Courtney joined the Conservancy in June 2021 as the Community Garden Manager and Educator. She received her undergraduate education from the University of Vermont where her thesis served as a handbook for community gardening in Burlington, Vermont.
Decades later she landed a job well suited to her studies and life’s work. A self-proclaimed foodie, the term has taken on many forms in her life. Throughout college, she worked on farms ranging from a fresh-cut flower farm, a biodynamic tomato greenhouse, to a CSA. Post-college she moved to Boston, working for the Food Project, experiencing first-hand the impact growing food can have on a community.
Courtney continued to develop her love of food in restaurants in the Boston area working for James Beard award-winning chefs. It was there she developed her food and wine knowledge with staff and guests. While working in restaurants she spent ample time as a community gardener through BUG (Boston Urban Gardens). She would use the harvested produce for nightly specials in the restaurant kitchen. Her overall experience would lead her to an incredible accomplishment. She built Boston’s first commercial rooftop farm on 55,000 square feet of rooftop space in Boston’s seaport district.
After giving birth to her first son in 2015, her family said goodbye to winter and moved South to be closer to relatives. She is always happy to share her experiences in the garden, recipes she loves, and listen to the stories of other gardeners and volunteers. When not out in the community gardens, she’s home with her family and rescue pets enjoying their home gardens.
