A grower, teacher & proposal writer — on three continents.
farm · classroom · community · international development
Chrissy Soares designs edible landscapes and trains the people who run them. Based in Kingston, Ontario, she has worked in food and farming on three continents: an organic farm-to-table operation in Glenburnie, women’s farming cooperatives in Nicaragua, and youth programs in Peru. She works in English and Spanish.
harvest day · Unity Farm, Glenburnie
On the farm
From 2020 to 2024 Chrissy was Farm, Garden and Horticulture Manager at Unity Farm Inn & Spa in Glenburnie, Ontario. She ran the day-to-day operations of the organic vegetable garden that fed the farm-to-table restaurant, along with the fruit orchard, vineyard, apiary, berry patch and ornamental landscapes, and trained and led the farm staff.
In the field
Before that she completed two placements with Cuso International. In El Jícaro, Nicaragua, she was Agricultural Entrepreneurial Advisor to ASOMUPRO — an association of women producers — managing a sustainable livelihoods program across eight communities of small-scale women farmers and designing hands-on training tools for local staff.
In Cusco, Peru, she wrote the Provincial Development Plan for Youth Programs and a provincial directory of youth programs for the municipal government. And from 2004 to 2012 she was Team Leader and Regional Coordinator with the Global Youth Volunteer Network — writing proposals, managing budgets, recruiting volunteers and leading teams abroad.
In the classroom
Chrissy is an Ontario Certified Teacher in Intermediate/Senior Technological Education, Green Industries, through Queen’s University Faculty of Education (2025). She has taught Grade 9 Technology with a Green Industries focus, Hospitality and Tourism, and Civics and Careers at Sydenham High School, and held positions at Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic High School in Kingston and St. Theresa Catholic Secondary School in Belleville.
How she works
The goal is that your people can run it without her. Every engagement leaves behind real skill — not dependency.
Native plants, real soil, real budget. Not the one in the brochure.
Gardens that feed people and build skills, not showpieces.
“The goal is that your people can run it without me.”
Chrissy Soares
Timeline
Farm, Garden & Horticulture Manager
Unity Farm Inn & Spa, Glenburnie ON
Organic restaurant-supply garden · orchard · vineyard · apiary · daily staff training
Agricultural Entrepreneurial Advisor
Cuso International · ASOMUPRO, Nicaragua
Sustainable livelihoods program across 8 women's farming communities
Manager & Writer, Youth Development Plan
Municipal Government of Cusco, Peru
Provincial youth directory, program planning and local coordination
Team Leader & Regional Coordinator
Global Youth Volunteer Network
Proposals, budgets, volunteer recruitment and teams abroad on youth empowerment projects
Ontario Certified Teacher (Green Industries)
Queen's Faculty of Education · Limestone DSB
Sydenham High School, Regiopolis-Notre Dame, St. Theresa
Education & credentials
- Ontario Certified Teacher — Intermediate/Senior Technological Education, Green Industries (Queen’s University, 2025)
- Post-Graduate Diploma — International Development: Project Management & Design (Humber College)
- International Development studies — University of Havana, Cuba
- Honours Degree — Global Studies (Wilfrid Laurier University)
- Degree — Spanish (Wilfrid Laurier University)
- Kingston Food Policy Council — committee member
- Food Forest Kingston — committee member
Bilingual / Bilingüe
Available in English and Spanish for all design, training and proposal work — consultations can run entirely in Spanish if you prefer.
From the field
Work with Chrissy
Every engagement starts with a free 20-minute call. Fixed-fee proposals, honest timelines.