Staff
Susan works with local leaders starting or running community gardens. This includes overseeing our annual Growing Community Gardens training for garden leaders, administering mini-grants to community gardens, and facilitating access to resources, information and events for gardeners in the our community gardens network.
Susan earned a masters degree in Horticulture and Agronomy at the University of California, Davis in 2010. Her interests include gardening and hiking in the Wasatch.
Carly coordinates Wasatch Community Gardens' educational workshops and community events, providing thousands of Salt Lake residents with the knowledge and skills to grow their own food. Carly received her Associate of General Studies degree in 2006. An experienced organic gardener, she has been in the horticulture industry for the past 14 years, working in nurseries and landscape ventures, including the start up of the small, organic, Duckelberry Farm in Beaver Creek, Oregon. Carly has shared her organic gardening passion and expertise with Wasatch Community Gardens since 2009 and continues to help people learn to grow their own food.
Giles Larsen
Salt Lake County Community Garden Coordinator
801-359-2658 ext.16
Giles first got acquainted with the inequities of the modern food system while rescuing produce that would otherwise have been thrown away, and redistributing it to the low income and homeless of Salt Lake City. Later, Giles would help develop more ecological and affordable alternatives as a founding staff member of the Community Food Co-op of Utah, and as a small-scale market gardener. Giles continues to work with disadvantaged populations, such as refugees, to grow food that nurtures the earth, community, and spirit.
Brit Merrill
Community Garden and Volunteer Manager
801-359-2658 ext.11
Brit recruits, trains, and supervises over a thousand volunteers annually. She also works with hundreds of our community gardeners to ensure their understanding of organic principles and the orderly maintenance of our gardens. Brit has been practicing and teaching organic gardening techniques for the past ten years, and joined Wasatch Community Gardens after graduating from the University of Utah with a double major in environmental studies and gender studies. She is currently working on her MA in community leadership.
Julie has a rich background in environmental education, organic gardening, horticulture therapy, and community based social work. A Certified Social Worker, Julie earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Master's Degree in Social Work. She is passionate about connecting diverse populations to the benefits of outdoor education and addressing issues of food security through teaching youth how to grow and eat fresh, nutritious food. Having grown her own food for over 18 years, she has a particular fondness for kale!
Lindsey has 13 years of fundraising experience and has worked with a variety of local and international nonprofits. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies and Women’s Studies at Bowdoin College in Maine. She joined the Wasatch Community Gardens' staff in 2010. As a new mom she doesn't have any free time - but if she did, she would spend it hiking, skiing, traveling, and working in her organic garden.
Claire leads Wasatch Community Gardens in its commitment to promoting youth and community gardening and education. She has nine years of experience running programs in various nonprofits and community foundations. She is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a Master’s degree in library and information studies and a concentration in community food security. While Claire began her tenure at WCG with zero gardening experience, thanks to her knowledgeable co-workers she has become an aspiring, if not always successful, urban gardener.
