Staff Member

Becky Rice was hired as executive director in December 2007. She has an undergraduate degree in Business Finance and graduate work toward an MBA from the Carlson School of Management. She has a background in fund development and finance, with more than twenty five years in nonprofit management. Becky built her first raingarden after a neighbor shared the information he’d received at a Metro Blooms raingarden workshop. Awards: 2010 MCWD Watershed Heroes Award for Citizen Engagement and 2011 Environmental Initiative Award for Environmental Education.

Laura joined Metro Blooms in 2012 as their MN GreenCorps member. After her year of GreenCorps service, she began her role as a staff member in August 2013. She has a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota, as well as a minor in Spanish Studies. Working at Metro Blooms has allowed her to combine her passions for community engagement and field work and facilitates her daily education in water quality, nonprofit management, and equitable engagement. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, spending time at the lake and camping with her husband and two sons.

Rich Harrison is a Registered Landscape Architect with a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota. His work focuses on sustainable design, place making, and community development. Rich has worked on water quality issues for 21 years, including research at Mankato State University, working for the Met Council studying non-point source pollution, and research at University of MN focusing on transit-oriented development and organic Infrastructure. For Rich, on-site treatment of stormwater is the best way to prevent pollution and preserve our precious water resources, and he has focused his career on design. Rich believes that education and facilitating the understanding of how our actions impact our natural environment is critical to successful design.

Deborah has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and has completed post-grad work with licenses in Special Education and Family Education. She joined the Metro Blooms team in 2008. She has 30+ years of experience as an educator in public and private settings and formerly worked full time for the St. Paul Public Schools as a Special Ed teacher. Her background serves her well in collaborating with team members and responding to staff and client needs. She was inspired by Metro Blooms to install a raingarden on her property. She has interests in music, yoga and enjoys the outdoors.

Jennifer has a Masters of Landscape Architecture from North Carolina State University. She has been working in the landscape field for over 12 years and has experience in commercial, public, and residential design and garden installation. A transplant to Minnesota, she is very excited to be working as a designer for Metro Blooms to help protect the area’s lakes and waterways that she has come to love.

John graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. with majors in International and Environmental Studies and Philosophy. He worked as an educator in the Mid-Atlantic region for a few years—savoring every opportunity to help students draw connections between themselves and a greater world—before joining Metro Blooms as a Minnesota GreenCorps member in 2015. John enjoys reading, cooking, fixing things, every sort of people-powered movement, and the way atmosphere and stellar bodies play together to paint the sky. He is a certified Master Water Steward.

Mike graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Bachelor’s degrees in Botany and Conservation. He spent several years with the US Forest service in California conducting botanical surveys near Yosemite NP, before moving to the Twin Cities and starting a small landscaping company. Mike joined Metro Blooms in 2017 and is also currently working on a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota. He can usually be found in the garden with his chickens during free time.

Tara graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a Landscape Architecture B.S. in 2010 and has had experience with GIS mapping and botany. Since moving back to Minnesota in 2012, she has worked as a retail nursery manager and a residential landscape designer. Becoming certified with the Master Water Stewards program and now a facilitator of the course has provided her an avenue to become more active with the community, to help make a positive impact with stormwater management and engage with new stewards as they complete the program. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, biking, hiking, backpacking and is now remodeling her first home with her husband.

Aleli has a Bachelor of Arts in History of Ideas from Williams College. She has experience as a freelance writer, newspaper reporter and in publishing. Working for Metro Blooms has opened her eyes to the importance of the natural spaces in our urban environment. She has a great appreciation for the way Metro Blooms engages individuals to take action in their own backyards and motivates communities to work together to improve their landscapes.

Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Minnesota twice over, with a Bachelor of Environmental Design and Planning in 2008, and more recently, a Master of Landscape Architecture in 2018. Joining the Metro Blooms team since then has happily provided a place for her passions in creative stormwater and landscape management, as well as community health, education and all things green. Never one for sitting still long, Jennifer has been volunteering as a Certified Master Gardener since 2011, and is involved in multiple hobbies such as biking, gardening, and camping during summer months, or moonlighting as a freelance muralist during winter evenings.

