Janice Banks
As President and CEO of Edible Education Experience, Janice Banks handles the overall administrative functions and financial management of this growing non-profit and also serves as Executive Director.
In 2014 Janice’s talent for organizing and fundraising put her at the foundation of forming Edible Education Experience as a public charity and directing $725,000 of funds to secure the property and build the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House & Culinary Garden, which opened in 2017. Her recent business and fundraising efforts have helped grow EEE into a remarkable community benefit with an annual budget of $400,000 that supports a small team of experts and a large number of volunteers. This experience now caps her past fundraising efforts which netted more than $150,000 in three years for Forest Lake Academy’s Varsity Booster Club and raised $900,000 as Development Director at Orlando Junior Academy from 2000-2009.
Janice holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from Pacific Union College and leans into her 10-year career in Risk Management when needed. She appreciates a variety of avenues for professional development which include courses at Rollins College through the Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership.
Currently, Janice focuses her volunteer efforts at Edible Education Experience (EEE) where she feels called to connect with the Orlando community. She also serves on the board of Orlando Junior Academy and with AdventHealth’s Circle of Friends. She is a faithful member of WholeLife SDA Church and sees God’s abundant provisions in bringing about the formation of EEE and its continued success.
Janice and her husband David have been married for 30+ years, and the couple’s two daughters are now grown. Janice loves her wonderful, generous, and supportive husband and is proud of her girls for their willingness to serve others.
Quote that sums up Janice’s philosophy: “Do your best, trust God with the rest.”
Brad Jones
As Garden Coordinator of Edible Education Experience, Brad Jones handles everything related to the 1,500 sq.ft. Culinary Garden, from planning the crops and coordinating edible lessons with teachers to providing hands-on experiences for garden visitors and harvesting the garden’s produce.
But Brad didn’t start his career as a horticulturist. With a Bachelor Degree in Accounting from Trevecca Nazarene College, Brad worked for a few years as an auditor at a hotel on International Drive. When he realized that accounting was not his calling, Brad switched gears to serve as a firefighter with city of Orlando for 25 years.
With a servant’s heart, Brad found a new calling in 2003, when his daughter was a first-grader at Orlando Junior Academy. Feeling a need to tie-in Florida’s natural beauty with what his daughter was learning in school, Jones began to see the school’s campus itself as a teaching tool. Not one to suggest an idea and simply walk away, Brad rolled up his sleeves and worked side-by-side with teachers and administrators to build a small garden plot.
Awestruck by the miracle of life in the garden, Brad tapped into his enthusiastic relationship with nature and food to help grow the idea from a simple schoolyard garden in 2003 to a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2014---complete with the debut of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House and Culinary Garden in 2017. Brad serves as one of the founding members of Edible Education Experience. He shares the gardening knowledge he’s gleaned through his on-the-volunteer-job training with students visiting the garden, with educators through the Edible Schoolyard Academy for Teachers, and with the community through presentations at EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival.
Married to Cindee Jones for 25 years, Brad and his wife enjoy watching their daughter, a soon-to-be-college graduate, pursue a career in industrial design.
Quote that sums up Brad: “I love dirt!”
Erica Asti
As Culinary Educator, Erica Asti designs programs and curriculum-based lessons for Edible Education Experience, with special focuses in classroom integration (including math, history, science, language arts), health and wellness, and sustainability. Erica previously spent eight years with AdventHealth for Children as a Program Coordinator and Health Educator, working to develop the successful Mission: FIT Possible program, as well as with the Healthy Weight and Wellness program for kids and teens. She is passionate about the health of the Central Florida community from a ground-up approach, and excited to use food and gardens as a tool for learning, connection, and to build food confidence! Erica is also a Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and a 500-hour Trauma Informed Yoga and Mindfulness Instructor.
Quote that sums up Erica’s philosophy: “Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.” - Gary Snyder
Abby M. Shackelford
Edible Education Experience is pleased to announce the recent hiring of Abby M. Shackelford to the newly created position of Business Development Director. Abby comes to us from Junior Achievement of Central Florida, where for over three years, she distinguished herself as Operations Manager. Her main duties include earned income development and expanding programs. She’ll be reporting to President/CEO Janice Banks.
If you happen to stop by the Kitchen House and Garden, introduce yourself. We know that Abby would like to meet you. She would love to learn more about your story and involvement with Edible Education Experience and any ideas you may have to help increase programming and funding for our organization.
Abby has a great passion for food, and has a Baking and Pastry Arts degree from the Culinary School of Fort Worth. Having been in the Central Florida area for over three years now, she spends her free time exploring Orlando and all it has to offer in the way of culinary adventures, entertainment, and unique experiences. She is excited to dive into the world of Edible Education Experience and help empower students and their communities through seed-to-table experiences.
Quote that Abby lives by: “A party without cake is just a meeting.” - Julia Child
Sarah McKee
As our Culinary Educator Assistant & Volunteer Coordinator, Sarah prepares for classes & events and meets with our volunteers to orient them about the Kitchen House & Garden. Working with students has given Sarah the opportunity to expand her scope on health education in the culinary arts. Before coming to EEE Sarah worked as a sous chef for a catering company that hosted cooking demos and team-building corporate events. Her hands-on experience leading others in the kitchen has been a great addition to our team.
