Qiana Mickie, environmental justice and food equity advocate, has been appointed by Mayor Eric Adams as director of the newly-created Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture to expand the city’s network of community gardens and urban farms.
“Urban agriculture is a growing industry in our city that has the potential to expand the supply of healthy and locally grown food, create jobs, and make our city more resilient. Qiana brings a wealth of experience,” said Mayor Adams. When he was Brooklyn Borough President, they invested millions of dollars in capital funding into schools’ vertical farming and hydroponics labs.
Mickie, a former executive director of Just Food and a lifelong New Yorker, has an 11-year career focusing on the intersection of equity, food systems resiliency, and agriculture. A graduate of Hampton University, she is a founding principal of QJM Multiprise. She has consulted on multiple policy, food and farm businesses, agriculture, and other equity-driven projects locally and nationally.
“The creation of the office signifies the acknowledgment of the contributions of historic urban agriculture champions, as well as the breadth of knowledge in the current landscape of urban agriculture growers, producers, entrepreneurs, and land stewards,” said Qiana Mickie, Director of Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture. “Mayor Adams and the administration chose a critical acknowledgment of the interconnectedness of our natural and built environment and the potential to spur urban agriculture development, advance innovation, and cultivate equity in our city.”
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