SGN board of directors

Laurel Anderson
Laurel Anderson is a founding member of the School Garden Network. She worked as the garden teacher for 14 years at Salmon Creek School where she loved to cook up the harvest with students and look for interesting insects!
She currently is the coordinator of SGN’s Schoolyard Habitat Program- providing professional development opportunities and helping schools design and use habitat projects as an extension of the classroom. Laurel is also passionate about  seedsaving  and is very active with the Community Seed Exchange.
Amanda Dunker
Amanda Dunker comes from generations of home gardeners and wants everyone, (especially children), to experience the joy of growing some of their own food. She is passionate about water conservation, soil health and building a healthy garden ecosystem. Amanda is the CEO and Co-Founder of Avalow, the proprietary, ergonomic, and modern self-watering raised beds. When her hands are not in the soil, she is spending time with her fiance and fur-family in Healdsburg, CA and likely has her nose in a book. ​​
Paula Downing
SECRETARY
Paula Downing is an old hippie whose life was formed and transformed by the lessons she learned in San Francisco in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s:   
Service through work – see the higher soul in everyone you meet - find strength in each other – work together to create the world we envision.   
She has managed Farmers Markets in Sonoma County for 25+ years – mostly Sebastopol and Santa Rosa Original. Paula has been a board member of Slow Food Russian River for a dozen years. She has also been a paralegal on and off since 1988, has 4 children and 4 grandchildren, has taught high school in Jackson, Michigan, and was the garden assistant at Steele Lane School in Santa Rosa. Paula believes that souls are coming to the planet earth now with the intrinsic knowledge of the dire conditions we find ourselves in. Her work at Steele Lane confirmed this belief and gave her the opportunity to encourage and support these young beings who must take on the work of fixing this mess. She is hopeful that her experience with children, along with her philosophy of life, will add something valuable to the School Garden Network.
Natalie Goble
TREASURER
Natalie Goble is Chef/Owner of Handline restaurant and partner of Fern Bar both in Sebastopol. She has worked closely with local farmers and growers throughout her career running the restaurants and started a farm dedicated to growing produce for the businesses on the land where she was raised in west county. She is passionate about local food systems, and sustainability in the industry.  ​
Amber Napoleon
PRESIDENT  ​
Amber Napoleon has been living in Sonoma County for the past 16 years. She has a BA in Humanities with a focus on Sustainable Agriculture from New College of California and is a certified Nutrition Educator and Consultant. She has been able to blend her passions and work in both fields bringing healthy food to people while educating them on lifestyle choices that benefit both the earth and their health. In 2007, while working as a School Garden Coordinator at Steele Lane Elementary School, Amber discovered the School Garden Network and was proud to serve on the board from 2007-2012. She was active in many aspects of the organization and was head of the School Food Committee. Amber was happy to take a step back from it all for a few years to focus on starting a family with her husband. They have two beautiful children and a bountiful garden that she loves watching her kids grow up in.        ​

SGN staff

Laurel Anderson
SCHOOLYARD HABITAT 
PROJECT MANAGER
Laurel Anderson is a founding member of the School Garden Network. She worked as the garden teacher for 14 years at Salmon Creek School where she loved to cook up the harvest with students and look for interesting insects!
She currently is the coordinator of SGN’s Schoolyard Habitat Program- providing professional development opportunities and helping schools design and use habitat projects as an extension of the classroom.
Laurel is also passionate about  seedsaving  and is very active with the Community Seed Exchange.
Erin Bertsch
LEAD INSTRUCTOR, HEALTHY ROOTS GARDEN CAMP
Erin grew up hiking the Oakland hills and the islands around Oslo Norway. As a child she loved science, especially scientific investigations into her backyard’s soil. She began assisting outdoor science & gardening classes in sixth grade and has never looked back. Her number one goal in life is to get kids outdoors, largely as a form of preventative medicine. She cut her teeth designing programs in the parks & gardens of San Francisco teaching botany, biology, and ecology. Now in rural Petaluma she enjoys bringing her understanding of traditional ecological knowledge to gardening & land stewardship classes. In her free time you’ll see her building up compost for her food forest or reading up in an oak tree. Through teaching gardening, Erin finds that she can share her passion for science & ecological connection. With a focus on connection she brings fresh ideas to teaching creativity, empathy, and self awareness to kids of all ages.
Sue Davis
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Sue has 15 years of experience working with non-profits and community organizations that focus on sustainable agriculture and education. She is dedicated to the mission and vision of the School Garden Network and has spent many years previously serving on its Board of Directors and developing and evaluating its programs.   She has a background in farming and nutrition and is a founding and active member of the Bohemian Farmers' Collective. She holds a M.A. in Leadership and Humanities and a certification in Holistic Nutrition Education.  Sue is raising 2 young girls and enjoys the journey of motherhood while weaving together family, farming and personal interest for a dynamic and meaningful experience.
Julie Bartice
PHILANTHROPHY
​Julie Bartice is a high-energy executive with a commitment to excellence and an established expertise in fundraising and management. She is a proven leader with a focus on nonprofit best practices leading to sustainability and growth. As a fundraising professional with an entrepreneurial spirit, Julie has built both development departments and entire nonprofit organizations, collectively raising millions of dollars for the
nonprofit organizations she has represented.
Anne Loarie
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Anne's path in garden education has wound through studies at the University of Oregon, service in Peace Corps Panama as a Permaculture volunteer, time teaching in San Francisco Unified, and non-profit educational work. With her passion for gardening, cooking, the natural world, and social justice, empowering educators to take their students outside to learn has become a personal mission. Anne is also the Garden and Wellness Educator at Alexander Valley School where she integrates science curriculum with organic gardening practices and food literacy education. She envisions an education system that integrates whole child concepts through authentic, inquiry led, project-based learning so that our youth have the skills and opportunities to self-actualize in an increasingly hectic and yet isolating society.
Lynn Wheeler
COMMUNICATIONS
DIRECTOR
A native of Pueblo, Colorado, Lynn landed in California by way of long hot summers in the Panhandle of Texas on her grandparent’s farm.  Lessons learn there paved the way for her life as an environmentalist, a mother, a winemaker, and a business owner. Earning a B.S. in Botany from UC Davis, Lynn managed the CSA at the student organic farm, went on to cataloged the flora of Rocky Mountain National Park, and was the program director at Eco-Farm for several years before moving to Sonoma County to start a family and a winery.  17 harvests, 2 girls, Tofu the dog, a winery, and countless wines later Lynn is very excited to join the School Garden Network team. When Lynn is not at the winery or organizing files, her passion is in the garden with her girls or as the Garden Coordinator at the French American Charter School in Santa Rosa.  She values the lessons the garden can provide and strives to instill environmental stewardship alongside the joy of growing your own food.
If you're interested in learning more about our Board of Directors and our amazing staff,
​contact info@schoolgardens.org