Staff & Board
Staff
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director
Email: rebecca@cityblossoms.orgOver a decade ago Rebecca was asked if she would like to do a small gardening project with a group of kids in a local community center. From that point on she grew to see urban gardening as a way to combine her interests in art, community participation and everything green. Since then Rebecca has worked with children and youth of all ages. Rebecca has a BA from Fordham University, an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art.
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director
Lola Bloom has been interested in gardening for more reasons than her last name. Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, she was able to watch and learn from her parents working in the back yard. Lola became involved with communal gardening in 1999 while she worked with a youth summer program. After studying at Antioch College and Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, she joined dirt-loving forces with Rebecca to create City Blossoms. Lola is currently a graduate student at the University of Maryland and enjoys baking cupcakes for well-behaved kids.
Educator
Mia first came to City Blossoms as a volunteer in the Spring of 2008 and is now one of our workshop leaders. In the past, her interests in food production have lead her to work on farms in Washington State, Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mia also brings with her a passion for community empowerment and child education.
Educator
Nekia has been an educator in the DC area for 7 years. Her adventures began with teaching environmental science on the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers for outdoor education programs in the DC area. She enjoys educating communities about how to lead a sustainable and healthy lifestyles and is excited to be gardening and offering workshops in her neighborhood’s community gardens and spaces. Nekia received her BA in Communication Studies and is completing her MA in Special Education.
Educator
Katherine grew up in DC and is excited to join gardening forces with City Blossoms. She became interested in urban agriculture as a student at UC Berkeley and hasn’t been able to keep herself away from gardening and farming ever since. Katherine has worked as an environmental educator for several years in the SF Bay Area and Washington, DC and most recently returned from Ecuador after a year-long independent study on the country’s new food policy’s and their rural agricultural systems.
Administrative Assistant
Lauren comes to us from American University where she graduated with a B.A. in International Development. She first learned to be inspired by nature while “helping” her mother grow the family vegetable garden. Lauren strives to make the world a greener, healthier place. She loves Ultimate Frisbee, travelling off the beaten path, and indulging in delicious food and drink.
Maintenance Intern
Coy McKinney is a recent graduate from UDC’s law school that’s interested in the connection between food, community, and time banking.
Katie Rehwaldt, chairperson
Katie Rehwaldt is the Program Director of America the Beautiful Fund’s Seeds That Grow Hope program, the Co-coordinator of the annual Rooting DC urban gardening forum and is a gardener at Twin Oaks Community Garden in Columbia Heights.
Diane Newberg, vice-chairperson
Diane Newberg fell in love with D.C.’s parks and green spaces when she moved to the District in 1988. After working for many years on Capitol Hill and lobbying for issues such as alternative energy, she is now an independent consultant. Diane is originally from Michigan and has a fondness for the color green, Indian food and the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. In her next life, she wants to be a landscape architect.
Jennifer Freedman, treasurer
Jennifer Freedman is the Development Director of CASA de Maryland, the largest Latino organization in Maryland. Ms. Freedman has over seven years of experience in non-profit management. She has a B.A. from Northwestern University and will receive a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Maryland in May 2011. Ms. Freeman is a member of the Leadership Montgomery Class of 2008 & the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington’s Future Executive Director Fellowship Class of 2009. A native of the D.C. region, she hopes to contribute to making the world a more just and equitable place.
Nancy Kowalski, secretary
Nancy Kowalski currently works as an HR Manager at CentroNia, a bilingual educational and community development organization. Nancy has recently completed her PHR certification in HR and has a diverse background in Communications, International Relations, Education, and Customer Service. Outside of work, Nancy enjoys volunteering with youth and creating recycled art.
Dana Chieco, member
Brookings Institute, Metropolitan Policy Program’s Individual Relations Manager
Sam Hiersteiner, member
The Glover Park Group, Vice President
Timothea Howard, member
Timothea Howard is the Program Integration and Expansion Manager for CentroNia a community based, bilingual, multi-cultural learning center in Washington, DC. She is a community, labor and cultural organizer who served as a labor organizer with the American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees-Council 31, International Brotherhood of Teamsters and as a campus recruiter for the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute. Ms. Howard is also an artist with focuses on painting, photography and theater and is a member of Sophie’s Parlor Feminist Radio Collective one of the oldest women’s radio collectives in the US. In 1999, Timothea received the Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Fellowship award.
Trey Massey, member
5M Development, Founder/CEO
Steven Muñoz, member
Lee Arts Center, Director
Carmen Wong, member
Carmen C. Wong is the Artistic Director of Banished Productions and a neighbor of the Marion Street Intergenerational Garden. She can occasionally be found rescuing earthworms and overgrown Chard leaves in the garden. She plans on helping throw some rockin’ art-inspired garden parties with City Blossoms and putting her modest development skills towards growing a great organization.
Dara Zycherman, member
US Green Buildings Council, Neighborhood Development
Lola Bloom, member
Rebecca Lemos, member