About the Green Growers

San Francisco A.L.L. Team | New York City A.L.L. Team | Board of Directors | Board of Advisors | Administrative Team | Landscape Design Associates | Volunteers | Website & Technology Team | Funders/Contributors

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San Francisco A.L.L. Team

Bonnie Ora Sherk, Founder & Director, Chief Designer, Head Teacher

Susan Meyer, Garden/Ecology/Multi-Arts/Literacy/Nutrition Instructor

Susan is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine with 25 years of experience in private practice where she focused on Oncology, Women's Health Care, Homeopathy and Genral Practice, Mental and Emotional Illness, Chinese Internal Medicine and Pain Management. Susan designed, coordinated and taught community education classes on Women's Health Care. She was also responsible for initiating and organizing the Institution of Naturopathic Services for Outside Inn, a low income medical aid station.

Susan is drawn to teaching and creating gardens within the context of the school system. She is interested in how experiential learning offered through gardens can enrich and supplement the academic program within schools. Susan has extensive experience designing various edible, organic landscapes, with integrated pest management, crop rotation, compost area, cover crop, and irrigation. She was co-owner of Urban Organics, a business in Los Angeles that designed and installed urban organic edible landscapes. As part of this work, she also created curriculum and taught a training program on all aspects of organic gardening.

She received her BS in Acupuncture from Samra Acupuncture College, and holds a California Acupuncture License. She also studied Chemistry, Plant and Soil Science/Agriculture at University of Portland and University of Vermont.

Elyse Gay, Garden/Ecology/Multi-Arts/Literacy/Nutrition Instructor

Elyse is an instructor for the OMI/Excelsior Living Library & Think Park. Elyse graduated from the Santa Cruz Farm and Garden Program after her return from a 4 year bicycle journey around the world. She then trained at the San Francisco School of Architecture with an emphasis in landscape architecture.

She believes that the design of a garden is as nurturing to us as its content. Elyse has created community gardens in every town and city she has ever lived including roof tops and abandoned lots. She believes that growing our own food, seed saving, and rain water collection is now, more then ever, the way to create a sustainable future. Sharing her knowledge with children and creating curricula that introduce them to the wonder and power of the dirt and bugs that surround them gives her the hope that the vision of that future is possible,

Catherine Ai-Ying Chanse, New Media/Video Arts/Garden Instructor

Catherine is Life Frames' New Media/Video Arts/Garden Teacher and works with students at A.L.L. Branch Living Library sites in San Francisco. Catherine is interested in exploring and understanding the ways in which technology can be used to further learning, promote discussion, dialogue, and action within and between communities, and provide opportunities for expression and creativity.

Her vision for the A.L.L. program is to teach children and youth how to document their peers and their activities and work in the gardens, interview each other, and record their words, poetry and actions through audio recording and still and video cameras. Ultimately, these "life frames" will culminate in the A.L.L. Multimedia Archives of each Branch Living Library.

Prior to her work with A Living Library, Catherine worked as Coordinator of the Educational Technology Program at Phipps Community Development Corporation where she was responsible for the overall operation of the community technology center, and focused on ways to integrate technology to support academic instruction, further basic computer literacy skills, and build new media skills. She has many years of experience working within the nonprofit sector with a focus on education and access to technology issues. She has a MA in Multimedia from California State University East Bay and a BA in Sociology from Brown University.

Aaron Martin, Garden/Ecology/Multi-Arts/Literacy/Nutrition Instructor

Aaron is an instructor for the OMI/Excelsior Living Library & Think Park and the Bernal Heights Living Library & Think Park. He graduated with honors from UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in American Studies focusing on Gender Studies. His horticultural training crystallized through a 6-month apprenticeship program at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems in Santa Cruz from which he received a certificate in organic horticulture and agriculture. Given a long-time interest in the healing power plants, he furthered his plant knowledge by taking numerous classes with the American School of Herbalism, studying Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs. Aaron is also a massage therapist and Chinese internal martial arts practicioner.

Aaron has felt a deep connection to the so-called "natural world" since a very young age; something he looks to cultivate in the children that participate in the Living Library and Think Park program. As an instructor he seeks to empower the children through: experiences of beautifying their environment, lesson plans that support and augment their general scholastic experience, learning the origins of their food, expanding their palates to include diverse nutritious foods, raising consciousness around how their choices effect the environment for better or worse, learning the medicinal values of plants in our area, learning the correct and creative use of their bodies to prevent injuries and maximize the joy of garden work, and growing an appreciation for plants and their diverse ecosystems both local and global.

