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Meet Our Team

Timothy Chen

Timothy Chen

Executive Director

Tim joined the GGWNY team in November 2020 to supervise the day-to-day operations of the Community & School Garden program before moving into the Executive Director position in January 2023.

Sylvin Ashbrook

Sylvin Ashbrook

Land Stewardship Coordinator

Sylvin joined the GGWNY team in June 2022 as the Land Stewardship Coordinator. Sylvin has well over a decade of gardening experience and has an extensive background in native plant gardening.

Nina Coscia

Nina Coscia

Seasonal Zone Leader

Nina joined the Grassroots Gardens team as a Seasonal Zone Leader in the spring of 2024. She recently graduated with a Masters in International Relations from the University of Glasgow, where she also spent four years finding a love for community gardens.

Justin Baumgardner

Justin Baumgardner

Development Director

Justin joined Grassroots Gardens WNY in December 2022 as development director, bringing more than a decade of nonprofit fundraising and communications expertise to the organization.

Greg Wilder

Greg Wilder

Garden Education Coordinator

Greg joined Grassroots Gardens WNY in the spring of 2017 as the school garden coordinator. He has a bachelors degree in adolescent education and has been an avid gardener for many years.

Liliana Visca

Liliana Visca

GGWNY Intern

Liliana joined Grassroots Gardens in the winter of 2024 as an intern through the Empire State Service Corps. From Rochester, NY, her family’s long tradition of home gardening fostered a love for the outdoors and an interest in sustainable food production.

Loc Tran

Loc Tran

Program Manager

Loc joined the staff of Grassroots Gardens WNY in 2022. He has a degree in Botany from the University of Oklahoma and a passion for gardening and addressing food insecurity.

Kat Bordonaro

Kat Bordonaro

Community Garden Coordinator

Kat started at Grassroots Gardens in the spring of 2023 as a Seasonal Garden Zone Leader before joining the team full time in October 2024 as the Community Garden Coordinator. They have a B.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Maine at Machias and an A.A.S. in Horticulture from SUNY Niagara.

Grassroots Gardens WNY

389 Broadway | Buffalo, NY 14204

(716) 783-9653

grgbuffalo@gmail.com

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