Thena Robertson, Preschool Meals Manager

Thena moved to Nashville from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2022. In Milwaukee, she owned and operated an in-home childcare program and assisted with her family’s childcare center. Through her efforts toward providing for children, she realized the importance of food access for families and children. Her passion for connecting children to nourishing food eventually brought her to The Nashville Food Project’s satellite kitchen at St. Luke’s Community House, where she leads production of meals for the organization’s preschool students. Outside of work, Thena enjoys cooking, refurbishing furniture, and spending time with her two children and three grandchildren.

Patricia Tarquino, Director of Community Agriculture

Patricia Tarquino, Director of Community Agriculture at The Nashville Food Project, is an immigrant from Cali, Colombia, South America. Patty is a Berea College graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Sociology. She has experience as a community organizer in the coalfields of Central Appalachia defending water, land and community rights, and now serves as Board Member of Cosecha Community Development and member-President of Grow 2 Learn Cooperative. Patricia is also a 2023 Community Food Systems Fellow through the Vital Village Network and Boston Medical Center and a Master Gardener.

Allison Thayer, Director of Community Engagement

Allison grew up in Florida with a Spanish mother who loved (and excelled at!) cooking, which she absorbed from a young age. As a child, she would watch Emeril Live and emphatically mimic his famous “Bam!” when helping in the kitchen. She also cares deeply about nature, conservation, and sustainable food production, and spends as much of her ‘time off’ as possible exploring the outdoors. Since moving to Nashville in 2015, she has been steadily inserting herself into the local food system: as a regular CSA customer, a member of the Nashville Food Co-Op, an active participant in events focused on local food production and waste reduction, and most recently as a weekly volunteer on the Caney Fork Farms Vegetable Team.

Allison has a degree in English and Latin American Studies from the University of Notre Dame. She moved to Spain to teach English through the Fulbright Program, then on to Washington DC to work as a research consultant for postsecondary education institutions. The rest (and majority) of her career has been spent working in corporate strategy and operations at a multinational research and consulting firm. She is delighted to be making a career shift that allows her to focus on growing sustainable food systems and communities.

Outside of work Allison enjoys cooking, hiking, and spending time with her husband, child, and dog. She dreams of one day owning a tapas bar or an on-farm restaurant, as long as it doesn’t have to be profitable.