Kim Gaffi
Executive Director
As a GRuB co-founder, Kim has served the organization for more than twelve years. She earned her BA in Community Development and BS in Environmental Science from the Evergreen State College and loves thinking about and working on the intersection of humans and the natural environment. Kim brings her passion for experiential education & food justice as well as her skills in group facilitation & organizational development to her leadership role at GRuB. She enjoys working with our Board of Directors, our staff, and general community members in evolving GRuB’s work.
Blue Peetz
Youth Programs Director
As a GRuB co-founder, Blue’s core responsibilities over the past 13 years have included community-based fundraising & grantwriting, contract development, board & staff development, youth program coordination, and community outreach. In the fall of 2010, Blue stepped down as Co-Director to follow his passion and devote his energy full time in our youth programs. Blue received his BA in Community Development from The Evergreen State College and also has an extensive background in sustainable agriculture and education.
Justin Umholtz
Managing Director
Justin began working with GRuB in 2002, with a short stint (2005-2006) at Sonoma State University attaining his Master’s in Education degree with an emphasis in Farm-based Environmental Education and Curriculum Development. Justin’s Master’s thesis, Education for Sustainability: Re-engaging Low-income Students Through Farm-Based Learning, helped shape our new youth employment program curriculum. Drawing on his past work in popular education, Justin focuses on constructing creative, interdisciplinary learning environments as the basis for effective community-building and personal empowerment. He has worked in sustainable agriculture for 12 years and as an educator (K-6, 10-12, and college age) for the past eight. He recently transitioned from GRuB’s Farm Manager to an emerging role in GRuB’s staff and community development work.
Anna Robinson
Grants & Marketing Coordinator
Anna has her BA in Elementary Education & Anthropology from Western Washington University and has extensive experience in Youth Development. She has worn a variety of hats here at GRuB since 2005, including Office Manager, Fundraising Coordinator, Grantwriter, and Capital Campaign/Farmhouse Build Project Manager. Working alongside our Farm Manager and Education Program Coordinators, she co-created our current Education Program curriculum and has served as an advisor as the program has grown and adapted to the needs of our community. Her favorite day of the week is Sunday and she likes to spend it curled up on the couch with her little boy or out in the yard with a good book.
Kerensa Mabwa
Community Engagement Coordinator
Kerensa is currently leading GRuB’s Volunteer Coordination and Community-Based Fundraising programs. Kerensa is a recent addition to GRuB and she brings her passions for gardening and relationship-building to her new role with us.
Sylvia Green
Office Manager
Sylvia has a diverse business background, from accounting for large corporations to small non-profits. She is the hub of GRuB’s office, connecting our staff, volunteers, and greater community together and whipping our finances into shape. She is fluent in several languages, especially her native German. Sylvia loves making people laugh, taking walks in the woods, and working on puzzles.
Wade Arnold
Farm Manager
Wade is a longtime Washingtonian, spending most of his life as an Olympia resident, which is where he developed a passion for serving others. He began his career with GRuB as a Cultivating Youth crewmember in the summers of 2000 and 2001. From 2005-2007 he went on to serve throughout Washington as an Americorps member through the Washington Conservation Corps. Wade is now the first Cultivating Youth alum to be brought on as a core staff member of GRuB. Though his title and job description imply farmer of the land, he also provides staff support for the farming self and farming community of our Cultivating Youth Program. He loves the Mariners, working hard and getting dirty, and being deceptively silly.
Carolyn Cosgrove-Payne
Cultivating Youth Counselor
Carolyn recently graduated from Boston University with a BA in International Relations and has migrated across the country as GRuB’s new AmeriCorps member for the Cultivating Youth program. We’re so pleased that she’ll be joining us for a second year! She has previously worked for an assortment of community gardens, refugee resettlement organizations, and non-profits on the East Coast, and is slowly acclimating to West Coast culture (though for some reason she misses being shoved around every day on the subway). She likes things made out of chocolate, salsa dancing, the way that growing good food tends to also grow good humans, and daydreaming about her upcoming Peace Corps service. If you’re not careful, she will also quote poetry at you until your ears fall off.
Kerry Ledig
GRuB in the Schools Initiative Coordinator
Kerry has been a fan of and volunteer for GRuB for many years, starting as a funder through her employment with Lumbermens. Kerry enjoys dancing, morning runs, and grandchildren. Beginning in December 2010, Kerry served as the Program Assistant for the planning phase of the GRuB School Pilot Project. As a VISTA AmeriCorps member, Kerry will be working on documenting, fundraising, networking, and advocacy for GRuB in the Schools Program replication.
Kevin Caudill
Neighborhood Food Solutions Coordinator
Kevin is a hillbilly philosopher, poet and plant whisperer. Along the way, he’s wandered the desert, hiked the Rockies, braved raging rivers and firmly believes that Utah has the best powder (sorry Colorado and Wyoming). Kevin is a graduate of Indiana University and holds a B.A. with a double major in Speech and Hearing Science and Psychology. Before joining GRuB, he earned his Master’s in Non-profit Management and Leadership. Kevin is a pios man; strictly adhering to the tenants and philosophy of Indiana Basketball. He’s often difficult to find on game day. Kevin is an AmeriCorps VISTA member and will spend the next year with GRuB as the Neighborhood Food Solutions Coordinator for the Kitchen Garden Project.
Amber Huffstickler
Backyard Gardens Coordinator
Amber has made a cross-country move to join GRuB’s Kitchen Garden Project team! She recently served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member on an urban youth-led farm in Worcester, Mass. Before that, she graduated from Clark University with a BA in International Development and an MA in Teaching. Of all the things in the world to do, she most enjoys bringing people together with food. She brings her passion for community dialogue, teaching, and growing food to GRuB, with the hopes of making KGP’s evolution successful! She is repeatedly impressed with how nice West Coasters are and looks forward to new adventures in the Pacific Northwest.
