Karina Merced Arzola
Karina N. Merced Arzola studied Special Education at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus and was certified as an agroecological producer in the Josco Bravo course in 2022. She joined the Plenitud team in April 2023 as part of the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Her current role is to be the harvest and quality control coordinator where she seeks to maintain the highest level of our products for the community. In addition, she will be assisting in the creation of educational material on the farm. Her passions are music, animals, educating children, being in nature and creating art. In her free time, she likes to explore Puerto Rico, listen to music, connect with nature, and make crafts for her loved ones.
Vilmary Lugo Osuba
Vilmary Lugo Osuba was born and raised in Las Marías, Puerto Rico and lived there until she started her Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Design in the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Architecture. In 2020, she had the chance to serve with Plenitud PR virtually as part of the Bioconstruction program, where she volunteered for several months supporting with proposals for the building of SuperAdobe homes. After finishing her studies and deciding to come back to the mountain side, she continued to collaborate with Plenitud PR in different ways, from graphic design, to conceptualizing of structures. When she is not serving with Plenitud PR, she enjoys reading, painting, arts and crafts, or taking walks.
Giovanna Huyke
Giovanna Huyke is a renown chef, known for pioneering concepts in restaurants in Puerto Rico and the media, and presenting in cooking shows, all of which gained her the title of “Julia Child of Puerto Rico.” She was a part of over 10,000 cooking episodes, which reached millions of spectators daily, and which remained on the air uninterruptedly for 23 years. She has also published 6 cookbooks and 20 original recipe collections. Huyke is known for combining the use of local ingredients with traditional cooking practices, and has created a new style of lighter, healthier dishes that don’t sacrifice cultural flavors. Always moving, Huyke returned to her first love a decade ago: running a restaurant. Now located in Cambridge, MA, Giovanna Huyke is the executive chef behind the restaurant La Fábrica Central, a Caribbean restaurant located between Harvard and MIT, right on the edge of the biotech innovation district. Since its launch in 2017, the restaurant has obtained winning reviews from main news outlets, such as Boston Magazine, The Boston Globe, Phantom Gourmet, Best of Boston 2018 y Diner’s Choice 2019.
She returned to Puerto Rico to help the next generation of Puerto Rican chefs and entrepreneurs.
Karla Michelle Capacetti-Quintana
Karla joined the Plenitud PR team with a lot of excitement and desire to serve. Karla currently lives in Las Marías, Barrio Buena Vista, and it is a dream come true to be able to live in Boriké. Her Puerto Rican parents left the island when they were young, and Karla grew up in various places, mostly in North Carolina, where she studied environmental studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. There she had her first experience in an organic garden! Her master’s degree in Sustainable Food Systems from Green Mountain College and more than 10 years of experience in community food systems have prepared her for this new stage as a Holistic Educator at Plenitud PR in the Children and Youth program. If Karla had eight hands, she would be playing various instruments, planting, cooking, preparing herbal medicine, crocheting, and painting all at the same time!