Yordanose is a graduate of the University of Minnesota in Environmental Science Management and Policy focusing on sustainability and outreach in marginalized populations. She was a 2018-2019 GreenCorps member with Metro Blooms, working on stormwater management and urban canopy expansion as it relates to the engagement of underserved populations that are not typically engaged in water and climate change efforts.

James graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology, and minors in Biology and Wildlife Conservation. James then went to the University of Minnesota for his Master’s degree in Entomology, where he focused on describing the bee communities that forage on flowering bee lawns in Minneapolis. James joined Metro Blooms in 2019 to work on installing boulevard bioswales and turf alternatives to ensure water quality and provide forage for pollinators, and educate the public about the benefits of these plantings. James enjoys playing and watching sports in his free time.

Lilah is serving at Metro Blooms as a 2019–2020 Minnesota GreenCorps member. She is a candidate for a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences, Policy & Management, and a minor in Native American Environmental Knowledge at University of Minnesota. At Metro Blooms, she hopes to work with the Native community to install a raingarden and create more green space in her neighborhood. She enjoys visiting with friends and family in Chicago, playing traditional lacrosse, and traveling to dance at powwows in her free time.

Miranda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a Bachelor of Environmental Design and Planning in 2017 and a Master of Landscape Architecture in 2019. Miranda has 5 years of experience working as a gardener and landscaper in the Twin Cities metro area and joined the team in 2020 as the Metro Blooms Field Crew Leader. She is an avid plant lover and enjoys working with a crew to take care of and create functional and beautiful outdoor spaces for communities and individuals. When Miranda is not digging in the dirt, she can be found pursuing one of her many creative hobbies; painting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery, just to name a few!

Fernanda completed two years towards a B.S. in Engineering at University of Minnesota before starting an apprenticeship at Metro Blooms in 2019. With the engineering degree now on hold, Fernanda’s focus is on learning the ins and outs of landscape design, installation, and maintenance. Having grown up in the heart of Mexico City, Fernanda is fluent in Spanish and seeks to engage members of Hispanic, Indigenous, and Latin American communities.

Ben is a graduate of University of Wisconsin—Stout with a Bachelor’s of Environmental Science, with a concentration in Environmental Health, in 2017. Ben has two years of experience working for the Conservation Corps maintaining water trails and clearing invasive species across Minnesota. His first introduction to Metro Blooms involved installing raingardens as a cooperative project with the Conservation Corps. Ben hopes to expand his experience in landscaping and gardening at Metro Blooms. Ben enjoys spending time with friends and family, as well as camping and listening to live music.

Sonali is a second-year Master of Landscape Architecture student at the University of Minnesota. Sonali moved to the Twin Cities after spending five years in Detroit where she worked in the urban agriculture community to support a food-sovereign city. She recently spent a summer maintaining native forest plantings, building stone walls, and managing invasive species in Door County, Wisconsin. Sonali hopes to gain more hands-on experience with maintaining and installing better urban landscapes and connecting with people who are excited about changing how they relate to their landscape. Sonali is often plotting how to transform in-season vegetables into delicious creations, mailing watercolor drawings to her friends, and running or walking or sometimes sleeping in the woods.

Anna is a second-year graduate student in the Landscape Architecture program at University of California, Berkeley. She graduated from Carleton College with a degree in Studio Art and Environmental Studies and spent three years working in the Twin Cities before beginning graduate school. Anna is motivated by the understanding that the built environment directly influences our mental health, social lives, and physical activity, and she is eager to learn more about installation and plant dynamics of landscape design with Metro Blooms.

Erin is a current Master of Landscape Architecture student at the University of Minnesota (2021). With degrees in English, art history, and studio art, she combines her passions for design, community, and the environment in pursuit of her interests in stormwater systems, ecological restoration, and community space-making. Her experience reflects community-oriented art and design in cities across the Midwest, and she has discovered great joy in bringing people closer together and to their environment by getting their hands in the dirt.