Antonio Rodriguez

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY MANAGER

Antonio joined the Growing Huertos program in 2014 and quickly became one of the program’s most dedicated volunteers, helping with installations and site visits, hosting workshops, and mentoring new gardeners. He has a great passion for agriculture and community education.

*Hablo Español*
(I speak Spanish)

Angel Hammon 

HOME GARDENS
OPERATIONS MANAGER

 Angel (she/her) is thrilled to be working with Growing Gardens at the intersection of gardening and community health and wellness. As Operations Manager for the Home Gardens Program, she gets to work with partner gardens and farmers to extend the benefits of gardening and fresh produce to the community. She enjoys tending to her herb garden and baking (experimenting) in the kitchen with friends. 

Isabel Cruz

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
Inner Northeast Portland Area

Isabel joined the Home Gardens program in 2005 and quickly became one of its biggest supporters. She loves growing her own food at home, raising chickens, and spending time with her plants. She is a teacher for Oregon’s Food Bank’s Siembra La Cena (Seed to Supper) garden education course and a Promotor de Salud (Health Promoter). She has led many classes on growing your own vegetables, nutritional health, and healthy cooking. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

*Hablo Español*
(I speak Spanish)

Ceci Orozco

Washington County Coordinator
Washington County 

Ceci (Ella/she/her) is a lifelong learner, mother, mover, facilitator of holistic learning experiences, and bilingual educator. Currently, she is in her third year of a master’s program in Sustainability Education and Leadership at Portland State University. Ceci is from la Tierra del mariachi y el agave: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Her Mexican roots and family traditions have drawn her closer to connecting with nature’s abundance, beauty, and teachings. After moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2015, Ceci received her certification as a yoga instructor, and years later she completed a 300-hour Ayurveda Clinical Foundations certificate. She has taught yoga and meditation in Spanish to the Latino community in town and is excited to combine her passion for holistic wellness with the healing and liberatory power that growing our own food brings to our personal and collective lives. Ceci enjoys exploring the great outdoors of the PNW, playing racquetball, traveling, and engaging in rituals of self-care.

*Hablo Español*
(I speak Spanish)

Camilo Centeno

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
North Portland Area 

Camilo’s roots began in Colima, Mexico where he was born. As a child, he worked in the fields and later came to the United States. Camilo’s passions include helping families with limited resources, being involved in his community and spending time with his family and three children.

*Hablo Español*
(I speak Spanish)

Carolina Barroso

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
North Clackamas County Area 

Carolina, she/her, is a proactive Community Organizer at Growing Gardens, known for her positive, creative attitude and strong communication skills. She values teamwork and collaboration.

Advocating for women's independence, Carolina believes women should engage in farming, nurturing the land, and harvesting fruits and vegetables, alongside entrepreneurship and traditional roles.

Her role at Growing Gardens has honed her teaching skills, empowering gardeners to understand planting and harvesting, fostering sustainability. She aims to expand the program, inviting more to experience the joy of cultivating the earth.

Being connected with nature brings Carolina immense happiness. As a health promotion specialist, she considers herself a catalyst for change, working with her gardeners toward economic, environmental, and social transformations for a more sustainable planet.

*Hablo Español*
(I speak Spanish)

Cat Ayala

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER 
Southeast Portland Area

Kathy Berry

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER 
Gresham Neighborhood

Kathy (she/her) started out volunteering as a parent in an afterschool class taught by Growing Gardens when her daughter was in elementary school over 10 years ago. She then envisioned a garden transforming that same school. She was involved in that transformation process by getting garden beds built and teaching a garden class. She grew as the garden grew — evolving from a volunteer into a garden educator and now a Growing Gardens staff member. She loves teaching health and nutrition, watching young individuals thrive in a growing environment and being part of an organization that supports so many communities and is teaching life skills.

Angelica Cortes

HOME GARDENS 
COMMUNITY COORDINATOR
East Portland and Gresham Area

Angelica Cortes Mejia was born in Mexico and has lived in Portland for 12 years. Her favorite part of her role is helping people in her community grow and sustain their own source of vegetables and fruits. Her favorite part about having her garden is sharing what she harvests with her neighbors and building strong community relations through food. (Pronouns: she/her) 

*Hablo Español*
(I speak Spanish)

Shireen Duke

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
Northeast Area

Lacey Shirahama

HOME GARDENS
 PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR

Cascadia Health 

Lacey has over 10 years of experience working with youth facing mental and behavioral health challenges and is working toward becoming a Registered Horticulture Therapist to continue to provide this support through the medium of plants. She currently co-facilitates garden groups with Cascadia Health with goals around building community, learning about edible plants and exploring ways to interact with nature. Outside of work, she can be found playing trivia, doing jigsaw puzzles or hiking with her dog, Rye.

