GTC STAFF & BOARD MEMBERS
GTC STAFF
Jeffrey Markham Jr. (GTC Board Chair) Liz O'Gilvie (Interim Director); Kami Trushaw (Farm Manager); Christopher Matthews-Gregoire (Farm Store Lead /Farm Site Steward); Ramon Ellsiton (Youth Summer Program Manager); Amir Stratton (Youth Program Assistant); Maurice Powe (Youth Program Assistant); Maya Shanice (Youth Program Assistant); Helen Muma (Food Policy Intern)
More staff bios coming soon...
Click Here to Learn About Our Jobs and Internships
More staff bios coming soon...
Click Here to Learn About Our Jobs and Internships
GTC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jeffrey Markham Jr.
In addition to serving as the GTC board chair, Jeffrey works as the Program Officer for Community Impact and Partnerships with the
Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. He lives here in Springfield with his wife and two children.
Liz O’Gilvie
GTC’s interim director is a food policy activist and produce farmer. While developing 40 Acres Farm as a cooperatively-managed venture, Liz serves as the director of the Springfield Food Policy Council. She is also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, Massachusetts Farm to School, and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists Transformative Farm Bill Campaign Committee. Supported by Liz's leadership, the Springfield Food Policy Council serves as a partner, advisor and driving force behind efforts to build a healthier food system in Springfield and Hampden County.
A later-in-life farmer, Liz believes the land called her home so that she could feed her family and community. She is deeply grateful for the support of others who are helping her to manifest the dreams of her ancestors. She says that in BIPOC communities “when we feed ourselves, everybody eats”.
Click here to email Liz O'Gilvie
Awilda Sanchez is a retired nurse who now works as the Parent Facilitator at Brookings Elementary School located just around the corner from GTC’s Walnut Street Farm in Springfield. She is a passionate advocate for the power of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and the impact this can have on people’s health. Before Awilda became involved with GTC she had diabetes and osteoarthritis and walked with a cane because she was always in so much pain. She decided to try changing her diet as a way to address the root causes of her health problems, and began receiving a Farm Share from Gardening the Community youth who biked it to her home every week. After several months she lost weight and was able to walk without her cane; she has been diabetes free for 3 years. She advocates for food gardens at schools and in her neighborhood whenever she can.
Robin Claremont is Treasurer of the Gardening the Community Board. Her day job is as Director of Family Giving and Engagement at Amherst College. Robin got involved with GTC because of her life-long passion for the environment, agriculture, and social justice. She is an avid gardener and loves the reward for long hours in the garden that comes from that first bite of a fresh snap pea, tomato, or pepper.
Tory Field first got to know GTC in 2005 when she was working as an organizer for Arise for Social Justice. In 2010 she co-founded Next Barn Over Farm with Ray Young, and soon after began a collaboration with GTC that continues today - growing vegetables for the GTC EATS farm shares. In recent years she has worked for Other Worlds, sharing stories centered on food justice and food sovereignty movements including writing “Harvesting Justice: Transforming Food, Land, and Agricultural Systems in the Americas.” She has worked for Abundance Farm in Northampton, Natural Roots Farm in Conway, and the Springfield Food Policy Council’s “Grow-A-Garden” program, and has co-facilitated anti-racism workshops for various organizations. She is currently excited to be studying plant medicine and finishing a Masters in Divinity program at Union Theological Seminary where her work focuses on earth-based spiritual traditions and the intersections of ecology, spirituality, and transforming systems of oppression. She is honored and grateful to be a part of the GTC family.
Bettye Anderson Frederic is the former Deputy Commissioner for the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services (SDHHS). She is a career Public Health Practitioner as a Nurse and Administrator. She is an HBCU alum of Dillard University and a graduate of Boston University. Her ensuing work has centered on social justice, health equity and disparities in health care and health outcomes especially as it relates to clinical trials and research issues. Throughout her career she has practiced in acute care settings, taught at the college level and worked to promote community and population-based health services. In recent years her focus has been on food justice and continuing to sound the alarm for nutrition and the pivotal role it plays in the health of our residents, and the need for high quality, reasonably priced, accessible foodstuffs in food desserts (food apartheid). Volunteering is a big part of what she does these days, at the food pantry around the corner from the farm store and at a meal feeding program for the homeless and anyone wanting/ needing a meal. She volunteers with the Springfield community gardeners' network out of the Mason Square Branch Library, as well as the Massachusetts Master Gardeners, the community faculty at Baystate Health in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) program, and the gardens of friends and colleagues.
