Our Staff
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Lauren Zappone Maples
Executive Director Lauren co-founded PEAS Community Farm & Urban Orchard at Cunningham Elementary in 2011 and became the founding executive director of PEAS in 2015. Prior to leading PEAS, she was a classroom teacher with Austin ISD. In 2014, Lauren received the John F. Ahrns Award for Environmental Education from the Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin and was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Grant which allowed her to spend a semester studying place-based outdoor education in New Zealand. In 2016 she received the Fulbright Alumni Grant where she extended her research into school garden programs in the US. Her research has been highly influential in the development of school day programs, community initiatives, and the long-range organizational goals of PEAS. Lauren also worked as environmental educator for the City of Austin and taught as an adjunct professor at 2 local universities. Lauren is currently a co-chair of AISD's Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee and serves on the Central Texas School Garden Network's Leadership Team. |
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Kate Martin Program Manager/Curriculum Developer Kate Martin is an outdoor-lover, former AISD teacher, and native Austinite. After graduating from Oberlin College with a degree in literature, she immediately found a job teaching outdoor education in the mountains of California and was hooked on the power of teaching science in in the outdoors. She joined the Peace Corps as a Community-Based Environmental Management Volunteer and served in the dry forest region of northern Peru. After returning, she attended Lewis and Clark College and received her Masters in Teaching, specializing in Integrated Science. She taught science in the English Language Development Academy at Webb Middle School for five years, and moved to Kealing's Academy program where she also taught the elective class in gardening. She watched the garden's power to inspire ownership, connection and curiosity in her elective students, and jumped at the chance to work with a program that supports teachers to provide this opportunity as part of the core curriculum. |
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Maite Saco
Lead Outdoor Education Specialist/Curriculum Support Maite has had a dedicated relationship with teaching early childhood education for as long as she can remember. Upon graduating from Emory University with a BA in Education and History, she joined Americorps for City Year in New York. As a corps member, one of the many projects she got involved with was Grow NYC, a grassroots organization based in the city where she spearheaded the community garden at her school. It was during her time with City Year that she began helping students engage with the environment, gardening, and conservation. This ignited a passion in her that was deeply rooted in her upbringing. Having grown up in Costa Rica, environmental conservation was always at the heart of her education. School field trips entailed being engulfed in the rainforest linking all of her science lessons to her surroundings. Most recently, Maite pursued a masters in Bilingual Education at the University of Texas at Austin, where she dove deep into cultivating culturally diverse curricula with an emphasis on critical pedagogy. Maite is thrilled to combine her years of experience with her bilingual background to help form environmentally conscious students through outdoor education. Emma Talley Outdoor Education Specialist Emma has her BS in education from Texas State University! After graduation, Emma began working in Round Rock ISD with the fourth graders at Elsa England Elementary. During her 5 years as a classroom teacher, she became the go-to garden educator, environmental club sponsor, & ran the vermiculture program during science events. Emma knew her passion for working with kids was found in the garden, so she left teaching with a mission: To learn more about being a steward of the Earth and bring her findings back to her students. On her journey Emma became certified in permaculture design, built her proficiency in landscape design, and spent some time working on an educational farm. It was through these experiences that Emma found PEAS where she had begun fulfilling her mission by combining her passion for kids with her passion for nature. |
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Camila Restrepo Outdoor Education Specialist Camila attended Fordham University as an English Major in New York City where she quickly learned that she wanted a more hands-on approach to her education. She then received her certificate in Horticulture from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. After cultivating her green thumb and volunteering at several city parks she wanted to extend this knowledge to the youth and collaborated with Teens For Food Justice as a Mentor where she learned the value of providing youth with tools to be stewards of their food and land. Camila then moved to Austin, Texas and joined 4H Capital as an instructional specialist where she cultivated a curriculum that emphasized outdoor education and centered student interest. As a native Colombian, Camila is thrilled to use her mother tongue to create a more inclusive learning network and a larger community of land stewards. Nancy Zepeda Kitchen Education Specialist Nancy is certified in clinical herbalism from the Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine and has experience teaching kids and adults about nature and medicinal plants. She is a certified community yoga instructor from the Amala Foundation; she infuses mindfulness practices into her personal life and professional life. As a trained facilitator, she has worked closely with other facilitators and AISD's Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) team to provide mindfulness training to principals, teachers, parents, and students across the district. Her love of nature and the outdoors has taken her to Hawaii, California, Mexico, and Guatemala to study different sustainability and farming methods. Nancy brings a peaceful and culturally competent perspective to the work she does and the interactions she has. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and dancing salsa! Shannon Kors Development & Operations Shannon came to PEAS after several years of fundraising and event planning for various nonprofits. She was the Event Sales Manager at the Austin Film Society and the AFS Cinema, Event Manager for Bike Austin's Bike to Work Day, Event Coordinator at The Seton Fund and the Development Director at the Junior League of Los Angeles. She's also dabbled in the film industry in both Austin and Los Angeles - she worked as a producer for TourGigs which films and live streams concerts and had a career in many different aspects of film and commercials in LA. Shannon graduated with a BA in Psychology (which she claims to use everyday) from Vanderbilt University. She loves movies (obviously), live music, getting outdoors in any capacity, sewing, laughing, and connecting with kids of all ages. She's very excited to be working with PEAS! Shannon has always loved peas, especially since green is her favorite color. |
Our Board
Our board is committed to being an informed, engaged, and diverse Board with roles that use the strengths of the individual Board members to provide oversight of financial and program alignment with mission, and contribute financially.
