Monti Lawson is the founder and lead land steward of Catalyst Collaborative Farm and site supervisor and farmer-in-residence at WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village in the Mid-Hudson Valley. He is a Black and gay beginning farmer who has been a community gardener and urban farmer in New York City for more than a decade. He graduated from Farm School NYC and is an active member of the FSNYC alumni community.
Monti is also a member of Black Farmers United of New York State, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, New York State BIPOC Grower Support Network, and a member of the leadership advisory committee for the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Equity Fund. For 2023, he was honored to serve as the inaugural representative for Manhattan and Staten Island on the USDA Farm Service Agency County Committee for New York City.