Edgar Hayes

Edgar is the Executive Director of the non profit Freedom Farm Community.  He retired from the FDNY in 2020 and is excited to farm full time.  Edgar is a  Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church and  provides pulpit supply preaching on any given Sunday.  He also serves on two presbyterian committees; the Committee on Representation and the Racial Justice Team.  He will soon  be Commissioned to the Validated Ministry at Freedom Farm through the Hudson River Presbytery.  In his spare time (har har) , Edgar shares his knowledge and wisdom with other boards including:  Menno House, Radical Living, and Holmes Camp.

   

Alexie Torres

My name means “Defender of Humankind” and that has been my destiny path. I was raised in the South Bronx during one of the darkest times in NYC’s history, but I longed for others to see beyond that story to the beauty and sanctity of my community. In my early 20’s, I founded Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice where I labored with young people on issues from policing, to education and environmental justice. A cornerstone of my work was the reclamation of the Bronx River which was highly industrialized and inaccessible to my community. I co-founded the Bronx River Alliance, which today continues the work of protecting the river.

My journey has taken me to places I never imagined as a child of Borinquen, my ancestral homeland. I have spoken around the world about the sacred work of justice and protecting the most vulnerable among us. I have spent the last decade in philanthropy, most recently as Executive Director of Access Strategies Fund. I believe that the work of social justice is holy calling and have most recently launched the Soul of the Movement Fund to connect healers and wisdom keepers to social movements. I am a mother of two who strives to be rooted in love and iluminate what is sacred, wherever I go.

Sean McCognaghay

In 2002, Sean met his wife Kim at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, and they have lived at camps ever since. In 2006, after a stint at Drift Creek Camp in Oregon, they moved to Camp Deerpark. They have raised 2 boys there, Jack (age 14) and Elias (age 11). When not coaching youth sports or practicing parenting a teen and his protege brother, Sean works at the camp building cabins and facilitating volunteer groups. If you see people engaging in late night sports, Sean is probably there, and if you see a couple cross-country skiing at camp it's probably Sean trying to keep up with Kim. 

Ann Rader

Ann co-founded Freedom Farm Community after dreaming about it since she was in her teens. Ann and Edgar Hayes moved full time to the farm from the Bronx in 2005, with 2 y.o. Josiah and pregnant with Micah. Ann’s work at Freedom Farm Community is informed by many experiences, including her education at Earlham College and Wesley Theological Seminary, and previous job at Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice in the Bronx.