About Us 

Community Outreach and Education Manager

Jessica Paul

Jessica has been with the Community Gardens since 2014. She has been the garden technician, the gardens manager, administrator, and is now excited to devote more time as the garden educator for our Kids in Gardens program. She has been teaching children and adults in our garden communities for many years, helping to make our gardens learning labs for students of all ages. She is also an Arizona Master Naturalist, educating our entire gardening community on how we are connected with our larger Sonoran Desert Region.

BOARD MEMBER

Charli Olguin

Charli, a gardener at Blue Moon Community Garden, believes that her unique background can serve as a source of motivation for future gardeners. Coming from a Hispanic migrant farmworker family, she has faced physical challenges due to blindness in one eye caused by a childhood injury, as well as experiencing periods of houselessness. Through sharing pictures and stories, Charli takes pleasure in inspiring others by showcasing how her involvement in CGT has provided her with opportunities to cultivate gardens, foster community friendships, and enjoy the bountiful harvest of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Having resided in Tucson for over four decades, Charli has held various jobs assisting individuals in accessing food, which has allowed her to witness firsthand the necessity for communities to have access to fresh produce to supplement their grocery shopping. Charli’s deep connection to agriculture runs in her family, with both of her grandfathers being ranchers and farmers, and her parents having lived on family-owned farms until their twenties and thirties. As migrant farmworkers, her parents relocated the family between California and Arizona in search of employment. In fact, her father even shared stories of planting pecan trees in Sahuarita before Charli’s birth. She cherishes fond memories of her childhood, particularly the times spent picking strawberries in California. The lifelong love for nature and animals instilled by her family has instilled in Charli a passion and reverence for being responsible stewards of the gifts bestowed upon us by Mother Nature.

BOARD VICE CHAIR

Natalie Shepp

Natalie Shepp has been with the Community Gardens of Tucson since 2009, when she started the Highland Vista garden in her neighborhood park. She held the position of Site Coordinator for ten years and then joined the CGT board in January 2021. Natalie is also the Senior Program Manager for Outreach and Education for the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality (PDEQ), where she leads efforts to improve air quality and environmental sustainability in Pima County. Over the last decade, she has worked extensively with young people and adults, coordinating health and wellness education through the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension’s 4-H programs, including the Tucson Village Farm. Natalie graduated from the University of Arizona with a BS in Environmental Sciences and a Master’s Degree in Public Health.

BOARD CHAIR

Gillian Paine-Murrieta

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Brittany Guerrero

Brittany Guerrero is the organization’s first Executive Director. She has more than a decade of non-profit experience and joined CGT in 2021. She is a Northern Arizona University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in sustainable community development.  With a passion for gardening, Brittany is committed to creating a resilient local foodshed and ensuring that community members have access to healthy food options.

BOARD TREASURER

Jen Thorn

Jen started gardening with CGT when she and her teenage daughter rented a plot at the Shay-Shay Garden in 2021.  Her service with CGT is inspired by a love of gardening and the belief that gardens bring people together in a positive way, something she has witnessed while working as a “garden mom” in her children’s school gardens and as an educator with Tucson Village Farms.  As a physician and a passionate believer in the concept of One Health (the interdependency of human, animal, and environmental health), she believes that gardens are important places for health and well-being.  Jen currently works as a pathologist and is pursuing a master’s degree in Public Health with a One Health emphasis at the University of Arizona.  She graduated with an MD from Loma Linda University and a BA in Business Administration from Pacific Union College.  In her free time, she can be found gardening, cooking, hiking the Arizona trail with her kids, volunteering with local groups that better the Tucson environment, and supporting her children’s school, music, and sporting events.

BOARD MEMBER

John Brown

John Brown has been part of the Tucson community for over 38 years. As a longtime Farmers Insurance Agent, he has learned both interpersonal and marketing skills which he uses to assist the CGT in growing its community. Having joined the board in October 2022, he enjoys sharing the mission of the CGT with Tucson residents and businesses.

