Life Lab Science Program
1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
phone: 831-459-2001
fax: 831-459-3483
lifelab@lifelab.org

Our office is located at our Garden Classroom Site

Meet the Garden Classroom Chickens

Gail Harlamoff – Executive Director – 831-459-3833 – lifelab@lifelab.org

I’m very proud to be a part of Life Lab Science Program. I was first introduced to LLSP in 1987 as a new teacher. LLSP inspired me so much that I soon developed a garden at my school and became a science teacher trainer. In 1994 I was asked to be part of a LLSP grant, Language Acquisition in Science Education for Rural Schools, a program still going strong. Two years later, I left my classroom and came to work for LLSP. My job was to create and build a model school garden. With my officemate, Erika Perloff, we did just that and in 2000, the Garden Classroom opened its gates. I’m now honored with the job of Executive Director, which is both a challenge and a privilege. I attended and graduated from Cabrillo College and San Jose State University with a teaching credential and a degree in Natural Science. I also studied Archaeology, horticulture and photography. I’m a 4th generation Soquel resident and am fortunate to live on the 4 acres where I grew up. In my spare time I have a small dairy goat business, raise and show Bull Terriers and enjoy collecting eggs, growing fruits and vegetables and running my small farm.

Don Burgett – Associate Director – 831-459-3833 – don@lifelab.org

Don joined Life Lab in 2011 as Associate Director, working with Gail on finance, development, planning, and staff and board support. Most recently, Don served as development director for the Organic Farming Research Foundation, the leading national organic farming grantmaking and advocacy organization in the U.S. Prior to a decade with OFRF, Don completed the six-month Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture and a 12-month second-year apprenticeship at the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, where Life Lab is located. As a second-year apprentice, he helped train a broad array of adult learners in the core concepts of small-scale organic farming and gardening. In the 1990s, Don was a leader in urban agriculture and community food security programs in Los Angeles, working in low-income communities across the city and co-founding the LA Community Garden Council and the LA School Greening Partnership. Don earned a BA in Geography/Ecosystems from UCLA and a Master Gardener certificate from the UC Cooperative Extension Los Angeles Common Ground Garden Program. Read more about Don.

Joyce Hill – Project Director, Monterey Bay Science Project/LASERS – 831-459-4074 – science@lifelab.org

John Fisher – Garden-Based Learning Support Specialist and Outreach Director – 831-459-5395 – gardendirector@lifelab.org

John has been with Life Lab since 2000 and UCSC CASFS since 1998. John came to Life Lab with years of experience as an environmental educator in places such as Hidden Villa and in Honduras as a Peace Corps Volunteer. After a couple of years working at UCSC CASFS as Outreach Coordinator, creating a summer camp program, and expanding fieldtrips John came to Life Lab. With Life Lab he built and maintained the Garden Classroom and developed programming for children and UCSC interns. Currently John is focused on sharing the innovative work of Life Lab through communications, educator professional development, and networking across the state and nation. John continues to work part-time with UCSC CASFS on Farm to School networking and promotion. John attended UC San Diego and has a BA in Biological Anthropology. At home John tends a small flock of hens, a mini orchard, and a cut flower/vegetable garden with his wife and son. Read more about John.

Whitney Cohen – Education Director & Teacher Training – 831-459-3833 – education@lifelab.org

Whitney Cohen, Education Director, leads our garden-based learning workshops for educators. Whitney received her MA in Education from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2002 and her BA in Sustainable Community Development from Vassar College in 1999. Prior to working with Life Lab, Whitney taught Earth, Life, and Physical Science and Introductory Spanish for five years at Pescadero Middle School. In Pescadero, Whitney also collaborated with the local community to create a school garden and a watershed adoption project. In addition to classroom teaching, Whitney has worked in environmental education and public health in California, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Read more about Whitney.

