Badiana Badio Eckstrom

Badiana Badio Eckstrom brings more than a decade of experience building the human infrastructure that helps organizations thrive, most recently in HR leadership at Regenerative Social Finance, and holds a Master’s in Strategic HR Management and Organizational Leadership from the University of Denver. She is also a writer and poet, the voice behind The Original Baddie and The Sister Field on Substack, a featured contributor in Black Women in Bloom, a performing poet at the Moon and River Cafe, and co-founder of Second Table, a poetry gathering at Arthur’s Market.

Why did you join the team at the Electric City Food Co-Op?
I joined because the work found the same instinct I have always led with, the instinct for building the systems that let people thrive, and this time that instinct got to work on something as foundational as food. Shortly after I came onto the board, the project secured two million dollars in state funding, closing a gap that had taken years to build toward, and I felt the truth of what I already believed, that the right infrastructure changes what is possible for an entire community. This is the same work I have always done, just applied to this wonderful city, I am now honored to call home.

What excites you about Schenectady?
I’m in process of writing my manuscript for a poetry book project, and there has been this recurring theme of the evolution of self, aligned with the historical evolution of Schenectady. This city has been evolving since 1690, when it burned nearly to the ground and the Mohawk helped it stand back up, and I feel that same instinct alive in every corner of it now. Schenectady named itself Electric City before I understood what it meant to be electric myself. I moved here and felt the land hold me the way our bodies hold memories, patient and permanent. What excites me is watching a downtown that has gone twenty five years without a grocery store get one built from the ground up by the people who live here and love here. As well as, knowing I get to be part of writing that next chapter of a city that has always known how to come back to its roots.