PHOPs Team

Dr. Kathy Hosig, PhD, MPH, RD
Project Director

Associate Professor
Extension Public Health Specialist
Director, Center for Public Health Practice & Research, Virginia Tech

Kathy grew up in Mt. Airy, NC and lives in Blacksburg, VA. She has the privilege of working with communities across Virginia through Virginia Cooperative Extension and the VT Center for Public Health Practice & Research (CPHPR). Kathy enjoys pursuing funding to address priorities identified by community stakeholders and loves spending time with project staff and the community members served by VCE and CPHPR projects.

Lisa Homa
Program Evaluator

Senior Project Associate, Center for Public Health Practice & Research, Virginia Tech

Lisa is an evaluator for the Center for Public Health Practice & Research.  She works on a few projects for the Center, with most of her time devoted to PHOPs.  She particularly enjoys trying to turn data into information that can help to increase healthy food access in Petersburg.

Debra S. Jones, MPH
Local Project Director

Human Health Specialist, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia State University

Debra considers Petersburg home, having grown up in the city. Her passion is on chronic disease prevention and health promotion. The PHOPs program gives her the opportunity to encourage Petersburg residents to improve their health through healthy eating and moving more. Helping connect resources and collaborators, making sure that those often not at the table are not forgotten. Debra is ready to support Petersburg as it becomes “the” place to live, work, play, and learn.

Robert Noriega, MS
Health Educator

Healthy Living and Learning Center @ Petersburg Public Library

At the Healthy Living and Learning Center, Robert runs health education activities and programs at the library and at other community-based organizations throughout the city. For PHOPs, Robert works on the healthy corner stores initiative and with the Market at the Petersburg Library.

Ann Vargo, MS
FCS SNAP-Ed Agent

Virginia Cooperative Extension

Ann has worked with Virginia Cooperative Extension for over 20 years, providing community-based programming.  In her current role as an FCS SNAP-Ed Agent, she trains teachers and volunteers to deliver evidence-based nutrition curriculum to youth.  Another aspect of her job focuses on engaging with community organizations to develop policy, systems, and environmental changes that support choices made by families to eat better and be more active.  Ann is a native of the Greater Richmond area.

Pat Shell Caulkins, RN, BSN, MS 

Farm to School Project Coordinator 

Convinced of the transformational nature of gardening and cooking with children, Pat retired near her hometown of Petersburg to work with the Petersburg Public Library through the Healthy Living and Learning Center (HLLC) and the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s Healthy Community Action Team (HCAT) grant.  Pat has been partnering with PHOPs to improve access to healthy local food and connect health and literacy.  She is excited to be expanding her role in Farm to School activities as an official member of the PHOPs team.

Aiyana Gray
Project Coordinator

Aiyana grew up in Chesapeake, VA and resides in Richmond, VA. She has worked as a Nutrition Specialist at Holistic Approach to Obesity Prevention and Education (HOPE), where she taught nutrition education to children and families struggling with nutrition-related diseases. Aiyana is a passionate health educator with a goal of reaching as many community members as possible in her role as Project Coordinator for PHOPs.

Fancie Terrell
Local Project Director

Fancie Terrell is a mother, artist and activist living in Petersburg, VA. For the past ten years she has been working in food and social justice in and around the City. Fancie believes that fighting poverty is one of the most important ways to end systemic racism. In her role with PHOPS, she is most looking forward to finding new ways to serve and engage the Petersburg community.

Cheryl Bursch
Project Market Manager

Cheryl Bursch is the Market Manager for River Street Farmers Market and the owner of Petersburg Plant Lady. As a Project Coordinator for PHOPs, Cheryl oversees the POP! Mobile Market as well as The Market @ PPL. Cheryl and her husband Troy live in Petersburg. She is a Certified Market Manager, State Certified Horticulturist, and Master Gardener.

Marjie Southerland
Project Assistant

Marjie Southerland was born and built in New Jersey, but has been privileged to have performance, production, tour directing, and event coordination carry her to many different places across the country. For example, she spent 5 years in Williamsburg, VA acting and interpreting the lives of free and enslaved blacks of the 18th century. Pivoting during COVID-19, Marjie has joined the PHOPs team as a Food Distribution Assistant. She is very grateful for the opportunity to connect with and serve the community during these unprecedented times. Gaining a better understanding of how organizations work together for the betterment of the community has been a highlight.

Andrea Johnson
Food Distribution Assistant

Andrea Johnson is a Prince George, VA resident.  She has had the opportunity to live abroad as a military dependent. Andrea graduated with a degree in Family and Consumer Science and plans to become a registered dietitian. She was a volunteer with PHOPs her senior year and has been employed as a Food Distribution Assistant. Andrea hopes to continue nutrition education, to become more connected with her neighboring community, and to organize events that benefit the citizenship community.

Brenden Jackson
Farm to School Assistant

Brenden likes to think of himself as an urban agriculture enthusiast, but really he is just a big kid that likes to play in the dirt. Since earning his education degree from VCU, Brenden has spent his time teaching, growing, farming and eating food with kids across the country. With roots firmly in place, Brenden is excited to connect and grow with the Petersburg community.

Paris Boynes
Farm to School Assistant

Paris Boynes of Richmond, VA is a graduate of Regent University's film school, with a Master of Arts in Film and Television, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Old Dominion University. In 2008 Paris' love for horticulture developed when she was a volunteer on her church's urban farm at the Thirty-First Street Baptist Church in Richmond. The church had a partnership with Virginia State University, Bon Secours, Virginia Cooperative Extension, USDA, and Tricycle Gardens, and through USDA, hers was the first church in America to be registered as an urban farm. The church has floral, vegetable, and zen community gardens. Paris also worked as a learning garden educator for the Richmond non-profit Greater Richmond Fit for Kids, which focuses on targeting childhood obesity in the community.

Amy Wilson
Market Assistant

Amy grew up in Kentucky on a farm where she learned the importance of growing your own food and eating healthy food. She’s been in Virginia for 15 years supporting local CSAs and farmers. For the past 10 years, she’s been working in the fitness industry as a personal trainer and fitness manager working with mostly older adults on mobility and functional movement. Access to healthy food and supporting local producers has been something that has been important to her for a long time.  She is very grateful to have the opportunity to work with the River Street Farmer's Market and Pop! Market to provide access to healthy, local food to the Petersburg community.

Kim Smith
Market Assistant

Kim Smith grew up in Bedford County, VA. She earned her BSN in Nursing from the University of Lynchburg in 2004. She relocated to Dinwiddie County in 2007, where she lives on a small hobby farm with her husband, Mark, and their six children. Kim is a small business owner, president of the local elementary school PTO, and enjoys training in Tae Kwon Do.