Samantha Teslik was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley in a home surrounded by fruit trees (which largely went uneaten). She left to pursue a Masters in Food Studies from NYU and managed youth education programs at NYC’s Greenmarkets before moving back to CA and joining Food Forward in 2014. Samantha currently oversees Food Forward’s volunteer powered gleaning programs, which bring in over 1,000,000 pounds of produce annually and support over 200 local hunger relief organizations. Samantha enjoys spending time on trails throughout Ventura County, and spending time with her growing family.