Justina Thompson (she/her) is currently based in Lenapehoking, colonially known as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She enters all new spaces and opportunities with immense gratitude to the ancestors and generations before which have stewarded land and community where she engages. She has worked at the intersections of food, land, environment and community for over 10 years, since her first job working at a farmer’s market in a community impacted by food apartheid. She then went on to pursue a dual degree in sustainability and design from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and used these fields to shape a practice of environmental education for Black youth in Albany, NY. After completing her M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania, she continued her youth-focused work through urban farming in Philadelphia.

She then took the spirit of servitude to work on environmental justice in local government and began pursuing a degree in public health at Johns Hopkins University.

In 2023, Justina started Grow Farm Love LLC, an entity which will collectively house her facilitation, design, education, and land stewardship work in relationship with communities in and beyond Philadelphia.

Justina describes herself as a storyteller and steward who aims to bring the stories and lessons from elders into the present and future as the foundation for stewarding land and community in harmonious relationship with the Earth.