Our Staff

Abby Jaramillo, Executive Director

abby AT urbansprouts.org

I’ve worked as a gardener and educator in the Bay Area for the past nine years. I started Urban Sprouts at Luther Burbank Middle School in 2004 with my colleague and friend Michelle Ratcliffe and a group of dedicated teachers. I love Urban Sprouts because I can share with young people the kinds of outdoor gardening experiences that changed my life when I was a teen, trying to find peace in an urban environment. I’ve also worked on rural development projects in Ecuador and the Peruvian Amazon and worked in non-profit funds development at Streetside Stories. I was trained in organic horticulture at the UC Santa Cruz Farm & Garden and studied Economics at Haverford College. I also hold my Masters of Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco.

Wendy Huang Landerholm, Garden Educator

wendy AT urbansprouts.org
Aptos Middle School, SF Community School, Ida B. Wells Continuation High School

My passions in life are traveling, backpacking, and living sustainably. Adventures through China, India, and Nepal and then volunteering on an organic farm in Ecuador taught me the importance of connecting with the earth and with the people around us. I have worked as an educator for the past seven years, including with Americorps and Teach for America. I earned my Master of Education degree from the University of St. Thomas and my Post Master Special Educator degree from the University of Portland. I am especially excited to combine all my interests and be a part of Urban Sprouts!

Adriani Leon, Garden Educator

adriani AT urbansprouts.org
International Studies Academy & Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School

My love for environmental education comes from working for and living aboard the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in New York City, writing and teaching about the ecology and conservation of the river. I bring my interest in plants and love of cooking to the Urban Sprouts youth and am excited to serve Spanish speaking families and help include them in the urban greening movement. I am a graduate of Brandeis University, where I was a leader in the Latino Student Association.

Samuel Morales Cotto, Garden Educator

samuel AT urbansprouts.org
Log Cabin Ranch and June Jordan School for Equity

I come to Urban Sprouts with over 10 years of experience working in community based organizations, leading education workshops on topics such as food justice, food access, and sustainability, and cultivating farms and gardens. I have my B.S. in Agriculture, have managed an organic farm, and for many years I maintained my own stall at farmers markets.  As a Garden Educator here at Urban Sprouts, I work at Log Cabin Ranch and contribute to our Farmers in Residence program. I participate in several community-based organizations  including Boricua in Puerto Rico, my homeland,  and the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center in San Francisco. My commitment to community gardening stems from my belief that through cultivating plants, we also cultivate community and social justice.

Audrey Roderick, Community Programs Manager

audrey AT urbansprouts.org

For the past 10 years I’ve served as a community organizer and volunteer coordinator in San Jose, CA and Missoula, MT: at City Year, the Girl Scouts, a youth residential facility, and Girls for a Change. In Montana I also worked at Garden City Harvest, a production garden, community garden and garden-based education program. Here at Urban Sprouts I manage our volunteers and our family involvement program, including our new family Farmers-in-Residence – school families growing their own food right in the school garden.

Maggie Guerra, Operations Manager

maggie AT urbansprouts.org

I come to Urban Sprouts with a long history of community organizing and office operations, most recently at a company that provides research and evaluation reports to non-profits. Growing up in my family’s San Francisco butcher shop, working in my elementary school garden, and selling produce at the Alemany Farmers’ market have developed my love and respect of food in every form. After starting a non-profit collaborating with coffee pickers in Guatemala and working on an organic farm in Northern California, I am eager to bring my love of organizing and food back to my beloved native city. As Urban Sprouts’ Operations Manager, I work to make our organization run as smoothly, efficiently, and effectively as possible.