Meet our Team
Leandra Forman
Co-Executive Director/ Director of Operations
Leandra Forman has been at FoodChain since May of 2015. For the first two years she worked as the farm manager, however she transitioned to overseeing the Processing Kitchen and Food Sector Job Training Program in 2017. Since the pandemic shut down began in March of 2020, she has coordinated with restaurant partners, farmers, food pantries, and meal recipients. As the daughter of a chef, she grew up speaking the language of food and is so excited to share that with others! She is a graduate of Berea College and a Kentucky native, who can usually be seen cycling every street of downtown Lexington.
Kristin Hughes
Co-Executive Director/ Director of Education and Outreach
Kristin Hughes is a Lexington, Kentucky native who spent 4 years living in Spain before returning to her roots. She graduated from Valparaiso University with a Bachelor’s in Spanish and earned her Master’s of Education from Georgetown College. A product of Maxwell’s Spanish Immersion Program, she worked as a Spanish teacher for 7 years before realizing her passion for teaching food education and joining FoodChain. She enjoys exploring different cultures through their cuisine and can often be found playing volleyball in the Liga Hispana de Volleyball.
Amber Lawrence
Kitchen Manager
A line cook at heart with a background in photography and writing, working at FoodChain is the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done (besides being Kara’s partner and mom-ing our eight kids!) The passion here, for not just feeding people, but nourishing and educating them while advocating for justice in every way possible makes all the hard work more than worth it.
As mentioned above, my wife Kara and I have eight whole entire kids. We spend most of our free time attempting to keep up with them, and traveling to beaches every chance we get.
Ethan Buland
Farm Manager
Ethan isn’t a native to Lexington, but has lived here most of his life. He has a B.S. in Biology from EKU. He has always been interested in fish, crustaceans, molluscs- anything that lives in the water and started keeping fish tanks when he was 12. He loves learning and teaching about anything aquatic. He enjoys working at FoodChain because he is interested in aquaponics and appreciates what FoodChain is doing to further the public’s knowledge of urban agriculture and improved access to fresh, health food!
Trevor Claiborn
Aquaponics Educator
James Mastin
Director of Finance
Tem Burikhanov
Kitchen Processing Manager
Laz Parker
Prep Cook
Laz has worked at FoodChain since 2021 in the kitchen. He enjoys coming up with new recipes for dinner and learning from others. He is an avid bike rider and experiments with different ferments. His motto is “I will survive”.
Maxx Alviar
Education Support Specialist
Maxx hails from the suburbs of Chicago and came to Lexington for college in 2013 and hasn’t left since! He received his undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management and Tourism from the University of Kentucky and is currently pursuing a master’s in Nutriton and Food Systems there as well. He has been working in the restaurant insdustry for over 10 years and wants to use that knowledge to help show people that foood isn’t as complicated as it seems. Any chance to get outside with his family to camp, run, or hike- if it’s outside, he’s in!
Arynn Rogers
Volunteer and Delivery Coordinator
Arynn Rogers is a Lexington, Kentucky native with a passion for food equity and food waste mitigation. She graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Sustainability and Certification in Food System Sustainability. She enjoys spending her free time reading, gardening, and trying new recipes.
Ivette Falcon
Prep Cook
Ivette likes working at FoodChain because it feels good to give back to the community make healthy meals for kids.
In her free time, she likes to spend time with my family and make desserts.
Frank Hicks
Prep Cook
Michael Moloney
Delivery Assistant
Imani Cloud
Prep Cook