Meet the Team
Ain Chiké
Food Systems Innovation Manager
Ain is an Atlanta native and food system advocate who loves bringing people together around good food
and local farms. With over a decade of experience designing community centered programs and
partnerships, she’s passionate about supporting farmers while making fresh, locally grown food more
accessible across the city.
and local farms. With over a decade of experience designing community centered programs and
partnerships, she’s passionate about supporting farmers while making fresh, locally grown food more
accessible across the city.
At Community Farmers Markets, Ain works to grow and strengthen programs that support farmers,
vendors, and the communities they serve. She focuses on building relationships, listening to community
needs, and helping create a food system that is more accessible to everyone. Outside of work, you can find her building LEGO, spending time with friends, or walking her dog.
vendors, and the communities they serve. She focuses on building relationships, listening to community
needs, and helping create a food system that is more accessible to everyone. Outside of work, you can find her building LEGO, spending time with friends, or walking her dog.
Karen Caffrey
Senior Manager of Operations
Karen comes to Community Farmers Markets from a diverse and varied background. This homeschooled kid from Marietta became a formally trained archaeologist who was then wooed into a local, seasonal, market-driven bakery in North Carolina. She has spent time in specialty grocery in Oregon, food co-ops in Maryland and supported a non-profit that provides services to adults with developmental disabilities. Her deep operational and organizational experience has given her a love of systems and processes, spreadsheets and people development.
Karen’s lifelong love of nature and the outdoors means you will find her wandering in the woods regardless of the weather. In her personal time, she hikes with her dogs, forages for mushrooms, tends her garden, cooks large meals with her siblings and contra dances.
Kaitlyn Cook
Administration Manager
Kaitlyn was born and raised in a small North Carolina town, nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains. The daughter of an Appalachian horticulturalist and a public school social worker, she learned the values of community, conservation and connection to the land early in life. Upon graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kaitlyn stayed in the Triangle area for several years where she fell in love with food and beverage hospitality. She has been part of the Atlanta restaurant industry since 2015, where she developed a reputation for keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes (and met her spouse!). Kaitlyn feels that her experience working with local farmers and passionate chefs—and serving her neighbors—has brought the pillars of her upbringing full circle. Now, as a mother, she is thrilled to contribute to CFM, actively investing in the Atlanta community her family calls home.
Sam Ellis
Decatur Farmers Market Manager
Sam grew up steeped in the local Decatur food community. With over 7 years in the Atlanta restaurant industry, working to bring tasty, nutritious food to their neighbors near and far, they intimately understand the power that quality food holds in connecting all of us together. As they shifted their focus towards food production, they moved to live and work at one of Atlanta’s oldest urban farms, Crack in the Sidewalk Farmlet. Sweating in the field alongside farmers Isia and Chris, Sam has come to deeply appreciate the work that goes into food production and recognizes the various struggles that local farmers face in their important work. They are committed to championing the farmers that keep all of us fed by increasing awareness and access to the incredible food being grown and cultivated right next door. Sam has always been passionate about the creation of reciprocal community and mutuality, and they see their work at CFM as an extension of that drive.
When not managing Decatur and Oakhurst farmers markets, or slinging produce at Grant Park Farmers market with CITS, you’ll find Sam out foraging for mushrooms in some of Atlanta’s best-kept secret spots, playing guitar to an audience of disinterested chickens, or eating the weeds that grow in their yard.
Tatiana Gonzalez
Educational Chef Manager
Tatiana was born in Puerto Rico (boriqua!) but grew up most of her life in South Florida. She moved to Atlanta to obtain her Masters in Public Health from Emory University, where she studied local and global food security program implementation and analysis. Upon graduation, Tatiana became a FoodCorps Service Member, where she worked with the Wylde Center to provide nutrition and garden education to elementary students within two Title 1 APS schools. After FoodCorps, she joined the Wylde Center as their Lead Educator, providing youth environmental education for two full school years. She has also worked as a Farmers Market Chef with CFM for three years, and is beyond grateful to join the CFM team. She is passionate about increasing food accessibility, culturally responsive cooking and education, and youth empowerment. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her family, spend time outdoors in forests, beaches or gardens, learn about herbalism, travel, and discuss anything / everything under the sun. Stop by the Chef’s Booth to say hello!
