Digging in the dirt at Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School, Albany High School and other Albany public schools, the Vegetable Project is a collaborative effort of parents, faculty and other staff members and community partners that supports an after-school and summertime Garden Club, mentoring, summer jobs for teens; presents classroom lessons; and brings families together for occasional weekend events. The Vegetable Project is a 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit corporation.
Here’s our brochure with more.
Board of directors
Melissa Baer of Albany, a longtime volunteer with the Vegetable Project and parent of two Albany High School graduates, joined the organization’s board in April 2024. She was an active PTSA participant when her children were in school and continues to be a part of the leadership of the Albany Special Education Advisory Council. She is a librarian and works for the New York State Historic Preservation Office.
Jeena Madden of Albany has been a member of the Vegetable Project board since March 2020. A pediatrician with St. Peter’s Health Partners Medical Associates in Albany, Jeena is a graduate of Albany Medical College and Siena College. She has held numerous leadership positions in Albany schools PTSAs, which her children attend or graduated from.
Gary Nowik of Altamont led the Vegetable Project’s Garden Club at Stephen & Harriet Myers Middle School for years, while teaching sixth-grade science at Myers. An Albany school district teacher for more than 30 years until his retirement, Gary joined the Vegetable Project board in April 2024. A graduate of Albany schools, he plays the drums with CC Smokes!
Kevin Rockwood of Ballston Lake joined the Vegetable Project board and became its treasurer in May 2020. A Siena College graduate and small business owner, Kevin has been business education teacher at Albany High School since 2007.
Mary A. Rosch of Albany, who is a proud graduate of the City School District of Albany, joined the Vegetable Project board in April 2024. She is a trustee of the Albany Public Library and the finance and administrative coordinator with the Natural Heritage Trust. She is an active member of the League of Women Voters of Albany County and the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association and teaches a community yoga class at Honest Weight Food Co-op. Mary writes about cultivating community at https://radiantmary.substack.com.
Kee Kee Soto of Albany began volunteering with the Vegetable Project in 2021 and joined its board in April 2024. She is a special education teaching assistant in the City School District of Albany, where her children are current and former students. A member of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program, Kee Kee brings her knowledge and love of gardening to teaching and participating in several school garden clubs in the district.
Bill Stoneman of Albany started a garden program at Stephen & Harriet Myers Middle School in Albany in 2009, when his daughter was an eighth grader there. The program grew into the Vegetable Project. The son, grandson and brother of elementary school teachers, Bill earned a master’s degree in teaching from the College of Saint Rose after many years in journalism. He has led the Vegetable Project since its formal organization in 2015.
Board members emeriti
Vince Amodeo
Dan Curry
Julia Farrant
Maria Harple
David Hopkins
Isaiah James
Jennifer McErlean
Timitra Rose
Friends of the Vegetable Project
One response to “About us”