Sarah has received her Master's in Public Health from the University of Florida with a concentration in Social Behavioral Science. Her love for the community has shown in her previous work on a community-based research project called Get FruVed, with a focus on dietary intake and physical activity. She is excited to continue her outreach in the community, influencing the lives of our students to adapt and learn new practices for well-being.
Sarah is always looking to learn something new, and in recent years got certified as a nutrition consultant by the AFPA. Her functional food approach brings a unique perspective to the EEE team.
Away from work, Sarah spends most of her time outdoors. Whether it’s standing-up paddle boarding, practicing yoga or tending to her home garden, she loves being active in nature.
Quote that sums up Sarah’s philosophy: “Eat well, live well.”
Kevin Fonzo
As one of the Co-Founders of Edible Education Experience and Chef Instructor, Kevin Fonzo works to help integrate cooking and gardening into math, science, literacy, and history lessons. He also serves as one of the lead instructors at our annual Seed-to-Table Teacher Academy. Since 2011, Kevin has taught cooking classes for Orlando Junior Academy alongside Chef Sarah Cahill, Chef Allyson VanLenten and now Culinary Educator, Erica Asti.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1983, Kevin began his rise to the top at Orlando’s Peabody Hotel, where he earned the “Best Brunch of Orlando” award from Glamour Magazine as the chef at Capriccio. In the 1990s, the Atlanta-based Peasant Restaurant Group scouted Kevin as chef for several of their restaurants. Afterwards, he stayed in Atlanta for a few more years, working at a handful of restaurants as chef, menu designer, and kitchen developer.
After his Atlanta stint, Kevin fell in love with Orlando-based Café Allegre and its College Park neighborhood. First, he worked at the Edgewater Drive restaurant, and then he bought it in 2001. He changed its name to K Restaurant and Wine Bar, which became one of Orlando’s first chef-owned-and-operated restaurants. Making his mark on the local food scene, Kevin helped pioneer the farm-to-table movement in Orlando, focusing on sourcing ingredients from local farmers. To keep his menu hyper-local, Kevin even maintained an 800 sq.ft. garden behind K Restaurant. In 2017, Kevin sold K Restaurant and set off to lead trips around the world through Art In Voyage. Lucky for us, when he is home he supports EEE by offering La Tavola dinners at the Kitchen House & Garden.
A member of the American Culinary Federation as a Certified Executive Chef, Kevin has garnered extensive media coverage for his outstanding culinary skills and won dozens of awards as well as a nomination for the esteemed James Beard Award. Over the years, he’s also had the privilege of working alongside culinary greats such as Susan Spicer, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, and Alan Susser.
A philanthropist at heart, Kevin serves as a member of the EEE Board and has volunteered at March of Dimes, Share our Strength for Taste of the NFL, American Cancer Foundation, and Second Harvest Food Bank. Kevin’s love for cooking, gardening, and helping led him to Orlando Junior Academy by first taking over the cafeteria’s operations and then teaching curriculum-based lessons through cooking. His efforts at the school didn’t go unnoticed. He earned a tour of the White House garden through Michelle Obama’s “Chefs Move to Schools” initiative. And Emeril Lagasse featured Kevin’s work and the schoolyard garden project on the Cooking Channel’s Emeril’s Florida TV show.
Quote that Kevin strives for: “I want kids to know where food come from.”
Sarah Cahill
As an independent contractor, Sarah Cahill runs our monthly Chef Night events where she pours her “foodie heart” into connecting with local chefs who she knows will bring good things to the table.
Leading up to becoming a founding member of Edible Education Experience, Sarah taught cooking classes for five years at Orlando Junior Academy alongside Chef Kevin Fonzo and helped develop our annual Seed-to-Table Teacher Academy.
Although she majored in Advertising/PR at Florida State University, Sarah found her true calling when she turned her career ambitions toward food. First, she got certified as a Raw Food Chef and Holistic Health Coach from Columbia University and Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City. Then she jumped into a series of fun, food-related roles, including nutrition stints in the sports world and the media.
Sarah tackled the demands as a nutrition expert for the NFL, serving as Healthy Chef for the annual Super Bowl Tailgate Party 2008-2016 and providing nutrition coaching to retired and alumni NFL players. Then she made a slam dunk as the Chef for the 2012 NBA All-Stars Weekend to benefit the Coalition for the Homeless.
Turning her sights to media, Sarah was the host of TV-45 Good Life Station’s Raw Food segments and co-authored the book 11 Weeks to Discover Nutrition. She also worked in marketing for Edible Orlando Magazine for two years.
An entrepreneur at heart, Sarah is also a Realtor and has developed a line of baby celebratory items for retail stores. And, in her spare time, Sarah is also an accomplished equestrian. In 2016, she won the Grand National Championship.
Very family-focused, Sarah and her husband David have five adult children and four grandchildren.