Katie Kriner
East Atlanta Village Farmers Market Manager
Katie Kriner feels right at home in farmers markets! She grew up cooking, gardening, asking questions, and yes, visiting the market almost every weekend (thanks mom and dad!). Kriner arrived to Atlanta in 2016 with a BS degree from Appalachian State University in Nutrition & Dietetics, and she entered the local food scene with her position at PeachDish, a locally-sourced, nationwide meal kit delivery service. For several years, she utilized her knowledge as a budding nutrition expert while cultivating her skills in educational written and video content creation, email marketing, social media, and face-to-face customer service (usually at markets!). Honestly, there’s a big chance you’ve met Kriner elsewhere – she loves to pick up work at plant sales, local food organizations, and your favorite restaurants. In 2019, Kriner completed her Dietetic Internship at Life University and is currently studying to pass the CDR exam to become a Registered Dietitian – an expert asset as she continues to work for the local food community. Stay tuned!
In her spare time, Kriner likes to paint, thrift, cook, propagate plants, watch cartoons, and play old Nancy Drew PC games. She probably likes Garfield the cat and burnt toast a little too much. Her biggest fan is her tiny tabby cat, Panini!
Mariah Lopez
Decatur Farmers Market Manager
Mariah Lopez was born in Atlanta but raised in a small town in North Carolina. Upon graduating from high school, she decided it was time to head back to the city. Mariah attended Agnes Scott College, majored in Public Health, and soon became involved with the Sustainability Office as an Environmental Resident, where she planned and executed initiatives to reduce campus waste. It was here she connected with a former ASC alumnus who was a manager at Decatur Farmer’s Market. During her junior year, Mariah became an ambassador for the Decatur Saturday market.
Additionally, she interned with Wholesome Wave Georgia, and with the help of both of these roles, she realized her passion for sustainable and accessible food systems. After graduating, she worked as a Foodcorps Service Member, took a break during the pandemic, and rejoined CFM as a Grant Park ambassador. She has since been promised to the manager of the Decatur Farmers Market and runs the Treat Yo Shelf General Store.
Jenna Mobley
C0-Executive Director
Jenna is an educator at heart, having taught garden and kitchen classes in Atlanta Public Schools and throughout the Atlanta community. An alumna of the University of Georgia, Jenna began her career in education in 2008 and since then has become one of the leading proponents (and providers) of increasing educational resources in the areas of social justice, food access, and environmental education, earning her the Presidential Innovation Award for Educators, received at the White House in Washington, DC in 2015. Jenna brings that experience to Community Farmers Markets as the Director of Programs.
Ana María Páramo
C0-Executive Director
Ana María is a visual artist and designer specializing in creative strategy, branding, and marketing. She holds a deep connection to nature and is passionate about sustainable agriculture. Her main objective is to help build healthy communities with a strong ecological culture. She uses her education in visual arts and storytelling to create engaging materials and experiences that promote this message. Ana María studied Media Arts at the Art Institute of Atlanta and began working with businesses and organizations in the good food economy in 2013. She joined the CFM in 2014 as a marketing intern and has grown to develop many initiatives within the organization.
Mariah White
Oakhurst Farmers Market Manager
Mariah White is a proud graduate of Clark Atlanta University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. Mariah has built a dynamic career in community outreach, event management, and political organizing, working alongside nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, and political campaigns. Most recently, she served as an organizer for the 2024 Harris/Walz presidential campaign, helping engage and mobilize communities across Georgia, specifically Metro Atlanta.
Originally from Indianapolis, Mariah moved to Atlanta in 2013 and quickly developed a deep passion for community service and people-centered work. With experience in leadership, strategic planning, team development, and community engagement, Mariah focuses on opportunities to combine her passion for service with her commitment to empowering others. Her work in community activism was recognized in 2023 by Shoutout Atlanta.
Judith Winfrey
Co-Founder & Development Consultant
Judith is one of the founding members of CFM and has over 20 years of accrued experience in the nonprofit sector and local food economy. Judith is a serial entrepreneur who has created and led a variety of organizations from farms, to e-commerce food businesses, to not-for-profit service organizations. Throughout her career, Judith has fused her passions for good food and radical transformational leadership to develop organizations that empower, nourish and enrich people and communities. She has been recognized as one of Atlanta’s 500 Most Powerful Leaders by Atlanta Magazine and by the New York Times as a woman who is changing the landscape of leadership. She is a founding worker-owner at Love is Love Cooperative Farm, a 70 acre organic vegetable farm serving the metro Atlanta population and beyond with vegetables, flowers, and plants.
