Darian Artis

School Garden Partners Manager

Darian is a DC native, artist, and educator who found a love for the land through a neighbor's small garden on their block. Being able to experience the beauty and healing that comes from growing plants, Darian has committed themselves to forever being a lifelong learner while sharing their love of plants and roots with others. 

They have a passion for early learning, especially through play, intentional, and nature-based experiences. Darian has worked in many facets of education from after-school programming to being a Director at a nature-focused preschool. While currently pursuing their Masters in Urban Education, Darian also loves to get lost on hikes, camp, catch fireflies, and play with their kittens Elora, Styx, and Rhea.

jillian fan

Resources and Trainings Coordinator

Jillian was born and raised in the DMV and grew up running imaginary food stands out of dirt patches in the park. After graduating from Georgetown in 2022, she was unenthused about pursuing careers in her field of study and decided, instead, to find work that felt authentic and sparked joy. She got her start in gardens as a Resources and Trainings Fellow for City Blossoms in spring of 2023 - learning and growing alongside our young gardeners and enthusiastic educators - and joined the team full-time as a Resources and Trainings Coordinator. Outside of the CB studio, you will likely find her covered in flour baking or floating around the local food system for good eats!

Hannah Harrow

Operations Manager

Hannah grew up around the DMV, always valuing her time spent exploring the outdoors. She found her passion for combining environmental justice and urban gardens while working with a cooking and gardening education program in DC public elementary schools. She further developed this passion by going back to school and focusing on sustainable agriculture and food systems along with urban sustainability. Hannah is excited for this opportunity to join City Blossoms and support their mission.

Willa Pohlman

Deputy Director

willa@cityblossoms.org

Willa started working with City Blossoms in 2012 as a rockin’ maintenance intern. After ending her internship she just wasn’t ready to go and joined the team full-time as an Educator. Originally from Vermont, Willa brings to this work her experience of growing up on her family’s farm and her passion for community development.

Cara Satullo

Community Outreach Coordinator

Cara had a childhood that was shaped by outdoor experiences. From making pottery out of clay in the neighborhood creek to harvesting vegetables in her family's garden, she has always been enamored with the beauty of the natural world. As a result, Cara became dedicated to fostering similar experiences for today's youth, which she has done for over ten years as a leader at her hometown Girl Scout camp and by volunteering and interning at several education-focused nonprofits. Originally from Ohio, DC feels like a home away from home for Cara after living here during her last semester of undergrad. She graduated with degrees in public policy and Spanish and is excited to continue growing closer to the communities and green spaces in DC.

Stephanie Solis

Youth Entrepreneurship Cooperative Manager

Stephanie grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and is the daughter of Honduran and Mexican parents. Deeping her relationships with plants and their spiritual, medicinal, and healing properties is how she hopes to continue decolonizing and healing from systems of oppression. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Change with a minor in Spanish and organized alongside immigrant Black, Indigenous and Women of Color in the labor movement. Her freedom dreams are to be a part of a farming collective with loved ones where movement leaders train in popular education, food justice, and healing justice.

tAYLOR vANDICK

Development Manager

Taylor grew up in Massachusetts, where she first developed a love of the outdoors while hiking and walking amidst the colorful leaves of New England fall. She loves finding connections to her home through the nature and food around her - from apple picking in MA to gardening and foraging in the UK. After receiving her master’s in applied theatre, Taylor co-founded Ardent Earth Collective, through which she created arts-based workshops with communities in London to engage folks in environmental education and activism through theatre and other interdisciplinary arts. She is so excited to grow her knowledge of DC’s incredible community and green spaces as a member of the City Blossoms team.

Rafael Woldeab

Executive Director

rafael@cityblossoms.org

Raf, a native Washingtonian and son of Eritrean immigrants, is no stranger to City Blossoms. He first joined the City Blossoms team in 2015 as a seasonal intern. Since then, he has remained an integral part of the team, serving on our board of directors and, most recently, as our board chair. He received his bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy from Sewanee: The University of the South as a Posse Scholar, and has over eleven years of professional background in community organizing and justice-centered program development. He is also the founder of Masc-Off, a community organization committed to dismantling harmful forms of masculinity. When not getting his hands properly dirty in the garden, Raf enjoys practicing photography, discovering new music, and playing recreational soccer.

Isa Zambrano

Community Green Spaces Manager

Isa is from Maryland, where she grew up making arepas every Sunday. Connecting to her Venezuelan culture in this way made food an essential focal point in her life. Further exploring every aspect of food has brought her to many community gardens in the DC area and expanded her understanding of how food gets on a plate. Prior to City Blossoms she combined her public health knowledge and bilingualism to serve at Lynbrook ES and DC Bilingual PCS as a culinary and garden educator, assisting in school food, and emergency food distributions. Isa is excited to dig deeper into the DC community through City Blossoms.