Anne Muller - Board Chair
Anne is the Outdoor Learning Specialist for the Austin Independent School District. She is passionate about creating systems to help green our school yards, empowering teachers to take their lessons outdoors, and connecting children to nature. Anne has been with Austin ISD for 12 years as both teacher and now Outdoor Learning Specialist. She got her BA in American Studies at Mount Holyoke College and her MA in Science Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas, Arlington. Anne is also a mother of two and loves spending time outside with her family.
Ché Wisdom - Treasurer/Board Member
Ché is an experienced fund-development professional who has spent the last 7 years partnering with non-profits to develop and achieve their fundraising goals. She is passionate about promoting equity and access to the outdoors, as well as ensuring that leaders of color are represented in environmental decision-making. Despite her terrible allergies, Ché loves spending time outside with her husband Josh, and their leash-cat George.
Blake Smith - Secretary/Board Member
Blake Smith has consulted and worked with companies specializing in telecommunications, solar energy, construction and premier custom home building. He holds an MBA in entrepreneurship from St. Edwards University, and has lived in Austin since 2000. He is an avid gardener who enjoys growing seasonal fruits and vegetables. He especially enjoys growing vine ripe tomatoes & pink eyed purple hull peas. Blake joined the board to be a part of encouraging gardening for generations to come.
Margaret Terronez - Board Member
Margaret is a social worker who has worked in government service and administration for over 17 years. She was instrumental in raising funds to build the infrastructure for PEAS Community Farm, and she and her two children have been active volunteers since it was started in 2011. Margaret started on the farm leadership committee transitioned to our nonprofit board when PEAS became an official 501c3 in 2015. She is passionate about being part of a community based organization that educates children and assists schools in agricultural and sustainability.
Jade Place-Mathews - Board Member
Growing up in Australia, Jade loved nothing more than working with her Grandfather in his vegetable garden. After finishing her university degree in Design & Marketing, Jade moved to America in 2004 and is still getting her hands dirty. The mother of one, is owner of El Diablo Tacos (Brooklyn) and East Austin’s Farm to Table, Hillside Farmacy, where she works with her chef and local farms to help create their seasonal menus and curate a large grocery selection filled with local products.
Elijah Kelley - Board Member
Elijah is an experienced leader at the intersection of strategy, operations, and finance. He has held multiple managerial positions in software firms, most recently serving as Senior VP, Strategy & Business Development for the innovation arm of a large healthcare system. Elijah advises multiple startups, consults on market research and strategy, and is a mentor for Texas Health Catalyst. He holds an M.S. in Technology Commercialization from UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business and a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary.
Kerriann Duffy - Board Member
Kerriann is 2nd grade Math and ELA teacher at Reilly Elementary and has called Reilly home for the past six years. The first two years were dedicated to serving students in Special Education and then the last four years I have been a classroom General Ed teacher with a classroom family of my very own. When she is not in the classroom you can find me outside teaching PrimeTime Afterschool enrichment classes or hanging out with our chickens. In addition to being a Reilly staff member she also served in several positions on the Reilly PTA board. One of her proudest moments was receiving a grant from ST. David’s Foundation, Equity in the Parks, for $130,000.00. These funds will support the creation and installation of Social Emotional Learning gardens for the Reilly community for futures to come. Kerriann has worked closely with PEAS for the past 3 years as a partner-teacher and is looking forward to now supporting the organization as a board member.
