Administrative Staff
Harry Rhodes, Executive Director
Mr. Rhodes has been with Growing Home for seven years. He initiated the first year of growing organic food and training people in 2002, and has overseen the growth of the organization, helping it become a model transitional job program concentrating on urban agriculture. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Wisconsin.
Rebekah Silverman, Director of Resource Development
Ms. Silverman joined Growing Home in June 2007. Rebekah is responsible for Growing Home's grants management, individual giving, web management, communications, and graphic design. She holds a Master's Degree from Purdue University.
Tegan Brace, Programs Coordinator
Ms. Brace is our CSA General Coordinator, coordinates volunteer and tour programming and other projects at our adminsitrative office.
Katy Collier, Administrative Assistant
To contact one of our staff members, please visit the Contact Us page.
Job Training Staff
Beth Gunzel, Employment Training Manager
Beth joined Growing Home in January of 2009. She holds a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has focused her professional career and personal pursuits on workforce and community development issues. As the Employment Training Manager Beth is responsible for the overall planning and administration of the Transitional Employment Program. She also works directly with Growing Home program interns teaching classes on financial literacy, civic participation and food systems.
Jumaani Bates, Job Developer
Jumaani teaches job training and personal empowerment to Growing Home Interns, through goal setting and effective job searching. In the process, he bridges a correlation to encourage the understanding of Growing Home's Employment training program and reducing negative larger environmental impacts. Jumaani has served as an advocate, promoting sustainable green jobs, urban agriculture, and economic growth in underserved areas, for the past five years.
Breanne Heath, Field Training Specialist
To contact one of our staff members, please visit the Contact Us page.
Urban Farm Staff
Tim Murakami, Urban Farms Manager
Mr. Murakami is a native Chicagoan. He holds a BA in Philosophy from North Park University. He began farming in 2008, when he lived and worked as a farm intern in rural Virginia as a summer farm intern at a community for people with disabilities. Tim works primarily at our Wood Street Urban Farm, and coordinates our booth at the weekly Green City Market.
Elspeth McGarvey
Rural Farm Staff
Tracy Noel, Rural Farm Production Manager
Tracy is a native Chicagoan, returning to her ‘roots’ after 20 years. She received a Bachelors of Science degree in biology from Northland College in the north woods of Wisconsin in 1988. Since that time, she’s tried her hand at many challenges and occupations including tree-planting, cleaning up after the EXXON/Valdez oil spill, sustainable agriculture research, for-profit and subsistence farming in numerous regions, landscaping, catering, teaching, natural building, tour guiding, fisheries research, and public speaking. Her most recent endeavors while living for 14 years in Oregon, include directing a small non-profit sustainability education organization and a Youth Garden Project, and helping to develop a vibrant movement to support healthy and just local food production for local consumption.
Joe Avon, Rural Farm Staff
Mr. Avon was born and raised in Streator, IL. He first got interested in farming when Ben Walker started working at Growing Home. 2010 marks Joe's fourth season with Growing Home.
Nathan Vargovcik, Rural Farm Staff
Kamal Rashid, Rural Farm Staff
Special Projects Staff
Larry O'Toole
Mr. O'Toole has been working in organic farming since 1990. His experience includes apple orchards, CSA farms, rural farms and urban farms. In 2001-2002 he ran the urban garden at the Su Casa Catholic Worker House in Chicago. In 2001 the garden won the 1st place for City Wide Vegetable Garden in the Mayor's Landscape Award Program. Mr. O'Toole has a B.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of Notre Dame.
To contact one of our staff members, please visit the Contact Us page.
Board
Valerie Denney, President - Valerie Denney Communications
Ivan Handler, Vice President - Illinois Department of Public Aid
Carolyn Ulrich, Secretary - Chicagoland Gardening Magazine
Eric Reese, Treasurer - Chicago Transit Authority
Lauri Alpern - ROI Ventures
Joann Blackman - Haymarket Center
Mitchell Saywitz - Builders Bank
Adam Schwerner - Chicago Park District
Garth Taylor - Metro Chicago Information Center
Advisory Council
Diane Doherty - Illinois Hunger Coalition
Suzanne Malec - City of Chicago Department of Environment
LaDonna Redmond - Institute for Community Resource Development
Karen Singer - Evanston YWCA
Jim Slama - Sustain
Tom Spaulding - CSA Learning Center at Angelic Organics
Margie Muchin Goldblatt - Terrapin Properties
Paul Youngstrum - USDA NRCS
Diana Leifer