Grow Dat Staff
Julie Gable
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Considering herself a country girl, originally from a small rural township sixty miles south of Chicago, Julie Gable loves being around people and can be the “class clown” at times. Her passion to help others, being a team player, and organizing tasks at hand, is the reason she loves working in the non-profit sector. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Communications/Public Relations from Illinois State University and has 30+ work experience years in marketing, public relations and development. Julie’s passion stretches even further as the wife of a pastor and mother of two sons, using her spare time to share in church activities, serving others in the local community, using creative skills to create printed programs and monitoring the media/sound system at church. She is thrilled to be a part of the Grow Dat team and to let others know of its mission of youth leadership.
Callie Rubbins-Breen
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E: callie@growdatyouthfarm.org
Growing up in rural Vermont, Callie's first jobs involved working on farms, experiences she would say were the catalyst for her continual interest in food justice and food education. Callie graduated with an Urban Studies degree from Columbia University and moved to New Orleans soon after that. For almost a decade Callie has centered her work around the power and joy of hands-on culinary training and has worked in various capacities around issues of urban food access, nutrition, hospitality, and culinary education. She believes deeply in youth education taking a vibrant, holistic approach to successful learning and is committed to upholding the Grow Dat VISIONS model.
Leo Gorman
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Leo Gorman earned his BA in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from Tulane University in 2000. He worked for three years in Mexico and Colombia with Witness for Peace, working with partners to educate U.S. citizens about the impacts of free trade policy on civil society and the environment. He earned his MA in History at the University of New Orleans in 2009 and has co-authored several published articles and book chapters on indigenous rights, popular education and immigration. Leo taught social studies at Warren Easton High School and ran market gardens near Xavier University in New Orleans. He has interned multiple seasons on three organic vegetable farms and is thrilled to be part of a project that merges his passions for experiential education, social justice and sustainable agriculture.
Kevin Connell
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Kevin Connell is an educator from Valparaiso, Florida. He started out in education as a paraprofessional for students with special needs, and has since taught social studies and science in NYC, English in Indonesia and Tanzania, and adult education in New Orleans. At Grow Dat, Kevin mostly teaches others about teaching, sharing his interest in popular education techniques and interdisciplinary, place-based instruction with the Crew Leaders and Assistant Crew Leaders who facilitate our programs. He believes that creating liberatory educational space is a key for building a just future. Kevin co-facilitates the VISIONS model and he holds a masters from Teachers College. Outside of Grow Dat, you'll find him cooking, working in the yard, or plotting his next visit to the beach.
Kaya Jones
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Hailing from the sunny landscapes of Florida, Kaya attended college for environmental studies and it was during her college years that she cultivated a profound passion for nurturing the Earth while growing her own food. Kaya’s heart thrives at the intersection of environmental stewardship and food justice, and she is devoted to sharing knowledge and fostering a sustainable future. Currently, she finds boundless excitement in her role with GDotG and the community-driven initiative. In her free time, you'll often find her strolling through nature, immersed in a captivating book, crafting delightful surprises for friends, or whipping up delectable treats in the kitchen.
Alex Sanders
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Alexander Sanders was born in Louisiana but moved to Tennessee after the hurricane. After a few years Alex moved back to New Orleans to finish school. As a junior attending G.W. Carver Collegiate high school he found his first job at Grow Dat. As a Crew Member working in the field and learning about sustainable agriculture he fell in love with the life of agriculture. He returned to Grow Dat to complete another year as an Assistant Crew Leader to help teach youth like himself about the importance of agriculture and social justice. In his third year with the organization Alex took on the role of Farm Fellow which has now transitioned to the position of Assistant Farm Manager. In the future Alex hopes to continue the lifestyle of agriculture and start his own recycling company.
Travis Cleaver
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E: travis@growdatyouthfarm.org
Travis Cleaver is a landscape architect and former business owner. Travis moved to New Orleans in 2002 from his family farm in West Virginia, and is happy to again take part in the farm life at Grow Dat. He studied architecture and permaculture design through Tulane University, and in 2007 started the landscape architecture firm EcoUrban Landscaping. Travis's work at EcoUrban focused on sustainable design and installation, native and edible plants, and forward-thinking water management, all of which Travis draws from in his work maintaining and expanding Grow Dat Youth Farm. Travis also enjoys carpentry, welding, drawing, hiking, live music and all manner of outdoor activities.
Jonshell Johnson
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E: jonshell@growdatyouthfarm.org
Jonshell has been working to transform her hometown of New Orleans since she was 15 years old and working passionately for education equity after Hurricane Katrina. Now, 5 years later, she finds herself demanding change through the scope of ensuring that her neighbors have access to affordable and culturally appropriate food. She serves as Crew Leader for the second time and finds that her experience at Grow Dat has further ignited her passion for its mission. Jonshell is a mother and identifies as an adult ally who inspires program participants to create positive change in their communities.
