Ab joined Metro Blooms in April 2021. They have a background in retail greenhouse labor, conservation work and an education in both Interpersonal Communication and Urban Forestry. Ab is deeply interested in native plant ecology and insects, and loves working hands-on in the diverse landscapes they care for. In their free time, Ab enjoys laying in the sun and spending time with their loved ones.
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.
Alexandra has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Religion from St. Olaf College. After graduating, Alexandra spent time working in healthcare before coming to environmental work. Her undergraduate research exploring the intersections of religion and the natural world inspired her desire to work directly with communities and how they relate to the environment surrounding them. In her free time, you can find her in her garden, spending time with her resident and foster dogs, or on the side of a trail trying to identify plants.
*Members of the Education Team work in various roles and program areas, sharing leadership responsibilities across the team. The team has decided to move away from hierarchical job titles in a reflection of this model.
Brady learned about Metro Blooms through the Blue Thumb Plant Finder tool while researching native plants last year. As he worked and learned alongside the plants, he quickly fell in love with gardening, fascinated by the complexity of ecosystems found in the tiniest spaces, and by the diversity of life they support. He’s in awe of the way focusing on the smallest scales has helped him feel more connected to the world at large, and in doing so brought him closer to community than ever before. Gardening has been a source of profound healing for Brady, and he’s thrilled to be spending more time working with plants and soil, learning about native ecosystems, and helping with projects that contribute to healthy communities and a more resilient climate.
Erin came to Metro Blooms after working as a librarian and youth worker for many years. They have been learning on the job about plants and the earth and is so grateful to have landed in a job where community care is centered.
Graciela first connected with Metro Blooms by finding a job through the Blue Thumb job board after an AmeriCorps term in forestry. She felt called to continue working in the environmental field and eventually found a role at Metro Blooms. Graciela appreciates the cyclical ways of nature and how connecting with the Earth brings the realization that we as humans not only rely on the Earth but it also relies on us. Graciela enjoys reading, various crafts and spending time with friends.
*Members of the Education Team work in various roles and program areas, sharing leadership responsibilities across the team. The team has decided to move away from hierarchical job titles in a reflection of this model.
Isabella met Metro Blooms through its Blue Thumb exhibit at the state fair. She has a background in Ecology and Conservation at Maastricht University, Netherlands, and has always loved hiking, gardening and spending time in nature. She’s very interested in deep ecology, food sovereignty and ethnobotany. She is excited to learn more about native plants and how to restore urban spaces to be natural landscapes and build rain gardens.
Jacqueline finds gratitude in being able to have the opportunity to connect with people across Minnesota to support the healing of our relationship with the environment. She has a background in art, design, and marketing and uses her experience to support the Marketing and Communications team and the Blue Thumb Education team. Jacqueline draws inspiration and peace from nature, applying that to different aspects in her personal life and art. In her free time, you can find her painting landscapes, chilling outside with her dog, Bronson, or at a live music event.
*Members of the Education Team work in various roles and program areas, sharing leadership responsibilities across the team. The team has decided to move away from hierarchical job titles in a reflection of this model.
Jaiden, a North Minneapolis resident, studies environmental sciences at Alabama A&M University. She became an environmental and social justice advocate to make communities of color more aware and more educated on climate change. In her free time she loves planting trees and traveling the world. She can’t wait to continue to make a difference within her community.
Jason works on neighborhood projects with Design+Build. He is working toward a Masters of Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota, and has lots of community-based work experience. He has a strong interest in tree care and is working towards his arborist certification, and he enjoys schoolyard design and environmental education. He loves to hike, run and be on the water.
Jennifer has a Bachelor’s Degree in Plant Science + Sustainable Agriculture from Cornell University and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from North Carolina State University. She has worked on merging ecological and aesthetic principles in site design for 16 years, including commercial and public projects at CLH Design in Raleigh, NC, as well as stormwater-focused residential and commercial design in North Carolina and Minnesota. Her work at Metro Blooms combines her passions for plants and planting design with engaging and educating people about creating resilient and beautiful landscapes. Jen leads the design team at Metro Blooms Design+Build, ensuring that equity principles are incorporated throughout company culture and projects. She has a strong passion for this work, leading design on numerous affordable housing projects, ensuring that design processes and implementation center resident voice, values and needs.
Jennifer graduated with a Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership from St. Catherine University and a Bachelor of Arts from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. She is excited to serve Metro Blooms’ mission, in partnership with donors and communities, to create resilient landscapes and foster clean watersheds as we strive to solve environmental challenges. Jennifer lives in St. Paul with her partner Ray and their two small dogs.
Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Minnesota twice over, with a Bachelors of Environmental Design and Planning and a Masters of Landscape Architecture. Joining the Metro Blooms team has happily provided a place for her passions in creative stormwater solutions and community health, education and all things green. Jennifer has been volunteering as a certified Master Gardener since 2011 and loves vegetable gardening and camping during summer months, or moonlighting as a freelance muralist during winter evenings.