Paul Brady - Board Member
Paul is the co-founder and CCO for Resolution Games, founder of Carve Communications, and a lecturer for the University of Texas' Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations. He has more than 20 years of experience in ushering organizations and products to market and helping established players redefine their space or break into new arenas. Paul’s counsel and implementation across public relations and marketing has impacted the tech, games, and nonprofit sectors. He is an avid outdoorsman and budding gardener with a passion for education, equality and sustainability.
Anne is the Outdoor Learning Specialist for the Austin Independent School District. She is passionate about creating systems to help green our school yards, empowering teachers to take their lessons outdoors, and connecting children to nature. Anne has been with Austin ISD for 12 years as both teacher and now Outdoor Learning Specialist. She got her BA in American Studies at Mount Holyoke College and her MA in Science Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas, Arlington. Anne is also a mother of two and loves spending time outside with her family.
Ché Wisdom - Treasurer/Board Member
Ché is an experienced fund-development professional who has spent the last 7 years partnering with non-profits to develop and achieve their fundraising goals. She is passionate about promoting equity and access to the outdoors, as well as ensuring that leaders of color are represented in environmental decision-making. Despite her terrible allergies, Ché loves spending time outside with her husband Josh, and their leash-cat George.
Blake Smith - Secretary/Board Member
Blake Smith has consulted and worked with companies specializing in telecommunications, solar energy, construction and premier custom home building. He holds an MBA in entrepreneurship from St. Edwards University, and has lived in Austin since 2000. He is an avid gardener who enjoys growing seasonal fruits and vegetables. He especially enjoys growing vine ripe tomatoes & pink eyed purple hull peas. Blake joined the board to be a part of encouraging gardening for generations to come.
Margaret Terronez - Board Member
Margaret is a social worker who has worked in government service and administration for over 17 years. She was instrumental in raising funds to build the infrastructure for PEAS Community Farm, and she and her two children have been active volunteers since it was started in 2011. Margaret started on the farm leadership committee transitioned to our nonprofit board when PEAS became an official 501c3 in 2015. She is passionate about being part of a community based organization that educates children and assists schools in agricultural and sustainability.
Jade Place-Mathews - Board Member
Growing up in Australia, Jade loved nothing more than working with her Grandfather in his vegetable garden. After finishing her university degree in Design & Marketing, Jade moved to America in 2004 and is still getting her hands dirty. The mother of one, is owner of El Diablo Tacos (Brooklyn) and East Austin’s Farm to Table, Hillside Farmacy, where she works with her chef and local farms to help create their seasonal menus and curate a large grocery selection filled with local products.
Elijah Kelley - Board Member
Elijah is an experienced leader at the intersection of strategy, operations, and finance. He has held multiple managerial positions in software firms, most recently serving as Senior VP, Strategy & Business Development for the innovation arm of a large healthcare system. Elijah advises multiple startups, consults on market research and strategy, and is a mentor for Texas Health Catalyst. He holds an M.S. in Technology Commercialization from UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business and a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary.
Kerriann Duffy - Board Member
Kerriann is 2nd grade Math and ELA teacher at Reilly Elementary and has called Reilly home for the past six years. The first two years were dedicated to serving students in Special Education and then the last four years I have been a classroom General Ed teacher with a classroom family of my very own. When she is not in the classroom you can find me outside teaching PrimeTime Afterschool enrichment classes or hanging out with our chickens. In addition to being a Reilly staff member she also served in several positions on the Reilly PTA board. One of her proudest moments was receiving a grant from ST. David’s Foundation, Equity in the Parks, for $130,000.00. These funds will support the creation and installation of Social Emotional Learning gardens for the Reilly community for futures to come. Kerriann has worked closely with PEAS for the past 3 years as a partner-teacher and is looking forward to now supporting the organization as a board member.
Paul Brady - Board Member
Paul is the co-founder and CCO for Resolution Games, founder of Carve Communications, and a lecturer for the University of Texas' Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations. He has more than 20 years of experience in ushering organizations and products to market and helping established players redefine their space or break into new arenas. Paul’s counsel and implementation across public relations and marketing has impacted the tech, games, and nonprofit sectors. He is an avid outdoorsman and budding gardener with a passion for education, equality and sustainability.
