(a.k.a. The Pea Pod)
Our Staff
Lauren Zappone Maples
Executive Director
Lauren co-founded PEAS Community Farm & Urban Orchard at Cunningham Elementary in 2011 and became the founding executive director of PEAS in 2015. Prior to leading PEAS, she was a classroom teacher with Austin ISD. Lauren also worked as environmental educator for the City of Austin and taught as an adjunct professor at 2 local universities. Lauren received multiple awards for her work centered around place-based outdoor and edible education including the John F. Ahrns Award for Environmental Education from the Westcave Discovery Center 2014 and 2021, the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Grant and Fulbright Alumni Grant (which allowed her to spend a semester studying place-based outdoor education in New Zealand and study school garden programs in the US), and the SlowFood USA Snailblazer Award for school garden education. Her research has been highly influential in the development of school day programs, community initiatives, and the long-range organizational goals of PEAS. Lauren currently serves on Austin ISD's Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee and the Central Texas School Garden Network's Leadership Team.
Molly Jensen
Director of Development & Finance
Molly joined PEAS in early 2022 and brings a wide variety of skills and experiences from previous roles in academic, policy and nonprofit sectors. She earned a Ph.D. with a focus on environmental ethics and justice from Vanderbilt University. Molly and her family have lived in Austin for more than two decades. During her time in Central Texas, Molly has helped launch the first downtown Austin Farmer’s Market, promoted local school and community gardens, and served as a college professor and campus garden advisor. She understands the transformative impact of place-based outdoor learning and the nourishing power of local food gardens. The soil, climate and native plants of the Austin area are quite different than those of her native Kentucky and Molly relishes every opportunity to learn about and care for her adopted community. She loves to support our visionary leader, Lauren Maples, and our gifted educators so that more young people can share in the magic of PEAS.
Tommie Hawthorne
Administrative Manager
Tommie has decades of experience as a bookkeeper, office manager, and administrative assistant working with a law firm, Austin ISD, and the University of Texas. She has known PEAS since the very beginning when her twins were in Lauren Maples' classes and a part of the Cunningham Elementary Gardening Club at PEAS Farm. Tommie truly believes in the mission of PEAS and is so excited to be a part of this team!
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Erin Magrath,
Program Director
Erin Magrath is a teacher, student, and advocate of equitable and inclusive education. A former AISD Bilingual Educator, Erin gained valuable experiences in social emotional, creative and culturally relevant teaching practices. Ever since childhood, Erin has felt a connection with nature and relishes time gardening, backpacking, or just walking with her 3 dogs around South Austin. She is a certified yoga teacher and holds a Master's of Education degree from Texas State University. Erin is excited to continue the teaching-learning cycle with her coworkers and students at PEAS.
Nancy Zepeda
Kitchen Program Manager
Nancy is certified in clinical herbalism from the Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine and has experience teaching kids and adults about nature and medicinal plants. She is a certified community yoga instructor from the Amala Foundation; she infuses mindfulness practices into her personal and professional life. As a trained facilitator, she has worked closely with other facilitators and AISD's Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) team to provide mindfulness training to principals, teachers, parents, and students across the district. Her love of nature and the outdoors has taken her to Hawaii, California, Mexico, and Guatemala to study different sustainability and farming methods. Nancy brings a peaceful and culturally competent perspective to the work she does and the interactions she has. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and dancing salsa!
Matthew Garland
Co-Manager of Curriculum & Training
Matthew Garland is a former AISD teacher, a school garden collaborator and the founder of the Nearby Naturalists nature program. His love of nature began as a child, exploring the ditches and bayous of his neighborhood in Houston. His mother established a protocol that he must always present new turtles and snakes for inspection at the front door, before bringing them into the house. A childhood filled with nature-based learning eventually led him to education. As a teacher at Zilker elementary, he helped to organize and establish a campus vegetable garden. He created a series of outdoor lessons for use in the garden and helped to facilitate the Garden to Cafe program at his campus. He also developed a sustainable classroom model that included composting, water capture and outdoor learning areas. In 2021, he founded Nearby Naturalists to help connect children with nature right where they live. He joined the PEAS staff to help implement grant projects. He lives in south Austin with his spouse and two daughters, a dog named Shelby and quite a few chickens.