Aaron is honored to have to opportunity to work with the children of our diverse communities and to do so with such an amazing group of
fellow educators.

Kati Greaney, New Media/Video Arts/Garden Teacher

Kati is a multi-media/ garden teacher at A.L.L's Bernal Heights Branch at Juniperro Serra Elementary School and Child Development Center. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a B.A in Community Studies and an emphasis on Social Documentation. She did her field work as a photographer and teacher in Tamil Nadu, South India after the South Asian Tsunami in 2004 where she witnessed communities rebuilding themselves and coping with devastation by planting seeds and looking towards a new day. Kati has drawn tremendous inspriation from her work as an educator and photographer on projects in India, Brazil, and throughtout the U.S. She sees A.L.L as an empowering program for students to learn to live consciously and responsibly within their local and global community.

Kati is enthusiastic about sharing her passion for photography and art to create new styles of learning within the classroom and garden. She is excited to be a part of the rich tapestry of learning within the A.L.L team and believes that every child has enormous potential and that it is our job as teachers to help them to discover all that they are capable of.

Casey Cushing, Garden/Ecology/Multi-Arts/Literacy/Nutrition Instructor

Casey is a Garden/Ecology/Multi-Arts/Literacy/Nutrition Instructor instructor for the Chinatown A.L.L. Branch Living Library site in San Francisco. Casey Cushing is a lover of nature, a poet, and a fan of all foods fresh and delicious, especially the local ones! As an educator, she has led outdoor adventure trips, tutored children in Spanish and English, and designed projects to build literacy. She managed an organic farm in Monterey, overseeing a small CSA and weekly market ventures. She loves growing beautiful food, and preparing meals with friends, family and students. She believes sustainability is built into our daily actions, and especially what is on our plates ~ and the plates of young people. She aspires to help others make healthful choices about food, taking care of themselves and the environment in the process. She believes in project-based education, and is currently in a Masters of Education program at San Francisco State University. 

Zoey Kroll, New Media/Video Arts/Garden Teacher

Zoey is Life Frames' New Media/Video Arts/Garden Teacher and works with students at the Chinatown A.L.L. Branch Living Library site in San Francisco. She is an avid urban gardener and blogger, and loves to share this enthusiasm with youth. She’s also the co-founder of Pocket Seed Library, a seed trading and picnicking group.
 
Since graduating magna cum laude from Yale University, Zoey has spent the past fifteen years working in technology, landscape design, and community-based arts organizations. She is a partner and information designer at CivicActions, a consulting company focused on strategy and technology for progressive organizations.

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A.L.L. Youth Leaders

Our student youth leaders come from diverse communities and work with us in developing and maintaining the gardens and native landscapes. They also mentor the younger children in garden, ecology, and arts experiences and processes. They receive a monetary stipend for their work and dedication. High school and middle school students come from all over San Francisco to work with us as A.L.L. Youth Leaders at our Branch Living Library sites. College students also join us as interns and volunteers. In fact, 10 students from Grinnell College in Iowa spent their ten-day spring break with us in San Francisco planting almost 200 new California Native trees on the San Miguel Child Development Center Campus in March 2006.

Grinell College students plant 200 new California Native trees on the San Miguel Child Development Center Campus in March 2006.

Calvin Price, Summer Intern, 11th grade, John O'Connell Alternative High School

This summer, Troop 12, Boy Scouts of America continued transformation of asphalt and concrete into the OMI / Excelsior Living Library & Think Park. View photographs of them in action!

New York City A.L.L. Team

Matthew Katz, Past President, Roosevelt Island Residents' Association

Margie Smith, Vice President, Roosevelt Island Residents' Association

Lydia Tang, PTA, PS/IS 217

Judy Berdy, President, Roosevelt Island Historical Society

Erin Feeley-Nahem, PTA, PS/IS 217

Virginia Granato, President, Roosevelt Island Disabled Association

Dolores Greene, President of Roosevelt Island Seniors Assoication

Arline Jacoby, Roosevelt Island Visual Artists Association

Marilyn Peoples, Horticultural Therapist, Coler-Goldwater Hospital

Swee Lian Yi, Horticultural Therapist, Coler-Goldwater Hospital

Life Frames, Inc. Board of Directors:

Cornelia Connors, President & Treasurer
President, Connors Communications

Jay Begler, Esq., Secretary
Partner, Nixon Peabody LLP

Caryl Hodges, Ed.
Associate Dean, School of Education
University of San Francisco  

