Our Team

Staff

Asimi Coleman

Youth Employment Program Manager

Asimi is a Rochester native with years of experience in youth development and formal education in Black Studies, Women's Studies, and Epidemiology. Asimi's main goal in life is to dismantle oppressive systems and to create safer spaces for marginalized people. She believes all justice work is intertwined and is excited to switch gears and focus more energy on food justice. In her free time, Asimi can be found rolling in circles for hours on quad skates, and she dabbles in backyard farming. Tomatoes are her favorite thing to grow each year - multiple plants of different sizes and colors!

Adenike Cunningham

Youth Employment Program Assistant

Originally born in the Nation’s capital and raised in P.G. County, Maryland, Adenike came to Rochester as a student of the University of Rochester in 2016. She double majored in Dance & Movement and Africana Studies. Her main passion as an undergrad was to research ways to restore intergenerational storytelling and to heal melinated and Indigenous people through the arts, including their connection to their land. After graduating in 2021, she worked as a Performing Arts teacher at Rochester Prep High School for 4 years. In the summer of 2025, Adenike worked with Taproot’s Summer Youth Program and fell in love. The rest is history!

Heather McKay

Operations & Special Projects Assistant

Heather has called Rochester home many times; here permanently since 2000. She is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and has been a professional photographer her entire life. Heather brings extensive knowledge in marketing, communications, and design to our team. Outside the office, she is turning her backyard into a permaculture food forest, loves making everything from scratch, and is an amateur mycologist. You can find her biking around the city, at the Rochester Public Market, or enjoying the libraries in Monroe County.

Nathaniel Mich

Executive Director

A lifelong resident of Rochester, Nathaniel joins Taproot Collective with a decade of experience in urban agriculture, community development programs, and nonprofit management. Nathaniel has been a member of the research team at the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, managed urban ag programs at Foodlink, served as the Board Chair of the South Wedge Planning Committee, and was a nationally recognized chocolatier with Hedonist Artisan Chocolates. He is the Chair of the Rochester Food Policy Council and holds a Master's in Urban Planning from the University at Buffalo. Outside of work, Nathaniel is an avid gardener, aspiring potter, and lover of tabletop role-playing games.

Steph Rawleigh

Garden Support Coordinator

Steph has lived in Rochester since 2015 and is passionate about inspiring kids and adults to embrace the land and get their hands dirty! They have a background in education and taught 5th and 6th-grade special education for 7 years in the Rochester City School District. Additionally, Steph has worked with community gardens and nature education in the city and currently farms a personal urban garden at their home in Swillburg.