The Warriors, Builders, & Weavers of Cincinnati’s Foodshed

Below are brief bios of selected educators, artists, and designers participating in this project:

Alan Wright

Alan is a visionary educator, connector, and food systems leader whose groundbreaking work is redefining how communities engage with sustainability, storytelling, and place. As the creator and lead author of Cincinnati’s Foodshed: An Art Atlas, Alan spent over five years building a one-of-a-kind, multimedia chronicle of the Greater Cincinnati food system. This new large-format book—published in late 2024—features contributions from more than 160 collaborators, including farmers, artists, policy advocates, and nonprofit leaders.

Supported through collective impact fundraising and amplified by partner organizations with a combined reach of over 683,000 followers, the Atlas has reached thousands through over 30 public presentations, eight exhibitions, and more than 10 public art displays across the region. With storymaps, original art, and participatory research, the project bridges disciplines and generations to honor the region’s food heritage while inspiring a resilient and equitable future.

Alan’s leadership embodies inclusive design and creative collaboration. Through his work—as a professor, researcher, and community builder—he has created a landmark resource that not only educates and connects, but also transforms how we see our food system, our communities, and ourselves.

Steve Kroeger

Steve Kroeger, a special educator and action researcher for thirty years, uses his current research to focus on supporting voice. Steve is involved in national and international projects including the Palestinian West Bank, and Ireland. While teaching, graphic narrative emerged as a powerful medium of expression. Since the last election, volunteering in a food pantry doing Spanish translation stirred thinking about abundance and scarcity of food. Comics helps tell the stories of people who are doing the amazing work of collecting, growing, cooking, distributing, educating, and serving in our regional Food Shed.

Karen Boyhen

Through illustration and graphic design, Karen Boyhen helps people communicate with their customers with a delightful and relatable approach. Her portfolio includes editorial illustration, illustrated maps, merchandise, brochures, posters, and annual reports for non-profit, education, and healthcare companies. In the studio at Visionaries + Voices, she facilitates artwork and builds relationships. Last summer she led a project entitled “Tiny Cincinnati” with the community while on artist residency through the Contemporary Arts Center. Karen is focused on making art and building creative partnerships.

Scott Hand

Scott Hand is the Chief Brand Officer at Urban Artifact, Principal Architect with Trilobite Design, and Station Manager for Radio Artifact. A licensed architect specializing in acoustics and sustainability, Scott spent years mastering how physical structures sound and feel. Today, he translates that rigorous design philosophy into the visual realm. He approaches brand development with an architect's eye, treating every illustration as a foundational block of a larger narrative. Scott’s goal is to build an internal world for folks: one that offers a rich, immersive experience and rewards curiosity with intentional whimsy.

Amaha Sellassie

Amaha Sellassie is a afrofuturist, peace builder, social healer, freedom fighter, network weaver, student of cooperation and lover of humanity. He’s an Associate Professor of Sociology at Sinclair Community College in Dayton Ohio.  amaha is a practitioner scholar and participatory action researcher dedicated towards building bridges of trust, healing historical wounds, and harnessing the unique gifts and talents of every human being as we press towards a just and equitable society. His areas of interest include health and education equity, praxis, cooperative economic development,  dismantling structural violence and getting the voice of marginalized communities into the center of public policy in order to emerge structures of belonging that acknowledge the dignity and worth of every human being. He is co-founder and board chair of the Gem City Market, a community driven effort to address food apartheid through a food coop dedicated to increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables within west Dayton.