Stephanie Folkens

Common Threads staffers come from varying backgrounds, but share a concern for children, a commitment to positive social change, and a love of good food and the communities food can create and sustain.

Stephanie first fell in love with fresh wholesome ingredients during her study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain.  After graduating with honors from the University of Illinois with a B.A. in Marketing, she joined Teach for America and moved to Houston, Texas.  With Teach for America, she taught 6^th and 7^th grade math and began the school’s after school cooking program.  Immediately she fell in love with teaching students healthy eating and cooking, and in 2010 moved back to her hometown, Chicago, to pursue a culinary degree at Kendall College.  During her time as a Kendall student, Stephanie began volunteering with Common Threads and upon graduating could not have been more delighted to join the Common Threads staff.