Nancy Reyes

Youth Entrepreneurship Cooperative Fellow

Nancy Reyes was born and raised in the DC Petworth area and is one of five siblings. She was born to an El Salvadoran father and Guatemalan mother. She has deep roots for the environment with a love for mountain scenery. She enjoys hiking, running, pilates and weight training. She is currently an undergraduate student at the University of the District of Columbia studying Urban Sustainability. She has a focus on Food Insecurity, Agriculture and Climate Change. She has a background in biology and switched majors because she found a passion in serving her community and environmental justice. Nancy’s one wish for her career is to be able to inspire young individuals to become interested in the environment and become leaders in the fight against climate change. She is excited to be on the City Blossoms team and to develop her skills as well as inspire youth to become more involved with Urban Farming and Agriculture.

Anna Woodward

School Garden Partners Fellow

Anna is joining the City Blossoms team as the School Garden Partners for the 2024 season. Raised by the beaches and marshlands of Charleston, South Carolina, Anna has a passion for connecting people with the land around them, especially when that land holds painful, heartbreaking histories. A DC resident for almost a decade, they hope to use their professional background in food service alongside experience in labor organizing to continue to build meaningful relationships and collective power in the DC urban gardening community. Anna is most likely to be found zooming by on their bike on the way for a scoop of Happy Ice Cream or a Coconut Crush on the Lyman’s patio!

Enzo Metsopoulos

Community Green Spaces Fellow

Enzo grew up in Baltimore, where he went to an elementary school that emphasized gardening and exploring green spaces within the urban environment of the city. His interest in nature blossomed, and he soon discovered a love for backpacking and the way that it connected him to his surroundings. 

After graduating from the University of Maryland and working within the labor movement for a while, he moved to DC and instantly fell in love with the city and the green spaces it had to offer. Enzo searched for a position that would help him to share nature with others, and he is extremely excited to experience the beauty of DC as a part of the City Blossoms Community Green Spaces team.

KORYN GUILE

Communications Fellow

Koryn is a budding environmental organizer and communicator from the DMV. Throughout her entire life, she has been inspired by educators and family members who nurtured her passion for green spaces and climate action. She studied environmental sociology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and is passionate about shifting the way we understand ourselves in relation to the natural world in order to fight for a livable future. Now, back in the DMV, Koryn is excited to promote the City Blossoms mission of equitable access to green space, encourage youth of color to pursue environmental career pathways, and uplift community stories! She plans to pursue future studies in environmental policy and urban planning to ensure equitable access to green space, housing, and transportation for all.

Rykia Amos

Program Fellow

Rykia is a DC native, raised in Wards 7 and 8, who developed their love for the outdoors while doing trail maintenance with The Student Conservation Association in high school. Since then, they have fallen even more in love with the natural world and are interested in the number of ways different communities have maintained their connection with the land and environment despite systemic barriers in place that make it difficult to access green spaces. Having studied Community and Environmental Sociology with a Food Systems focus in college, they are motivated to give back to their community through food access and education, and are excited to be helping out in the City Blossoms’ gardens as a Program Fellow.

Maria Ferraguto

Program Fellow

Maria is excited to join the City Blossoms team as a Program Fellow for summer/fall 2024. Growing up with a florist/preschool teacher for a mother, Maria feels right at home in City Blossom’s educational gardens. Like Maria, the rest of her family are crafty makers. Using whatever resources at her disposal, Maria designs creative programming and activities. She is passionate about art and nature, seeking storytelling opportunities where the two intersect. Indigenous epistemologies inspire her research and community outreach. Maria’s connection to DC is rooted in her connections to others. She dreamed of moving to DC at a young age and has found community through friendships, mutual aid, and performance groups. Applying her outreach and design skills, Maria will uplift City Blossom’s mission to create safe and inclusive outdoor programming. In her free time, she enjoys thrifting, trying new foods, and hanging out with her cat.

Beverlié Lord, Board Chair

Beverlié joined the City Blossoms board in 2016, where she served as co-chair of the Events Committee. Beverlié Lord is a multi-genre photographer based in Washington, D.C. She has established herself as a sought-after photographer with a distinctive style and an unrelenting devotion to capturing the essence of her subjects. Prior to launching her photography business, Satsun Photography, Beverlié served for over a decade as an early childhood educator in DC. When she's not behind the camera, she enjoys traveling with the love of her life, Chris, and their two remarkable sons, Noam and Solomon, as well as spending time with friends who feel like family.

Pamela Larmee, Vice Chair

Pam has been a board member since 2015, serving as the Co-Chair of the Development Committee since 2017. She is the Principal of Strategic Philanthropy Services, a fundraising consulting firm founded in 2007. Pam and her family live in Arlington, VA.

Arsiné Kailian, treasurer

Si is a founding board member for City Blossoms from her early days as a community volunteer and organizer in DC. She currently works as the Director of Finance for Women Enabled International, a nonprofit engaged in advocacy for the rights of women and girls with disabilities. Si lives with her family in Washington, DC.

Joseph Yarbough, secretary

Joe has been a DC resident since 2010 and a board member with City Blossoms since 2019. Currently, he is employed as a staff attorney with the D.C. Public Defender Service where he represents lower income people accused of serious crimes in D.C.

Carlos Duque, Development Committee

Jomo Graham, Development Committee

Francis Keller, Events Committee

Lauryn King Darden, Finance COmmittee

Alice Sadler, EVents Committee

Anna Nelson, Development Committee

Diogenin Matos, Development Committee