Lauren Reneé Salinas-Garcia
Outdoor Education Specialist
Lauren Reneé Salinas-Garcia is deeply devoted to celebrating the natural world, as she journeys her path to reconnect to her own indigenous roots and practices. As a teacher, her passion lies in mentorship, youth advocacy, and awakening wonder and community amongst her students. She has experience working in nursery schools, summer camps, elementary and high schools. In 2015 she transitioned from an early childcare center into youth services with the Parks & Rec Department in San Marcos. Over the next few years, her path led her to work as a Teacher's Assistant for AISD. This experience invigorated her passion for Outdoor Education. Lauren Reneé believes one thing that remains constant, is the human necessity for deep connection with the natural world and the equanimity this provides. Her core mission is to provide children an equitable and expansive environment with opportunities to elevate, explore, discover and create, in harmony with nature and community.
Mariana "Mo'' Bonilla
Outdoor Education Specialist
Mariana is passionate about nature, agriculture, and education. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies at the New College of Florida. Her experience working for several small organic farms and non-profits in Central Texas has provided her with a well-rounded perspective on our local food system, with a specialized focus on food justice. Mariana is a trained Clinical Herbalist through the Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine where she teaches classes on the weekends. She's excited to empower our youth through education about the natural world!
Magda Hernandez
Outdoor Education Specialist
Magda Hernandez is thrilled to continue her work in the education field with PEAS. Previously she worked as a field trainer at The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at UT Austin where she implemented research-based curriculum, facilitated courses, and collaborated with teachers to strengthen their best practices. Before that Magda taught for 20+ years in bilingual education with students in grades K-5th. Her intention is to help students, young and older, remember the joy of nature and the lessons to be learned from nature.
Magda is constantly learning how we can work for the land under various teachers with the Austin Permaculture Guild, Sacred Journey School of Herbalism and School of the Sacred Wild. Her interests include yoga, herbalism, plant medicine, food forest, and drumming with Bateristas Do Coraḉão. She is happiest when she gets to spend time with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.
Jenny Sladek
Outdoor Education Specialist
Jenny has over 15 years experience as a classroom teacher, working for 8+ years as Science Teacher and Department Chair at the Austin Independent School District to incorporate S.T.E.A.M. and Whole-Child elements into her instruction. She spent 3 years in UT’s MERSEC/NASCENT program developing curriculum for students based upon current research. She has also worked with numerous non-profit organizations, such as the National Wildlife Federation, the Sustainable Food Center, Whole Kids Foundation, and more, to build educational, student-centered science programming, and has coordinated projects that include a monarch garden, an organic vegetable garden, and a S.T.E.A.M. lab. Her goal is to inspire curiosity, creativity, and collaboration through community and education.
Marianna Segura
Outdoor Education Specialist, Farm Manager & Volunteer Coordinator
A born-and-raised fourth-generation Austinite, Mariannna loves experimenting in the garden, studying medicinal herbs and plants, and making new connections with the natural world. In her various PEAS roles Marianna is passionate about continuing to create a community oriented, intentional planting space in which to foster curiosity and exploration- "I'm inspired to make the most use of the land that I will be stewarding to increase biodiversity and encourage a habitat for native plants and pollinators!" With a focus on honoring seasonal planting cycles, Marianna is hoping to continue fostering an abundant and productive farm for accessible fresh food with plenty to share!
Kelin Petkus
Outdoor Education Specialist & Communications Coordinator
Kelin loves nurturing living things and helping cultivate inclusive environments in which they can thrive. When working in communications, Kelin loves photographing PEAS lessons, her coworkers in action, and the joy of the students. Kelin admires the feeling of peace the natural world can create and also finds joy in cooking and the inspiration created in the PEAS kitchen lessons. Continuing to move forward with PEAS Kelin is passionate about continuing to create accessibility and equity in education with a focus on fostering social and emotional growth- "There's a kind of magic that happens when a student first engages with something new to them, no matter what the learning environment. I think it's so important to foster that confidence and sense of self for all of our students and to help provide a safe space for them to grow!"
