We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Diane Moss a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Diane, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

In 2018, a “for-sale” sign appeared at the gate at the Mt Hope Community Garden, a green space operated by PNV for more than 7 years. Our lease with the city for the property had expired and the city decided to sell. I was in a leadership position with Project New Village and when the “for-sale” sign appeared at the property, we needed to decide on our next move. Project New Village is a small nonprofit focused on food justice strategies using our experience with community organizing, advocacy and activism. Although well-endowed with dreams, relationships and cultural way making skills, it would take more capital assets to pursue purchasing this property. This option would substantially increase our investment in community revitalization and empowerment. Long story short, there were many factors to consider, from costs to impact to sustainability, however we weight ed the odds and the PNV leadership teams chose to take this opportunity for land ownership. We successfully placed a bid into the public area to purchase the land underneath the Mt Hope Garden. This was the first of many decisions that would change our trajectory from primarily grass rooted efforts to today, in 2024, managing the predevelopment activities for the anticipated construction of “The Village” – a multi-use commercial food hub – in Southeastern San Diego. This is an Equitable Food Orientated Development project valued at $10 million.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a 65-year-old native of southern California, born and raised in Los Angeles County residing many years in the city of Compton. Transitioning into adulthood, I came to San Diego for college and have remained here during my entire adult life. That said, I am a place maker of sorts. I have lived and worked in the neighborhoods of Southeastern San Diego for more than forty years. My lived experiences , a BA in urban and rural studies and range of career involvement with reproductive rights, youth empowerment, health , food, and environmental justice in the nonprofit sector, have prepared me for radical caring and system change work. These days, I focus my energy on transformative community rooted actions. As one of the founders and the managing director for Project New Village, I get to work along side my neighbors and colleagues addressing food justice issues. Project New Village serves as a catalyst for resident-led, community-rooted experiences that BUILD stronger neighborhoods; IMPROVE the neighborhood food supply chain; STIMULATE collective investment in better health; and MAXIMIZE the impact of investment to address social inequities.
Our programmatic efforts are all bottom-up efforts to drive change through collaboration and collective action to create our Good Food District, a geographic destination includes:
• Mt Hope Community Garden, an active agrarian space for learning, growing, and celebrating food.
• People’s Produce Mobile Farmers Market, an EBT accessible multi-site weekly market selling fresh, local, nutritious food for a fair price.
• PNV Growers Collective, a Network of backyard and neighborhood growers committed to a community practice to support food sovereignty agenda.
• Community Rising, a mobilization campaign to develop resident leadership, resiliency and consumer involvement .
I am most proud of our Equitable Food Orientated Development (EFOD) project The Village, we are currently engaged in a capital campaign to support the creation of Commercial Food Hub which will house Healthy Food Retail and operate as a Platform for Local Food Entrepreneurs, Wellness Champions, and Cultural Practitioners.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Although real estate is not my forte, I believe my resilience was demonstrated as we moved forward with the purchase of the property under Mt Hope Garden. Our collective vision resulted in plans for development, however key elders of the leadership team made their ancestral transition in late 2019, leaving me as the keeper of the values and strategies of our plans and it was clear to me that I had to maintain the vision and hold newcomers accountable for proposed innovations. My commitment to our process and desired outcomes has been challenged, but I have remained at the table and continue to make new connections to move the work forward.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I see myself as a social change agent and I am a believer in collective action, so relationships are very important to my success. I am at my best working within a network of righteous relationships. At the core of Project New Village, we are fortunate to have teams of individuals contributing their time and talents towards achieving our organizational mission. I only know what I know, but with the diversity of experiences, skills and tools represented in our collective, the outcomes are much more impactful and beneficial for our community.

Contact Info:

• Website: projectnewvillage.org
• Instagram: @projectnewvillage
• Facebook: @projectnewvillage
• Twitter: projectnewvillagesd

Image Credits
1. Jason Cardenas 2. Jason Cardenas 3. Eder Escamilla 4. Jason Cardenas 5. Jason Cardenas 6. Eder Escamilla