Ben Jaffe
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, FARM OPERATIONS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Ben Jaffe currently works as Associate Director of Farm Operations and Workforce
Development at the Chicago Lights Urban Farm. In this role he oversees
production of over 26 crops and 60 varieties of fruits and vegetables grown
outdoors as well as in hoophouses and a heated greenhouse. He also leads the
high-school job training program which employs 15 youth from the former CabriniGreen area from March through December and teaches them sustainable farming,
marketing and job-readiness skills.
Prior to joining Chicago Lights, Ben’s urban agriculture experience includes
teaching the Windy City Harvest program (a program of the Chicago Botanic
Garden), a nine month practical training certificate course for adults of all ages
(one-third of whom are recently incarcerated) in Sustainable Urban Agriculture.
While at the Chicago Botanic Garden he also worked as coordinator for the Jr.
Green Youth Farm program in the Kenwood neighborhood, training junior high age
students in gardening practices and life skills. Prior to this he spent time working
as the Community Garden Liaison with the Chicago Park District and in area
elementary schools as a classroom assistant. He also has experience working at
many diversified, organic farms on the East Coast and an agricultural non-profit in
Northeast Ohio. Ben has a degree in economics from Earlham College and is a
certified professional gardener from the Chicago Botanic Garden.