Romanet Leiva 

HOME GARDENS
PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR
Providence Milwaukie 

Roma, a social work advocate, studied agriculture in Santiago, Chile. Her path began in sustainable gardening workshops, igniting a passion for community and environmental connection. Post-university, she explored enology, quality control, and seed labs before moving to the U.S. as an import fruit inspector.

Her heart leaned towards community work, leading her to become a Garden of Giving coordinator. For two years, Roma has created spaces for the Latin community to embrace sustainability and healthy living, honoring nature as Pachamama. She collaborates with the Community Teaching Kitchen of Providence Hospital Milwaukie, organizing volunteer events, garden parties, and workshops on diabetes education and urban gardening.

Each activity reflects Roma's commitment to cultivating plants and community. Her drive to expand the program and amplify the garden's impact fuels her work, making her a vital advocate for a healthier, sustainable future.

*Hablo Español*
(I speak Spanish)

Erika Winters 

HOME GARDENS
PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR
Cascadia Health 

Erika Winters (she/her) has been digging up soil success for 30 years! From home gardens to small-farm food production, farm and garden retail to commercial consulting, to teaching the Urban Farm course at U of O, Erika is passionate about growing healthy soil and food for our communities. After earning her professional registration as a horticultural therapist, Erika joined the Growing Gardens team as a partnership coordinator with Cascadia Behavioral Health. She co-leads activities at group homes for people living with mental illness, developmental disabilities, addiction, and houselessness. She cares deeply about increasing access to gardens, providing garden education for health, and promoting life skills, wellbeing, and empowerment through meaningful activities.

Tami Clenard

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
Cully/Parkrose

Tami is a resident of Sumner, a small neighborhood in between Cully and Parkrose, the neighborhood that she serves. After moving here in 2015 she started gardening in the Helensview Community Garden. Shortly thereafter Growing Gardens supported her as a gardener through our Home Gardens program. In September 2023 she became a community organizer for Cully/Parkrose neighborhoods. She is very excited to be a part of this amazing organization and looks forward to working with other qualifying interested gardeners. Let’s turn lawns into food for everyone.

Lindsay Oberlander

HOME GARDENS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
North Clackamas County

Lindsay (She/They) is an educator and food justice advocate who is excited to be a part of the Home Gardens team serving as a Community Organizer in North Clackamas County. They are passionate about the healing power of communing with land and access to nutritious food for all. They feel grateful to be able to meet others in the community through the process of sharing the joy and abundance that comes with a home garden. In their free time, they enjoy tending to their own vegetable garden and spending as much time outside as possible, whether that's biking, camping, or hiking, with their two dogs. 

Rima Green

LETTUCE GROW 
DIRECTOR

As a Native American, Rima has experienced both foster care and incarceration. After a 30-year career in high-tech, Rima returned to her first love, gardening and working with individuals caught up in the correctional system. Rima directs the Lettuce Grow program which provides garden education to inmates in correctional institutions and juvenile facilities throughout the state of Oregon. (Pronouns: she/her)

Kate Bildsten

LETTUCE GROW
EDUCATIONAL MANAGER AND MID VALLEY COORDINATOR 

 Years of farming and gardening throughout California led Kate to study horticulture at Oregon State University, always with an eye towards incorporating those skills and lessons towards criminal justice. She is invested in sharing the joys of spending time outside with plants. Her other interests include pottery, marine biology, backcountry exploring, foraging, and sewing. (pronouns: she/her)

Keoni Young

LETTUCE GROW
BLACK OUTREACH MANAGER

Keoni was born and raised in Portland Oregon, he is continuing his education in urban agriculture after completing Master Gardening training, upon release from incarceration, Keoni has strived to educate and create spaces and programs for African American youth and people of color. He is passionate,
caring, freethinking, and in love with the work he is doing with Growing Gardens, Black Futures Farm and the Black Food Sovereignty Council. He hopes to make urban farming a reality for intercity youth and those who have experienced incarceration and food insecurity.

Dashiell Hock

LETTUCE GROW EDUCATOR

 
Dash is originally from Eugene, Oregon and has lived in Portland for the past seven years, working in various capacities for many of your favorite food-related businesses. His love for food and passion for food justice has guided him to Growing Gardens, where he hopes to help strengthen our local food system and end systemic hunger.