Sabrina Woodgett is a lifelong resident of Springfield and passionate about sustainable and organic farming. She enjoys planning, nurturing, and growing on her 18.5 acres in the Berkshires, which she named Sugar Shack Farm after the first structure built on the property. The building was constructed by using trees cut and milled on the property, with a foundation created from the rocks and boulders collected by her uncle. She retired from MassMutual after 28 years where she was a Director in the Retirement Services division. Sabrina also graduated from Tufts University with a Biology degree. She has been involved with GTC since 2016 and takes extreme pride in assisting with planting the first cover crop on the Walnut garden site and sharing ideas and strategies on various GTC committees and events.
Other current Board members include Aumani Harris and Mabeline Velez.
Past Board Members
Olivia Brown
Danielle Brown
Glenroy Buchanan
Steve Jablonski
Jeszmeraldy Lopez
Ruby Maddox
Tyler Martin
Laura Masulis
Tyrra Minto
Mohamed Mire
Sister Anna Muhammad
Debbie Murray
Moises Ramos
Elieser Rodriquez
Shirley Rodriguez
Jihan Stone
Hajarah Taylor
Chris Tinson
Calla Vasalloupolis
Hermine Levey Weston
In addition to serving as the GTC board chair, Jeffrey works as the Program Officer for Community Impact and Partnerships with the
Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. He lives here in Springfield with his wife and two children.
Liz O’Gilvie
GTC’s interim director is a food policy activist and produce farmer. While developing 40 Acres Farm as a cooperatively-managed venture, Liz serves as the director of the Springfield Food Policy Council. She is also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, Massachusetts Farm to School, and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists Transformative Farm Bill Campaign Committee. Supported by Liz's leadership, the Springfield Food Policy Council serves as a partner, advisor and driving force behind efforts to build a healthier food system in Springfield and Hampden County.
A later-in-life farmer, Liz believes the land called her home so that she could feed her family and community. She is deeply grateful for the support of others who are helping her to manifest the dreams of her ancestors. She says that in BIPOC communities “when we feed ourselves, everybody eats”.
Click here to email Liz O'Gilvie
Awilda Sanchez is a retired nurse who now works as the Parent Facilitator at Brookings Elementary School located just around the corner from GTC’s Walnut Street Farm in Springfield. She is a passionate advocate for the power of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and the impact this can have on people’s health. Before Awilda became involved with GTC she had diabetes and osteoarthritis and walked with a cane because she was always in so much pain. She decided to try changing her diet as a way to address the root causes of her health problems, and began receiving a Farm Share from Gardening the Community youth who biked it to her home every week. After several months she lost weight and was able to walk without her cane; she has been diabetes free for 3 years. She advocates for food gardens at schools and in her neighborhood whenever she can.
Robin Claremont is Treasurer of the Gardening the Community Board. Her day job is as Director of Family Giving and Engagement at Amherst College. Robin got involved with GTC because of her life-long passion for the environment, agriculture, and social justice. She is an avid gardener and loves the reward for long hours in the garden that comes from that first bite of a fresh snap pea, tomato, or pepper.
Tory Field first got to know GTC in 2005 when she was working as an organizer for Arise for Social Justice. In 2010 she co-founded Next Barn Over Farm with Ray Young, and soon after began a collaboration with GTC that continues today - growing vegetables for the GTC EATS farm shares. In recent years she has worked for Other Worlds, sharing stories centered on food justice and food sovereignty movements including writing “Harvesting Justice: Transforming Food, Land, and Agricultural Systems in the Americas.” She has worked for Abundance Farm in Northampton, Natural Roots Farm in Conway, and the Springfield Food Policy Council’s “Grow-A-Garden” program, and has co-facilitated anti-racism workshops for various organizations. She is currently excited to be studying plant medicine and finishing a Masters in Divinity program at Union Theological Seminary where her work focuses on earth-based spiritual traditions and the intersections of ecology, spirituality, and transforming systems of oppression. She is honored and grateful to be a part of the GTC family.
Bettye Anderson Frederic is the former Deputy Commissioner for the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services (SDHHS). She is a career Public Health Practitioner as a Nurse and Administrator. She is an HBCU alum of Dillard University and a graduate of Boston University. Her ensuing work has centered on social justice, health equity and disparities in health care and health outcomes especially as it relates to clinical trials and research issues. Throughout her career she has practiced in acute care settings, taught at the college level and worked to promote community and population-based health services. In recent years her focus has been on food justice and continuing to sound the alarm for nutrition and the pivotal role it plays in the health of our residents, and the need for high quality, reasonably priced, accessible foodstuffs in food desserts (food apartheid). Volunteering is a big part of what she does these days, at the food pantry around the corner from the farm store and at a meal feeding program for the homeless and anyone wanting/ needing a meal. She volunteers with the Springfield community gardeners' network out of the Mason Square Branch Library, as well as the Massachusetts Master Gardeners, the community faculty at Baystate Health in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) program, and the gardens of friends and colleagues.
