Mindy Cunha joined CLBL as the Central Valley FARMS Manager in May 2022. Mindy grew up in San Diego and had an awesome childhood enjoying the beauty and adventure that San Diego has to offer. When she entered high school, Mindy joined the San Marcos Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter where her passion for agriculture began. During that time she raised and showed sheep, beef cattle and pigs and held various leadership positions. In FFA she learned how to be responsible, be a leader and a positive advocate for agriculture. Mindy’s passion for agriculture took her to the Central Valley with the goal of furthering her education.Mindy earned her AS degree in Animal Science from College of the Sequoias and a BS in Agricultural Business from Fresno State. After college she worked for Taylor Farms in Salinas, helping manage all packing for fresh cut vegetables. Afterwards she pursued a career at the Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner’s office as an Inspector in Pesticide Use Enforcement. Still feeling like she hadn’t quite found her true passion, Mindy studied agricultural education. She taught agriculture in Hanford for seven years and obtained her teaching credential and master’s degree in Agricultural Education from Cal Poly.In the classroom, with her students was where she was the happiest.

Mindy enjoyed building relationships with students and watching them get excited when they learned something new. Along with teaching students skills, she wanted them to understand the importance of agriculture and how they can help the future of the industry. Life led Mindy to the Center of Land-Based Learning where she has the opportunity to teach students about agriculture outside of a traditional classroom and help the students become better leaders while preparing them for career success.In her free time Mindy enjoys spending time in her vegetable and cut flower garden, catching a new movie, walking her three dogs, traveling and helping her husband farm 100 acres of pistachios.