My name is Karma Francis. I graduated from Lycoming College in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Corporate Communications.

My deep-rooted connection to the Park Heights community stems from my personal experience as an African American - Caribbean woman and my passion for fostering sustainable living in communities that do not have the luxury of enjoying fresh produce. In my role, I have found my passion through building community and gaining more knowledge in sustainable and environmental practices at the plantation park heights urban farm.

I am interested in recruiting individuals to join me on this journey of sustainable living by introducing them to a different quality of life.

By cultivating healthy food sources within the city, I am empowering legacy residents, volunteers, and students to foster a sense of ownership over their food system.

My journey reflects a growing trend of young, educated African American individuals returning to urban agriculture.

During our mid-year cohort showcase, Karma was featured in our Member Monday spotlight series highlighting her community impact:

At Transform Mid-Atlantic, we are dedicated to our mission of Engaging Campuses in Communities. This week, we’re excited to highlight Karma Francis, a TMA AmeriCorps VISTA member serving at Morgan State University at the Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm in Baltimore.

Karma is in her second year of national service, a journey she describes as "bridge building." By leveraging her background in communications, she is helping to bridge the gap between the grassroots work of urban farming and the academic resources of Morgan State University.

One of Karma’s standout projects is the Morganale exhibition, a collaboration that brought together architecture and visual arts students to create a "canvas for storytelling." This project was designed to honor legacy by tracing the journey of land ownership and the evolution of the Park Heights landscape, while simultaneously showcasing resilience by capturing the spirit of the local community and the amazing impact of the Urban Farm.

By moving beyond simply identifying challenges, the initiative focused on building infrastructure and creating real-time solutions for food sovereignty.

The Morganale exhibition opened to the community on April 9th. For Karma, seeing the students bring this vision to life was "absolutely iconic."

"It was a very powerful reminder of what happens when we do bridge that gap between our universities and our communities." — Karma Francis, TMA VISTA Member

A huge thank you to the Mellon Foundation for funding this project, and to the team of farmers and partners—Farmer Chippy, Farmer Tiara, Farmer Block, and VISTA partner Farmer Liam—for making it all happen.