On his second day at Metro Blooms, Jesus was already helping to lay out plants during a hands-on gardening workshop. Jesus is learning a lot about plants, an area of interest for him as he enjoys helping his mother at home in their garden. Jesus recently met several Metro Blooms partners at an event. It felt good to him to hear how they appreciate our work. He said there are many things we can do to help the environment, and we need as many people as possible to be part of the work.
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 Minnesota Water Steward.
Keegan started gardening during Covid, growing everything from veggies to flowers. She fell in love with native flowers! She took Sustainable Landcare Training to learn more about stormwater and rain gardens. She feels proud to be connected to an organization that prioritizes clean water, clean soil and community engagement. Taking care of nature is the most important thing to do right now!
Laila has been doing environmental justice work since she was 14 when she joined the organization Youth N’ Power and learned community organizing. Contributing to and supporting the well-being of her community is one of her passions. Over the last six years, Laila has participated in many apprenticeship programs, learning about trees, soil, sustainable building, compost and environmental justice, and is proud of her work sharing what she learns with community. Laila graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School and so far completed one year at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. One of her life goals is to travel the whole world!
Laura is passionate about community priorities and stewarding good relations with the earth around us. She became President + Executive Director in May 2022, after 10 years serving in other roles at Metro Blooms. After going to school for conservation biology and Spanish studies and working with community programming, Metro Blooms offered space to work at the intersection of people and planet, supporting both. Learning on the job, she combines a deep understanding of green infrastructure design, implementation, and care with a community-centric approach. She loves to hike and camp, is a reader, a mom, and gardener.
Lucia has a background in Communication Studies and is pursuing a Masters of Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota. They help design and install Design+Build’s neighborhood and city rain garden projects. They come to Metro Blooms with some ecological restoration field experience as well as lots of community organizing and volunteering. In their free time, you can find them line dancing, making ceramics, or hanging out with their cat.
Makayla is an environmental justice and social justice activist and advocate. She grew up in North Minneapolis, a heavily environmentally-impacted community. The community has the highest asthma rates in the state, is a heat island, and has the highest concentration of low-income black and brown people. Makayla joined Youth N’Power 5 years ago, where she has learned how to do community organizing in her community through the essential lens of environmental justice. She cares about serving her community and making intentional relationships with others. She continues to learn and grow her personal and collective knowledge around environmental justice, community organizing, and communication. At Metro Blooms, she does community engagement and focuses on planting trees, rain gardens, and boulevard bioswales to help improve the air quality, water quality and soil quality in North and South Minneapolis.
Manny is a Southside Minneapolis native but has lived in North and Northeast in recent years. Manny attends the University of St.Thomas. His jobs have always been focused on community and educating communities on social and environmental issues affecting them. He loves to connect with others. During his free time, he loves to explore Minneapolis on his bike and spend time with his dog.
A former first-grade teacher, Meg loves gardening and is studying landscaping and horticulture at Hennepin Technical College. Meg appreciates the intentionality behind connecting social and ecological justice at Metro Blooms, and likes Metro Blooms’ work with community. Currently she is experimenting with a cut flower garden at home and pursuing the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Megan has a background in science writing and arrived at Metro Blooms after serving as a Minnesota GreenCorps member with We Are Water MN. They are passionate about using community-centered storytelling to illuminate connections between humans, non-human life, and the environment. Megan enjoys caring for her pollinator garden and connecting to the earth through music and poetry.
*Members of the Education Team work in various roles and program areas, sharing leadership responsibilities across the team. The team has decided to move away from hierarchical job titles in a reflection of this model.
Michelle met Metro Blooms as a resident of a rental community that Metro Blooms was partnering with on a landscape redesign. Working as a project steward, Michelle helped lead activities, and recruited other residents to take part in planning and carrying out the work. At the same time she gained valuable experience in sustainable landcare — which has helped her greatly in her work at Metro Blooms.
Mikaela has a Bachelor’s Degree in Gender and Women’s Studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Prior to Metro Blooms, most of her work experience has consisted of case management and program coordination in the social services field. Mikaela is passionate about accessibility to education and resources, and looks forward to engaging with the community about best environmental practices in the green spaces that surround us. Outside of work Mikaela enjoys biking, cooking, art, thrifting and photography
*Members of the Education Team work in various roles and program areas, sharing leadership responsibilities across the team. The team has decided to move away from hierarchical job titles in a reflection of this model.
Having a degree in architecture, Neely didn’t resonate with the sustainability aspects in her field, and shifted towards landscaping when she moved to Minnesota in 2020 from Kansas City, Missouri. She has been car-free for over four years and continues to shape her life around the environment, since she believes respecting and helping improve the environment can be a thousand small choices you make daily. She is passionate about supporting pollinators, ecological health, and environmental justice. You can often find her on her bike, at a local farmers market, or with her feisty weiner dog, Pete!
Rich Harrison is a Registered Landscape Architect in the state of Minnesota, 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 more than three decades, 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. Rich believes that education, working directly with community and facilitating the understanding of how our actions impact our natural environment is critical to successful design.
