past two years. The added bonus of the camp being held in my old elementary school makes me feel like I’ve really come full circle from a student to a teacher. I can’t wait to continue my journey with them for a third year.

Certified Teacher

Holly Aftel is currently an elementary ENL (English as a New Language) teacher for the Florida Union Free School District in Florida, NY. Many of her students attend Dulce Esperanza. She wanted to assist and help our farm worker families, including the students she works with during the school year.

Certified Teacher

Allison has been in the field of education for about 28 years. She has taught from first grade to the university level. Currently, she is an ENL (English as a New Language) teacher at Seward High School in Florida, NY. Allison enjoys working with the children that attend Dulce Esperanza because they bring joy to everything that she does. Allison has worked with the WAMC in various volunteer positions in the past and being a teacher for the Dulce Esperanza Camp allows her to continue working with the families that she knows so well through school. Allison is also part of the community since she resides locally with her  two teenage children and husband.

Digital Media Consultant

Chris has over twenty five years of professional telecommunications and IP technology engineering and operations experience. He has over fourteen years of technology senior leadership and management experience. Chris has worked for multi-service operators of all sizes running Network Operations and voice/telephone central office divisions for those employers primarily providing services in rural or suburban areas. He has a diverse background in IT, IP Engineering, and web site development. Chris volunteers his expertise to manage the WAFO web site and our social media presences on Facebook and Twitter. He also provides digital marketing and online fundraising consultant services. He has been working both with the WAMC and WAFO in this capacity since February 2017.