Amber Turpin – Administrative Aide – 831-459-2001 – admin@lifelab.org

Amber Turpin was fortunate enough to grow up in a garden. Since then, she has dedicated most of her efforts towards the good food movement, promoting access to ethical, delicious, and pure food for all. From freelance food writing, working as Office Manager for Slow Food Nation, starting an artisan cookie company, or pulling weeds on her small farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Amber lends a diverse passion for all things food to her work at Life Lab.

Field Trips, Camp, & Internships

Amy Carlson – Garden Educator & Camp Programs Coordinator – 831-459-4035 – gardened@lifelab.org

After a lucky childhood of camping and exploring creeks, I worked my way through college as a park naturalist, earning degrees in environmental education and music. After graduating, I discovered my love of farm- and garden-based education at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont, where I worked for two years tending a menagerie of farm animals and connecting visitors (mainly preschoolers) to their food source through activities such as milking a cow and harvesting in the garden. Since joining Life Lab in 2004, I've had the privilege of working with thousands of local children and many teachers, interns, and parents annually through my coordination and teaching of our field trip programs and summer camps; I've also expanded our programs to include Seeds of Wonder pre & K field trips and Garden Sprouts Summer Camp for 4-6 year olds, and co-created the Discovering the Garden in Early Childhood Education workshop and Seeds of Wonder curriculum. When I'm not at Life Lab, I'm getting dirty in the garden or the woods with my daughter. Read more about Amy.

Allison O'Sullivan – Garden Educator – 831-459-4035 – gardenclass@lifelab.org

The Texas hillcountry inspired me to delve into nature as a child. After studying Anthropological Sciences at Stanford University, I found myself exploring California's foothills and teaching environmental education. I followed the drumbeat to Ghana as a Peace Corps Volunteer, assimilating with farmers and continuing my path as an educator. I landed in Santa Cruz with a green thumb and am exuberantly thrilled to be working with Life Lab in my favorite type of office… the Garden Classroom! Read more about Allison

"Food, What?!" Youth Program

Doron Comerchero – "Food,What?!" Director – 831-459-5476 – foodwhat@lifelab.org

Hey, hey, hey! It feels good to be part of the Life Lab family as the Program Director of “Food, What?!” Roots deep in the East Coast, I spent most of my 20’s bouncing around the South Bronx as a community organizer and outreach coordinator for NYC’s community gardening program, GreenThumb. As a strong advocate for school gardens, board member and Chair of the Youth Committee of the American Community Gardening Association, and five year co-facilitator of a national youth empowerment movement grounded in sustainable agriculture called Rooted in Community, youth have been the driving force behind much of my work. Rich soil called, and I found myself having transitioned from city life to living in a tent on a beautiful piece of farmland in Santa Cruz as an apprentice at the UCSC Farm and Garden at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. The Up Garden became my home and inspiration to stay on for a second year, and then the following season I decided to try on my hat as a full time farmer on a 50-acre site in Western Massachusetts called Food Bank Farm. All of these experiences, combined with my passion for youth, community, food and justice, have led me to partner with Life Lab to create “Food, What?!”—a teenage youth empowerment program using food, through sustainable agriculture and health, as the vehicle for bringing about personal growth and transformation.
 

Abby Bell – "Food, What?!" Educator – 831-459-5476 – gardener@lifelab.org

Abby Bell is the Farm and Program Manager for “Food, What?!”. Abby came to Life Lab in 2007 to help co-create “Food, What?!” after two years of organic vegetable farming at Camp Joy Gardens in Boulder Creek, CA. Abby has been involved in farm, food system work, and education in both urban and rural settings since 2002. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with Community Studies degree focused on creating sustainable and just urban food systems. She has worked on farms and in farm-based education programs in San Francisco, Santa Cruz CA, New York City, Maine, Scotland, South Africa, and New Zealand. She also taught produce-based cooking and nutrition classes for two years to public middle school students in South Berkeley, CA. It is an honor to be part of “Food, What?!” and the Life Lab team.