Kerry Bierman — Mr. Bierman is Director of Community Relations & Development for the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Kerry's experience includes more than 30 years in the communication field, and 20 in health care. Prior to the Library he was Vice President, Corporate Communications for the Scott's Company, Columbus; Director of Corporate Identity for Baxter Health Care, Chicago; and Director of Marketing for the American Medical Association, Chicago.

Kerry has received recognition from numerous publications and professional societies, including Financial World Magazine, The Art Director's Club of New York, The International Film Festival and the Silver Anvil Award of Excellence in Investor Relations from the Public Relations Society of America.

He holds a bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Northern Illinois University and served in the U.S. Army, Vietnam, in the Infantry Combat Artist Program. He is a Fellow of the American Center for Design, Chicago, served as an advisor to the board of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC, and as a member of the Garden Writers Association of America. He is currently serving on the Public Library Association's Library Card task force. Back to top

Delaine Eastin — Delaine Eastin is on the faculty of Mills College in Oakland, California. She is a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Educational Leadership, teaches in the Public Policy department, and serves as a special advisor to the President of Mills, Janet Holmgren.

Between February 2003 and August 2004, Eastin served as the first Executive Director of the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) in Washington, DC. Drawing on best practices from the military and business training, this program partners with school districts to build the districts own capacity to install standards-based, results-oriented education systems, focusing on school leadership.

Prior to joining NISL, Eastin served two terms as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the state of California. The State Superintendent is a nonpartisan state constitutional office. Eastin was the highest-ranking official in California's elementary and secondary public school system and the first woman to be elected State Superintendent.

As State Superintendent, she spearheaded major efforts to improve reading, writing, and mathematics instruction; reduce class sizes in grades K-3; and implement statewide standards, assessments, and a system of accountability. Eastin also advocated safe and healthy school environments; up-to-date facilities; 21st century technology; family-school partnerships; expanded teacher training and professional development; higher graduation requirements, including the arts in the core curriculum; and increased resources for schools.

Beginning in November 1986, Eastin served four terms in the State Assembly. As chair of the Assembly Committee on Education, she sponsored legislation to reform the k-12 education system and to improve the sagging infrastructure of California schools. She authored the first school bond to marry higher education and k-12 education in a common bond. Eastin also carried the legislation to create the 1994 Family School Partnership Act, making California the first state to allow parents to take up to 40 hours off from work during the year to participate in their children's education.

Superintendent Eastin was an early proponent of the charter school concept and has long advocated stronger technical and vocational training for students. She also advocated improving mathematics and science educational standards, better laboratory science in schools, and gardens in every school. She enlisted California as the first state in the nation to embrace the Team Nutrition program to improve the nutritional value of school lunches. She instituted a campaign for a Garden in Every School to create living laboratories for teaching academics while fostering an appreciation of fresh produce and sustainable agriculture. Back to top

Neil Hamilton — Prof. Neil D. Hamilton holds the Dwight D. Opperman Chair of Law and is the Director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. He lives with his wife Khanh on a 10-acre garden farm, Sunstead, near Waukee, Iowa, where they raise fresh vegetables for several local restaurants. He has a B.S. from Iowa State Univ., 1976, in Forestry and Economics, and a J.D. from Univ. of Iowa in 1979. He has taught agricultural law for 23 years and has written a series of books and articles for farmers and lawyers.

He is past-president of the American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) and author of the award-winning book What Farmers Need to Know About Environmental Law (1990). He also authored The Legal Guide for Direct Farm Marketing (July 1999), funded by USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program; A Livestock Producer's Guide to: Nuisance, Land Use Control, and Environmental Law (1992); Iowa Crop Producers Environmental Law Guide (1992 and 1994); and A Farmer's Legal Guide to Production Contracts (1995). His latest book, written with Doug O'Brien and Robert Luedeman, is The Farmer's Legal Guide to Producer Marketing Associations (2005).

Prior to joining the Drake faculty in 1983 to found the Agricultural Law Center, he taught law for two years at the University of Arkansas in the Agricultural Law masters program and from 1979-81 he was an Assistant Attorney General in the Farm Division of the Iowa Department of Justice. In April 2000 Iowa Governor Thomas J. Vilsack appointed him to chair the Iowa Food Policy Council, a position he still holds. Neil is on the boards of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the Seed Savers Exchange, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and is the founder and chair of the Slow Food Des Moines Convivium. Back to top

Doni Kobus — Dr. Kobus is Professor Emerita of Teacher Education at California State University, Stanislaus, CSUS, where she continues to teach cultural and socio-linguistic foundations of education. She has a degree from Cornell University in art and design and a Masters Degree and Doctorate from the University of the Pacific. She was awarded a Title VII Fellowship in Bilingual/Cross-cultural Education for her doctoral studies in Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Kobus served as the Chair of the Department of Teacher Education and Co-Director of the Program in International and Multi-cultural Education at CSUS. She has been involved in a variety of state and national organizations including the National Council for the Social Studies and Women Associated for Global Education (chair and founder). She has worked as a consultant and evaluator for the Beginning Teachers Support and Assessment Program (BTSA), funded by the state of California. Dr. Kobus has been the primary investigator for many grants, the author of several publications and has been involved in a variety of research and creative activities related to linguistic and cultural diversity and social justice. Her interest in thematic curriculum, social justice, and the social development of children have led to her commitment to educate teachers about the important role of school gardens. Back to top

Cathrine Sneed — Ms. Sneed is Director of The Garden Project in San Francisco, California. The Garden Project works with prisoners in the San Francisco County Jail in a Horticulture program (began in 1983) and a post-release program (began in 1992) that offers job training in gardening and tree care, counseling, and assistance in continuing education. Over the years, Sneed has worked with thousands of individuals, teaching them to grow food and, in the process, to feed their own need for personal growth and change. Today, food grown by the Project feeds hundreds of families and seniors each week and San Francisco enjoys more than 10,000 street trees planted by Garden Project participants. Most of all, people without hope are given a second chance to prove they can change: fewer than one fourth of Garden Project participants return to jail.

