Trevor Claiborn Sr., is a 4-H Cooperative Extension Assistant at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky. An avid Agriculturist, and co-founder of Black Soil: Our Better Nature, throughout his career he has continuously sought ways to use lessons in agriculture to connect generations. Trevor is also an author, musician, environmental educator, youth program director, and public speaker. In 2017 Trevor and Ashley C. Smith co-founded Black Soil: Our Better Nature to help reconnect Black Kentuckians to their heritage and legacy in agriculture. Black Soil fosters the next generation of Kentucky Black farmers and chefs, and leads efforts to address racialized disparities and barriers.In 2015 while earning his B.S. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment at Kentucky State University Land Grant College, Mr. Claiborn created and developed “Farmer Brown Tha MC.” He used this platform to deliver presentations about agriculture, diversification of agricultural and STEM fields, and to deliver creative youth engagement strategies to tens of thousands of youth and families in Kentucky and across the country. This work led to the establishment of Black Soil, where he continues to use education in agriculture as a tool to connect generations. Mr. Claiborn has received awards from the Central Kentucky Diversity Consortium, the 1890’s Association of Research Directors Research Symposium, and been named as a Rising Star by the Kentucky Association of Environmental Educators (KAEE). He is also a 2018 ee360 Green Fellow, and a former member of the KAEE Board of Directors. Mr. Claiborn currently serves on the Principal advisory Board at Locust Trace Agri-science center in Lexington, KY and Governor Andy Beshear’s 2020 Agri-tech Council.