Sherrill Kazan Alvarez de Toledo
President, World Council of Peoples for the United Nations
President, Dag Hammarskjöld Park

Project Directors: OMI/Excelsior Living Library & Think Park / Bernal Heights Living Library & Think Park
(San Francisco, CA)

Marianne Bertuccelli
Neighborhood Services Manager, S.F. Recreation & Park Department

Rosemary Cambra, Chairwoman
Muwekma Ohlone Indian Tribe

Carol Husbands
Site Manager, San Miguel Child Development Center

John Ignacio, EdD
Vice Principal, Luther Burbank Middle School

Kathy Truett,
Former Site Manager, Junipero Serra Child Development Center

Jill Wynns,
Commissioner, San Francisco Board of Education

Project Directors: Roosevelt Island Living Library & Think Park (Roosevelt Island, New York)

Ron Becker
Director of Therapeutic Recreation, Coler-Goldwater Hospitals

Mandana Beckman
Principal, PS/IS 217

Robert Croonquist
Founder & Director, YouthArts (NY, NY)

Katia Genes
Green Architect; Teacher, The Child School (NY, NY)

Wayne Jacoby
President, Global Education Motivators (Philadelphia, PA)

Board of Advisors

Carl Anthony, Former Deputy Director, Community Assets, Ford Foundation (NY, NY)

Jared Blumenfeld, Director of SF Department of Environment (SF, CA)

Michael Telson, Former Chief Financial Officer of US Department of Energy (Washington DC)

Isabel Wade, Executive Director, Neighborhood Parks Council (SF, CA)

Shamina de Gonzaga, Special Advisor, President, UN General Assembly, Special Advisor for NGOs (NY, NY)

Kent Barwick, President Municipal Arts Society; Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (NY, NY)

Noel Brown, Former Director of UN Environmental Program (NY, NY)

Thomas Hartnett, Esq. (NY,NY; Washington DC)

Kris Giroh, Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch, Global-Private Client Group (NY, NY)

Daniel Roth, Co-Chair, US Partnership for a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (NY, NY)

Dean Koyanagi, Sustainability Coordinator, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)

Maraleen Manos-Jones, Board Member, Michoacan Fund (Washington DC)

Wendy Brawer, Founder & Director, Green Maps (NY, NY)

Susanne Anker, Chair, Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts (NY, NY)

Kathy Brew, Coordinator of Margaret Mead Film Video Festival, Museum of Natural History (NY, NY)

Bonnie Marranca, Publisher, PAJ: A Journal of Performance & Art (NY, NY)

Randall Ann Homan, Gestalt Graphics (SF, CA)

Administrative Team

Bonnie Ora Sherk
Founder & Director / Chief Designer

Stacy Boots & Catherine Chanse
Outreach, Administrative Assistance, & Digital Technologies

Ken Sun Bookkeeping & Accounting

 

 

 

Lauren Wyse
Strategic Planning Associate

Aris Silzars
Communications Technologies

Mark LeBow, Government Relations

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Landscape Design Associates:

Erin Bullock; Jeanette Hill; Doug Wildman

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Volunteers:

Parents, Teachers, Students, Friends, & Community Members

A Living Library Website Team (over time):

Bonnie Ora Sherk, Philip Malkin, Sean Scullion, Clare Z Puskarczyk, Avram Klein, Mike Suner, Brandon Wong, George Chan, Arleda Martinez; Joanne Brohmer; Michelle Smelser, Catherine Chanse

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Life Frames, Inc. & A Living Library are supported by grants and inkind contributions:

• California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection
• Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Inc.
• Flowercraft Nursery
• Flow Fund
• Ford Foundation
• Friends of the Urban Forest
• Hands On Bay Area
• Home Depot
• Mary Crocker Trust
• Nature Issues Inc.
• New York City Parks Department -- Operation Green Thumb
• Norcal
• Nurseryman's Exchange
• Office Depot
• Office of SF Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval
• Potrero Nuevo Fund of the Tides Foundation
• Presidio Plant Nursery
• Rex Foundation
• San Francisco Art Commission
• Scheuer Foundation
• SF Board of Education
• SF Department of the Environment
• SF Department of Public Works
• SF Mayor's Office of Children, Youth, & Their Families
• SF Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Beautification
• SF Mayor's Office of Community Development
• SF Public Utilities Commission
• SF Recreation & Park Department
• Strybing Arboretum Nursery
• San Francisco Foundation
• Volunteer Center

… and the many volunteer teachers, parents, students & neighbors who help bring the Branch Living Libraries to life!

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