Sabrina Woodgett is a lifelong resident of Springfield and passionate about sustainable and organic farming. She enjoys planning, nurturing, and growing on her 18.5 acres in the Berkshires, which she named Sugar Shack Farm after the first structure built on the property. The building was constructed by using trees cut and milled on the property, with a foundation created from the rocks and boulders collected by her uncle. She retired from MassMutual after 28 years where she was a Director in the Retirement Services division. Sabrina also graduated from Tufts University with a Biology degree. She has been involved with GTC since 2016 and takes extreme pride in assisting with planting the first cover crop on the Walnut garden site and sharing ideas and strategies on various GTC committees and events.
Other current Board members include Aumani Harris and Mabeline Velez.
Past Board Members
Olivia Brown
Danielle Brown
Glenroy Buchanan
Steve Jablonski
Jeszmeraldy Lopez
Ruby Maddox
Tyler Martin
Laura Masulis
Tyrra Minto
Mohamed Mire
Sister Anna Muhammad
Debbie Murray
Moises Ramos
Elieser Rodriquez
Shirley Rodriguez
Jihan Stone
Hajarah Taylor
Chris Tinson
Calla Vasalloupolis
Hermine Levey Weston
Staff Members
Kami Leigh Trushaw
Kami was born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, and discovered her love of farming while enrolled in the horticulture program at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens. After a few years of running a small flower garden business she started a small hobby farm, selling her vegetables and flowers at a farmers market once a week. Fast forward to 2018 when Kami started working part-time seasonally for a large local CSA, while at the same time supporting herself bartending and waitressing. In 2020 she was promoted to a full time role, simultaneously managing the greenhouse, share room and washroom.
In 2023 Kami was searching for a new job after relocating to Springfield. When she came across GTC she applied immediately and was thrilled to be hired as the new farm manager. The mission of GTC combines her love of farming, her artistic and culinary passions, and her belief that we can do better as a society to promote access to healthy food for all humankind. She really believes that “children are our future” and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and work with the youth of GTC.
When she is not farming, Kami enjoys cooking, fermenting foods, various artistic endeavors and hanging out with her partner and their three rescue cats.
Christopher Matthews-Gregoire
A lifelong resident of western Massachusetts, Christopher joined the staff at GTC as a farm store associate last July, and has since taken on the responsibilities of farm store lead, as well as site steward. A firm believer in the role of food and housing as basic human rights, he also enjoys putting his carpentry and basic engineering skills to use repurposing commonly found free objects to fill the needs of the farm. Outside of GTC, Christopher is an aspiring software developer, as well as a long-time musician and avid film fan, having taught classes on film analysis and guested on podcasts. He is a cat dad here in the city with his partner.
Ramon Ellsiton
Bio coming soon!
Kami was born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, and discovered her love of farming while enrolled in the horticulture program at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens. After a few years of running a small flower garden business she started a small hobby farm, selling her vegetables and flowers at a farmers market once a week. Fast forward to 2018 when Kami started working part-time seasonally for a large local CSA, while at the same time supporting herself bartending and waitressing. In 2020 she was promoted to a full time role, simultaneously managing the greenhouse, share room and washroom.
In 2023 Kami was searching for a new job after relocating to Springfield. When she came across GTC she applied immediately and was thrilled to be hired as the new farm manager. The mission of GTC combines her love of farming, her artistic and culinary passions, and her belief that we can do better as a society to promote access to healthy food for all humankind. She really believes that “children are our future” and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and work with the youth of GTC.
When she is not farming, Kami enjoys cooking, fermenting foods, various artistic endeavors and hanging out with her partner and their three rescue cats.
Christopher Matthews-Gregoire
A lifelong resident of western Massachusetts, Christopher joined the staff at GTC as a farm store associate last July, and has since taken on the responsibilities of farm store lead, as well as site steward. A firm believer in the role of food and housing as basic human rights, he also enjoys putting his carpentry and basic engineering skills to use repurposing commonly found free objects to fill the needs of the farm. Outside of GTC, Christopher is an aspiring software developer, as well as a long-time musician and avid film fan, having taught classes on film analysis and guested on podcasts. He is a cat dad here in the city with his partner.
Ramon Ellsiton
Bio coming soon!