Founder’s Bio
Viviana Lindo was born in the central highlands of Peru where as a child she learned to love school and nature equally and to show reciprocity to Mother Earth. During her childhood, she was exposed to social and economic disparities as armed struggles in the Peruvian highlands created severe internal conflict, dramatically affecting her hometown. As a result, she emigrated to the United States at the age of 16.
After a long process of assimilation, acculturation, and hard work, she successfully completed her studies at California State University of Los Angeles with a degree in Liberal Studies with minors in Latin American Studies, Sociology and Social Gerontology. She later began a master’s program in Social Science through the Global Studies Program, receiving degrees from the University of Freiburg in Germany, Kwazulu-Natal University in South Africa and Jawaharlal Nehru University in India. Her studies led her to work in a wide range of areas: immigration, indigenous rights, social movements, independent media, sustainable development, and urban agriculture.
In her last position before she left for maternity leave, Viviana worked with many communities to help local residents gain access to healthy food and learn about its preparation. One of her main goals was to inspire young students to preserve biodiversity, to develop an awareness of the food they eat and to question the racial and socioeconomic inequalities in health. She enjoyed developing programs that helped young children and parents grow and prepare their own healthy food.
Viviana comes from a long line of indigenous wisdom keepers, cooks, farmers, entrepreneurs, and community builders. She is clear on what drives her passion and values her connection to life and people. As a mother of two young children, she emphasizes her values of love, respect, empathy, and reciprocity, both in her family and in the work she does in the community.
Viviana is a global citizen and an avid foodie. She loves cooking, baking, reading, crafting, traveling, watching foreign films, going on adventures, and spending time outdoors with her family and friends.
