Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Dudas.
Diana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story is unique. I often feel like I didn’t choose the path that brought me to where I am today but I’m grateful, nonetheless. I really didn’t want to join the military, but I enlisted because I needed to support myself after graduating high school. My father was in the Navy for over 20 years and met my mom while stationed in the Philippines in the early 80’s. My older sister and I joined the Army together, but she left for bootcamp and training while I finished my senior year in high school. My ASVAB test scores allowed me to select an Information Security Specialist role and fast-forward 20 years and you’ll find me working full-time at Equifax as a Senior Director, Controls Lead.
I enlisted for six years with the US ARMY and was medically retired in 2008 as an E-5/SGT. After my military career, I decided to continue this cybersecurity path and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) degree in Computer Information Systems and a Certificate in International Business from Georgia State University. My cybersecurity experience sharpened with each organization I joined; SunTrust Banks (now Truist), The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, EY, The Home Depot and now Equifax. In addition to my role at Equifax, I am also a member of the employee resource network Black Organization for Leveraging Differences (BOLD). BOLD supports community initiatives that positively impact financial inclusion and literacy as well as access to credit for people of color. I am also a member and regional leader for the Sustainability Network.
So why did I go from being a seasoned cybersecurity professional to a beginner urban farmer?
The COVID-19 pandemic made me aware of this unrealized passion for urban agriculture. I knew firsthand what it feels like to go to bed hungry as a child and not understand why. Now as a wife and mother to an adventurous 3 1/2-year-old boy named Graham Oliver, I realize how challenging it can be for people to feed their family especially if they are in low-income/low-access communities. The pandemic opened my eyes to Atlanta’s local food insecurity rates, and I noticed people of color were the most impacted. I decided to do something about it and established grow dudas, LLC in January 2021. grow dudas urban farm will be cultivating nutritious fruits, vegetables, herbs, and fresh cut flowers this spring/summer 2022.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. My husband Adam and I have been trying to grow our family for the last two years. In November 2020, I underwent emergency surgery due to a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. I spent the next few months trying to heal both physically and emotionally. I used most of my time off to research and learn how to grow in my backyard, affectionately known as Graham’s Garden, and while also volunteering at the Metro Atlanta Urban Farm.
It’s been a struggle trying to manage a very stressful, full-time job at Equifax while growing my urban farm business grow dudas, LLC and growing my family. We just started our fourth round of IUI fertility treatments and are hopeful we can add another future farmer to our family.
We’ve been impressed with grow dudas, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
grow dudas, LLC is a minority-owned (Black & Filipino), woman-owned, disabled veteran-owned business. We are proud to be joining Atlanta’s urban agriculture movement in hopes of decreasing the food insecurity rates in Fulton County. We purchased a .54acre vacant residential lot in NW Atlanta in February 2022 which is strategically located in a food desert. The food insecurity rate in Carver Hills (NPU-G) Atlanta (Census Tract 87) is 17.3% compared to Fulton County’s rate of 13.5%. In addition to creating a new productive, income-generating space that creates new employment and educational opportunities for residents in the area, we plan to service bordering neighborhoods in West Highland (Census Tract 85) and Carey Park/Almond Park (Census Tract 86.01) where the food insecurity rate is 19% and 23.9% respectively.
Our mission is to cultivate a sustainable future in urban agriculture by expanding access to nutritious fruits, vegetables, herbs and cut flowers to low-income, low-access communities. We plan to offer residents educational food/farm demonstrations, a farm stand (weekends), farm tours (by appointment), educational workshops and pick-your-own events for community engagement.
We recently hosted Equifax employees at our urban farm to celebrate Earth Day in partnership with the Sustainability Network, and Our Own a nonprofit organization. We curated this exclusive educational event to demonstrate what it takes to be an urban farmer through the delivery of a series of workshops. We offer these hands-on educational workshops to organizations looking for new and creative ways to meet their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals.
I plan to leverage 20+ years of experience as a cybersecurity professional to research cutting-end technology and growing solutions to help revolutionize and automate the production of self-sustaining and replicable food systems. Stay tuned and follow our journey to watch us GROW!
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love how diverse our city is! There are so many resources for black women to accomplish their goals in Atlanta. I am learning that I’m not a fan of the bureaucracy; it hinders my ability in finding innovative solutions that currently align with city ordinances.
Although the urban agriculture zoning ordinance has been recently updated to support urban farmers like myself, it has not taken into consideration the tech-savvy farmer looking to implement sustainable and automatable solutions such as hydroponics in residential neighborhoods.
- Email: info@growdudas.com
- Website: www.growdudas.com
- Instagram: growdudas
- Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/growdudasLLC
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/channel/ UCtaIrrHyWfrzclkAUhFgb7g
Image Credits
Samuel McNair