John loves fresh air and sunshine. Some of his favorite activities are mountain biking, running, hiking, backpacking, and camping. Other volunteer activities include hiking and biking trail clean ups. He also enjoys cooking with a variety of vegetables, especially ones that improve gut health, brain function, and reduce the risk of cancer. His passion for healthy eating makes him appreciate the CGT even more, since it makes fresh and healthy vegetables more accessible.

BOARD MEMBER

Cassandra Wensel

Cassandra is a Midwest transplant to Tucson and has been active in sustainable lifestyles here for 30 years. Relocating to the Sonoran Desert was transformational and eye-opening for her understanding of the importance of water and land stewardship. Cassandra was active in creating the Keeling Neighborhood Park and Keeling Community Garden during her time as a Board Member of the Keeling Neighborhood Association. She is a retired teacher and curriculum development manager for elementary education and is actively a writer, poet, artist, and healing arts practitioner. As a 500CYT yoga instructor, some of the primary forms of healing she offers are adaptive and accessible yoga and meditation with an emphasis on reconnecting to nature. She volunteers to teach mindfulness to youth groups. Recently having installed rainwater harvesting in her home garden, Cassandra is interested in helping bring these practices to the Community Gardens in the future. She enjoys the music, art, culture, microbrew community, camping, hiking, regional food enthusiasm, and amazing diversity that Tucson has to offer and is happy to serve the community by sharing the joys of gardening.

BOARD MEMBER

Walter Brown

I am a native Tucsonan. I live in Tucson with my wife and also have two adult sons who live in Tucson. I am a local realtor with over 30 years of sales experience. I have always had an interest in plants (growing plants and sustainable vegetation). I have researched chronic illnesses and have found that inflammation (a process common in chronic illness) can be lessened and controlled through a diet rich in plants. I would like to increase outreach to underserved populations improving and promoting their ability for self-care in relationship to health by access to nutritious food.

GARDEN OPERATIONS MANAGER

Alexis Avalos

CGT is thrilled to introduce Alexis Avalos, our new Garden Operations Manager! She comes to us with training and experience in regenerative farming, horticulture, and providing garden & compost education. In her prior work, she developed a program to teach children the joys of gardening! Alexis brings experience in community building and working with people of various backgrounds. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. Alexis is also a floral and ceramic artist and brings an extra layer of creativity to our team! Her passion for working in and growing connections in the gardens will build our community all whilst troubleshooting irrigation leaks and sustaining the gardens! Please join us in welcoming Alexis!

BOARD MEMBER

Kyla Maciosek

Kyla has been a part of the Tucson/Oro Valley community since 2018 and Arizona since 2013, but was born and raised in Southern Ohio. Her mom was a master gardener so Kyla spent a lot of time outside in their gardens planting sunflowers and (begrudgingly) pulling weeds. She has spent her entire career in environmental education organizations including the Columbus Zoo, Phoenix Zoo, & Desert Botanical Garden. In 2021 she opened her own business, Nature Created Play, where she provides nature play-based professional development courses to educators of young children as well as helps them design and build outdoor classrooms. Kyla is incredibly passionate about getting children outside as much as possible!

BOARD MEMBER

Denise Meeks

Denise, a science journalist, editor, and statistician, joined the board in July 2023. Despite lacking gardening skills, she brings valuable expertise in grant writing and over four decades of data analysis and research experience. Her role involves organizing various data for CGT, including human resources, demographics, gardens, grants, and media outreach. Denise’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and physics, along with four master’s degrees in systems engineering, geosciences, space studies, and science journalism. She also holds a doctorate in math education. In recent years, she has focused her studies on water-related issues concerning climate change, drought, conflict, and food insecurity at local, national, and international levels. Apart from her professional endeavors, Denise serves as an online tutor for Pima Community College, assisting students in algebra, statistics, and calculus. In her leisure time, she enjoys long-distance swimming, avid walking, and recreational cycling.

BOARD MEMBER

Jaime Hinojos