Learn more about education opportunities on the farm by visiting our Field Trip page!
Sara Smith
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Sara Smith was born and raised in New Orleans. She attended Benjamin Franklin High School where as a sophomore, she was introduced to Grow Dat. Sara was hired as a crew member for the 2015 Leadership Program and has continued to work with Grow Dat holding various roles since. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a Bachelors in Food Studies and Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sociology. Through working on the farm, Sara developed a deep love for growing food and working towards a future New Orleans where food sovereignty is achievable and is extremely excited to be back on the farm working with the youth program.
Kate Thorpe
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Kate was born in New Hampshire and spent much of her time growing up camping, hiking, swimming and exploring the diverse natural sceneries throughout New England. Seeking warmer weather, Kate moved to New Orleans in 2014 after graduating with a degree in history from University of New Hampshire and then attended University of New Orleans for graduate school in Public Administration. For the last near decade, she has been working in the service industry, as a sommelier and event planner, while also volunteering on local campaigns and community organizing. Though farming and growing vegetables is new to her, her work in wine sparked a significant interest in natural and sustainable agriculture and equitable labor practices and she can be found off work sipping and reading in her apartment full of leafy plants
Glen McKinney
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Glen is a New Orleans native from Gentilly, and started at Grow Dat as a crew member in 2018. He returned as an Assistant Crew Leader, helping to facilitate the Leadership Program, where he deepened his understanding of farming and discovered a love of teaching. Now, Glen runs the CSA and even drives the tractor in his role as Farm Farm fellow. At Grow Dat, he loves seeing people’s relationship with the land grow. Outside of Grow Dat, Glen enjoys skating while wearing cool glasses, painting, drawing, and reading fantasy and sci-fi. He also volunteers teaching 3-D printing at the New Orleans Career Center. In the future, Glen wants to go into education, possibly becoming a science teacher.
Brie Bryant
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Brie Bryant was born in Tampa, FL, before at a young age permanently settling down in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina. It wasn’t until returning to the city for middle school post-storm that Brie’s passion for social justice and equitable transformation within our systems ignited. During high school Brie began organizing as a youth and has not stopped since, broadening her lens of focus well beyond school systematic changes, into her love of birth work as a Doula serving the City of New Orleans and its outlying parishes. While working as a Crew Leader with Grow Dat, Brie hopes to strengthen her knowledge of sustainable agriculture through the scope of growing food and her skills in facilitation while working with the Assistant Crew Leaders.
August Green
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E: august@growdatyouthfarm.org
Son of the Mississippi Delta with heritage lines throughout the American Gulf South and Carrib, August was called by spirit to the continuous work of stewardship and caretaking. He is invested in the restoration of our living and nonliving kins habitat, maintaining the Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Indigenous and racialized Deep South communities, and redesigning our modern human connection to place and land in the face of climate change as residents of the gulf coast. August is constantly learning and refining his practice as a youth facilitator and mentor, caretaker, place steward, and community member and is so happy to be able to explore his passions alongside the young people of New Orleans.
You may recognize August from his previous and concurrent roles with Common Ground Relief, the New Orleans Children Youth and Planning Board, Speak Easy Farm, RIDE New Orleans, and the New Orleans Pride Center.
Harley Holiday
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E: harley@growdatyouthfarm.org
Harley Holiday grew up in California, where their love for wild landscapes was seeded at an early age. They began gardening within school programs at age six, a formative experience that showed them the importance of developing a relationship to place and sustainable food systems. They subsequently went on to work and volunteer on farms and ranches throughout the United States and Central America, after studying agroecology and organic farming in college. Harley feels strongly that everyone should have the opportunity to develop a relationship with the land on which they live, and believes that agricultural knowledge is a critical tool for exercising one’s agency. They are excited to have the opportunity to participate in work at Grow Dat that sits at the intersections of social justice, youth empowerment, and land stewardship – spheres of paramount importance particularly within times of climate uncertainty. Alongside their love of nature and working with youth, Harley is a ceramic artist and is pursuing a degree in social work.
Liliana Tabora
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E: liliana@growdatyouthfarm.org
Liliana Marisol Tabora was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, but grew up in the New Orleans area. She graduated from the University of New Orleans with a degree in Fine Art and a hunger for creating beautiful things for her community. Liliana has been working in education & working with young people for about 10 years, through school gardens, summer art programs, and teaching at schools. Through working alongside her mother in the garden, she developed a deep love & passion for growing flowers (among other things). Now, she is pursuing knowledge in sustainable agriculture, radical education, native restoration & creating new garden spaces for people & pollinators alike to enjoy. You can find Liliana deep in the swamps, marshes, or bayous identifying native wildflowers, cooking plant based foods, or snuggling her puppy dog.