Employed by the San Francisco Sheriff's Department, Cathrine has trained in law and agroecology, studied biodynamic gardening at Emerson in England, and completed the agroecology program at the University of California.

Sneed's vision and work has been hailed by numerous organizations and publications across the country. Sneed has received the Hero for the Earth Award, the National Caring Award, the National Foundation for the Improvement of Justice Award, and the MFK Fisher Award, among others, and has spoken at numerous conferences, colleges and universities. Recently, her story appeared on the A&E Channel's "Uncommon Americans" and on the Lifetime Channel. The Economist, The New York Times, US News and World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, MS Magazine, Sunset, Orion, The San Francisco Examiner, and the Whole Earth 30th Anniversary Catalog have all featured the work of The Garden Project. Back to top

Katherine Whiteside — Ms. Whiteside is an internationally published writer and syndicated author. She is the Gardening Editor at Large for Country Home magazine, has written articles for a broad spectrum of newspapers and national magazines, and has authored several books. In addition, she has worked as an editor, producer, location scout, and on-site art director in this country and throughout Europe and Asia, and frequently serves as a corporate consultant.

Katherine holds a bachelor's degree from Randolph-Macon College and a master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Back to top

NGA President

Mike Metallo — Mike Metallo has more than 20 years of nonprofit management experience building marketing programs to highlight association assets, creating brand awareness, establishing financial stability, as well as contributing to strategic organizational growth and development. He has served as Executive Director for both trade and educational mission-driven organizations including the National Gallery of Art, the Parks & History Association, and the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association.

Mike's work with the National Gardening Association has allowed him to focus his skills on connecting children to nature through gardening. Under his leadership, the association has devised many programs designed to highlight the health benefits of gardening by creating curriculum that engages children in cultivating, harvesting, preparing, and cooking food they grow themselves.

Mike is a magna cum laude graduate of Gordon College with a bachelor's degree in Economics and a minor in Psychology. He serves on the Advisory Panel of the National Forum on Children and Nature, and is on the Advisory Board of the Housekeeping Channel. Back to top

Advisory Committee

David Els — Mr. Els has a long history with NGA, joining the association as publisher in 1990 and assuming the role of President two years later. His career has been centered on publishing, media, and management with positions as President of Warner-Eastman Publishing Group, Publisher of the Christian Science Monitor, President of Public Management Associates, Director of Lighthouse Consulting Group in Boston, and currently a capital investment consultant with Delta Capital Group LLC. David left NGA in 2000 but continues to play an active role in NGA as a member of the board of directors.

Mr. Els has a BA degree in Business Administration from Principia College in Illinois and continued his graduate studies in Public Administration at the University of Maine. He was appointed by the Maine Labor Relations Board as the management representative in fact-finding hearings involving public agency labor disputes. Back to top

Steve Castellanos, FAIA — Steve is an Associate Partner in Chong Partners Architecture based in Sacramento, California. With offices in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, and London, the firm provides strategic planning, urban design, architectural design, interior design, and graphic design services to clients in numerous fields. It is distinguished by a community- and knowledge-based practice that emphasizes the importance of design to build livable communities and to foster social, cultural, and ecological values.

Prior to joining Chong Partners, Steve served as California State Architect for four years. In this post, he developed policy and directed design and construction of California's public schools, community colleges, and public buildings. He also developed the Excellence in Public Buildings Program, which has been instrumental in raising the level of design and operations of state buildings. A strong advocate for sustainable design, Steve guided the development of California's Sustainable Schools Resource Guide, and chaired the California Sustainable Building Task Force. Many of his innovative approaches to public building design, construction, and operation are being adopted around the country.

Beyond the Office of the State Architect, Steve has served as Vice Chair of the California Hospital Safety Board for Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), participated as a member of the Administrative Office of the Courts Transitional Task Force, and currently serves as President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) California Council. He formerly served as AIA Secretary at the national level, concurrent with Gordon Chong's tenure as AIA President.

In private practice, Steve was an Owner/Principal of Derivi Castellanos Architects, directing an architectural practice focused on local government, transportation, K-12 education, and healthcare facilities. He is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and is currently pursuing an Executive Masters in Architecture degree from that institution. Back to top

Renee Shepherd — Dr. Shepherd founded Shepherd's Garden Seed in 1983, after receiving her Ph.D at UC Santa Cruz and teaching in UCSC's Environmental Studies department. Under Renee's direction Shepherd's became the premier mail order source for both heirloom and hybrid gourmet vegetables from all over the world, as well as for old-fashioned and fragrant flowers and diverse culinary herbs.

Renee is widely regarded as a pioneering innovator in introducing specialty vegetables, herbs, and cottage garden flowers for the gourmet restaurant trade and home gardeners. Since leaving Shepherd's Seeds in 1997, Renee has started a new seed company, Renee's Garden, which markets exclusively to high-end independent nurseries or online at www.reneesgarden.com. She continues to write extensively for the gardening and cooking media in such publications as Sunset, Fine Cooking, Organic Gardening, The Gardener, Fine Gardening, and Country Living. She has written two kitchen garden cookbooks both published by 10 Speed Press as well as a monthly newsletter. Renee also lectures widely at national and regional garden shows (such as the Seattle, San Francisco, and Philadelphia Flower and Garden Shows), and is a featured speaker at numerous gardening conferences. Back to top