Who We Are
Staff
Mario M. Yanez (director) is founder of Earth Learning. He is Certified in Permaculture Design and holds an MBA in Finance & Management and an MA in Environmental Studies and is a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program. He attributes his transformational learning journey to his studies at Genesis Farm, Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center, and with Joanna Macy and The Work that Reconnects. A non-profit leader, activist, educator and organic farmer, Mario dedicates his life's work to creating empowering, ecological learning experiences and carving out a space for a life-sustaining culture to evolve here in his home bioregion, the Greater Everglades. When he is not working, he enjoys making time with his family and friends, growing organic food, observing patterns in the natural world, and striving to understand what it means to become fully human at this present time.
Elena Naranjo (co-director) holds a MS in Counselor Education and a BA in Political Science. She is a Certified Permaculture Designer, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Licensed Massage Therapist in the State of Florida. Her work healing mind and body has led her to healing through nature. She now educates and inspires people to grow their own food, decrease waste, develop relationships, build community and live consciously. She is deeply committed to the mission and vision of Earth Learning and has now committed her time to assist in the development of its goals and objectives. She enjoys growing her own fruits and vegetables in her backyard garden and cooking vegetarian meals.
David Harper (project development) founded Land In Common to assist individuals and community organizations in securing affordable access to land for food production, community forestry, and ecological housing as part of resilient bioregional economies. David has worked as a land trust professional and ecological planner for the past two decades, raising over $2.8 million and protecting over 1,500 acres of land. He writes and speaks extensively on the topic of land security and food security. David is a co-founder of Cornucopia, the first urban agriculture land trust in the South (http://cornucopialandtrust.blogspot.com/). He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches a graduate course in land stewardship.
Board of Directors
Born and raised in Cuba, Eduardo Chavez (treasurer) studied English Language and Literature at the University of Havana, Cuba. After living in Mexico City for two years, Eduardo immigrated to the United States in 1994 and continued his graduate studies at Florida International University in Spanish Language and Literature. Eduardo started as a part time instructor teaching for the Guantanamo Refugee Program in 1998, which became the Refugee/Entrant Vocational Education, Services and Training (REVEST) Program as of 1999. Eduardo’s passion for nature, combined with his studies in humanities, supported his professional career as an educator and advocate for social improvements. In 2002, Eduardo was appointed as REVEST Program Executive Director at MiamiDadeCollege. Eduardo’s leadership has made the REVEST Program a well known starting point for refugees in the community, now with a multimillion dollar budget dedicated to educational and humanitarian assistance for the ever growing refugee population in Miami. Eduardo currently serves on the Advisory Board of FUNDarte, a non-for-profit organization dedicated to producing, presenting, and promoting the Arts and is also an Advisor in the Board of the FloridaCenter for Survivors of Torture.
Dion Taylor (secretary) is co-owner of rawOne Foods, a raw “living” food snack manufacturer based in Hollywood, Florida. Dion has a Bachelors Degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of New Orleans and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the Georgia Tech. He served on the Boards of Positive Growth Inc., an organization that provides shelter and life skills training to abandoned minority boys. He spent the last 18 years in the high-tech industry where he held a variety of management level positions, in 2009 he and his wife, a 20 year Personal Chef veteran…discovered the raw “living” food diet, combining their passion for healthy cuisine, sustainable food sources, and earth conscious living, they launched rawOne Foods. A Hollywood based raw “living” food snacks business which supplies stores such as Whole Foods and Yoga & Pilates studios around Broward/Dade counties.
Vanessa Zulón (chair) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, having received her Masters of Social Work from Barry University in Miami Shores, FL. She recently received the distinction of Board Certification as an Accredited Clinical Social Worker from the National Association of Social Workers. She currently holds a Senior Social Work position at the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami, FL. She works with the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Program where she case manages 35 veterans and their families, who may have served any time between Vietnam to Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. She assists them to balance their healthcare while meeting their basic needs to ensure they maintain their housing. And, for Vanessa, social work goes much deeper than a job, it is part of who she is. Having recently become exposed to the inequities in food availability and social justice issues related to food, she has become increasingly more involved in community projects to educate, advocate, and coordinate services. When she is not working, she enjoys growing her own organic veggies, practicing yoga and living consciously.
The Advisory Council
Deena Blazejack is Professor Emeritus of English at Miami Dade College where she was an endowed chair recipient. She was the co-founder of the College’s EcoUrban program, an interdisciplinary, residential honors program in downtown Miami for which she was awarded Recognition for Innovation of the Year by the League for Innovation in the Community College. Deena now serves on the national advisory board for the Earth Ethics Institute. In her retirement Deena is enjoying her organic kitchen garden, meditative walks on the beach, riding her bike and devoting time each day to writing. She is currently working on a novel.
Joyce DiBenedetto-Colton holds a Masters degree in Adult Education and Graduate Certificates in both Public Health and Environmental Studies from Florida International University. As former Director of the Earth Ethics Institute (EEI) at Miami Dade College (MDC) she now serves as a Core Council member of EEI and facilitates professional development Green Studies workshops for faculty. Joyce also served as Coordinator for the College’s Animal Ethics Study Center, receiving the 2003 Innovation in the Study of Animals and Society Award for Excellence presented by the Humane Society of the United States. As an adjunct faculty member at MDC, Joyce taught courses in Energy in the Natural Environment and Preparing for Student Success. In 1998 she received Recognition for Innovation of the Year by the League for Innovation in the Community College, for her collaboration in establishing the award-winning Eco-Urban Honors Program, a college-credit residential environmental program for students located at the historical Miami River Inn in East Little Havana. Joyce has worked to help establish a number of innovative programs at MDC since 1975, including the Environmental Center at Kendall Campus which broke ground in 1978. Her work in the general community includes establishing a Miami chapter of EarthSave International, as well as giving demonstrations and workshops in organic gardening and vegan nutrition. Joyce is a nationally Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).
Carlos Gonzalez holds a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Miami. He teaches classroom and WebCT English literature and composition courses at the InterAmerican Campus of Miami Dade College, where he also serves as Campus Coordinator for Service Learning. He was awarded an Endowed Teaching Chair in 2006. Carlos served as core faculty for the College’s Earth Ethics Institute where he was instrumental in the development of Green Studies Professional Development courses for faculty, designed to assist faculty in infusing their curriculum with concepts of Earth Literacy and sustainability. In collaboration with Florida International University’s Center for Urban Education and Innovation, Carlos led the effort to launch the Earth Ethics, Social Justice and Intercultural Literacy Certificate which fuses environmentalism and social justice issues. In addition, he helped establish an educational garden at Phillis Wheatley Elementary in Overtown, Miami’s original black community. The project is for elementary school students in the I Have a Dream Program, which provides tutoring and mentoring for students through high school and scholarships for college. Carlos helped design curriculum that integrates biology, writing and the arts. College students work on the garden to complete service-learning and field experience projects that explore education, racism, poverty and environmentalism.