nothin Brent Peterkin Makes A Natural Move | New Haven Independent

Brent Peterkin Makes A Natural Move

Peterkin: “Up for the challenge.”

Two paths led Brent Peterkin to his present challenge — steering New Haven’s green brigades into a new era of equity.

He started following both paths in high school. On one, he discovered the humanizing power of urban nature preserves. On the other, he discovered the mind- and spirit-“freeing” power of conscious, plant-based eating.

Decades later he’s assuming the executive director position at Gather New Haven. That’s a newly fused nonprofit bringing together New Haven Farms with the New Haven Land Trust. They work with New Haveners to preserve green spaces, grow vegetables, promote healthful diets, bring kids to nature, and develop the next generation of eco-entrepreneurs.

Peterkin’s mission is to guide the merged entities into newly relevant terrain with an emphasis on social equity. That includes involving more people from black and brown parts of town.

We have found in Brent Peterkin an experienced leader with broad experience, an understanding of community, and the combination of passion and technical skills that can take our organization to the next level in community impact,” Gather board Chair Tyra Pendergrass Boomer stated in a release.

I’m up for the challenge,” Peterkin, who’s 42, declared in an interview on WNHH FM’s Dateline New Haven.”

He spoke of discovering urban ecology while in his teens.

I grew up in a concrete jungle” in the Bronx, he said. He landed a summer gig with an organization called Wave Hill. It brought him daily to a 28-acre green oasis in the Riverdale section of the Bronx to perform restorative ecological work.

Working in nature in the city inspired him, grounded him. He thrived there, soaking up the peaceful surroundings. I felt I belonged there. I felt it belonged to me,” he recalled. A lifelong connection to the outdoors was born.

Meanwhile, he was slowly developing an appreciation for natural foods as well.

He didn’t develop it overnight. It began slowly, after his mom survived a heart attack. His parents started dragging me to the health food store.” He was downing huge glasses of Swiss chard” and reading about plant-based diets.

A three-sport athlete, he was still enjoying meat. Then, one day in college 23 years ago, he ordered a chicken sandwich while at McDonald’s with a close friend. I took a bite. It didn’t feel normal.” He went vegan. Cold turkey.

At the time, I was the only person in the health food stores who didn’t work there. People thought I worked there, because I zipped through the aisles” knowing what he wanted.

It was a spiritual quest. He dived into Vedic teachings and fasting regularly to reexamine and reset his relationship to food. One nine-day fast in particular freed up my mind. It freed up my spirit. I became more aware.” To this day he fasts regularly, and spaces meals 22 – 23 hours apart.

Those quests position him to guide Gather New Haven’s diversity and equity focus at a propitious time. Nationwide, veganism has caught on among many segments of the African-American community (whether through Bryant Terrys recipes or Seventh Day Adventist teachings or, more recently, an influencer” named Tabitha Brown). Urban green spaces and community gardens and farms have caught on in cities like New Haven, as seen in the work of Gather’s predecessor organizations.

Markeshia Ricks Photo

Peterkin, at right, with Van Jones at a criminal justice forum he organized through Project Longevity.

Peterkin’s most recent professional stop may at first glance seem like a diversion from his paths. He served for six years as statewide coordinator of Project Longevity, a federal-state-law enforcement effort targeting young people most caught up in gun violence. (Click here to read a previous story about his work there and how it fit into his personal story.)

In fact, as Peterkin notes, his criminal-justice work dovetails with the mission of his new job: getting to the root of poverty, hunger and health disparities. Working with the community to promote more healthful alternatives. Seeking calm and well-being” amid chaos.

It’s all intertwined,” Peterkin said.

Click on the video above to watch the full interview with Brent Peterkin on WNHH FM’s Dateline New Haven” about his plans for Gather New Haven.

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