Sierra Nics
Kitchen Education Specialist
Sierra "Nics" has over a decade of experience in various food service roles. From delis to coffee shops, bartending to bakeries they have done it all! They are a proud Texan who has lived all over their favorite state. Born outside of Dallas, attended university in Waco, found wide open spaces out west in Marfa and has called Austin home for the past 3 years. Nics has a passion for food that was established early on by watching and learning from their mother - whose Cajun roots still run deep through all of Nics' cooking and character. Nics started with PEAS as an intern for the Kitchen Program and is excited to help expand edible education through Austin’s public schools. They believe confidence comes from experience and love encouraging mistakes and messes through food and learning.
Our Board
Our board is committed to being an informed, engaged, and diverse Board with roles that use the strengths of the individual Board members to provide oversight of financial and program alignment with mission, and contribute financially.
01 Nona Evans
Board Chair
Nona is a lifelong foodie and a collaborative crusader for healthy food as a human right. She believes that all children should experience the joy of nature while learning where real food comes from. With a decade of experience building and leading two nonprofit organizations focused on food equity, Whole Kids Foundation and Whole Cities Foundation, she is skilled in all aspects of the food business but loves strategic planning and experience design most. Nona is an avid gardener and beekeeper and loves sharing those passions with people of all ages.
02 Elijah Kelley
Interim Board Treasurer
Elijah is an experienced leader at the intersection of strategy, operations, and finance. He has held multiple managerial positions in software firms, most recently serving as Senior VP, Strategy & Business Development for the innovation arm of a large healthcare system. Elijah advises multiple startups, consults on market research and strategy, and is a mentor for Texas Health Catalyst. He holds an M.S. in Technology Commercialization from UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business and a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary.
03 Colleen Ketchum
Board Secretary
Gardening and cooking have always gone hand in hand for Colleen. Growing up, she had an active hand both in her mother's garden and in the kitchen, whipping up sugary treats often for friends and family. A former pastry chef, Colleen worked closely with urban farms like Hausbar Farm to procure fresh, hyper local produce for new restaurant dishes. She has also taught an after-school cooking class for elementary students with Sticky Fingers Cooking, bringing fresh ingredients and culturally specific recipes to young audiences. Watching kids grow and learn through hands-on activities is her favorite part about teaching. Currently, Colleen is an Account Executive for PRECISIONeffect, helping clients in the healthcare space "change the standard of care" by developing and executing successful PR strategies to elevate their important work.
04 Bekah Mata
Board Member
Bekah moved to Austin in 2008 to attend the University of Texas at Austin. She graduated with a BBA in Management, a BA in Plan II, and a JD. After law school, Bekah worked as a misdemeanor prosecutor for six years. She is now serving the community as a felony prosecutor at the District Attorney’s office. Bekah lives in east Austin with her fiancé. They have four chickens and love spending time outdoors.
06 Azalia Rodriguez
Board Member
Azalia is passionate about protecting endangered species and changing landscapes. As the Texas Representative, her work focuses on the Texas Hill Country landscape; community partnerships in underrepresented areas; Lights Out Texas; terrestrial and aquatic habitat conservation; and the protection of threatened and endangered species particularly to the Central Texas Hill Country including the golden-cheeked warbler and Texas blind salamander. Azalia leads the Defenders' affiliation group for BIPOCs and the Culture Working Group in her organization and is an active leader of Latino Outdoors. Before joining Defenders, Azalia served as a conservation engagement advocate for the Dallas Zoo where she empowered conservation-based actions for endangered domestic and international wildlife. She also led habitat restoration projects across Texas, assisted in leading the Lights Out Dallas campaign, and spent over 6 years in the biological research sector. Azalia holds an M.S. in Wildlife Biology from The University of Queensland-Australia (2019), a B.S. in Animal Science Production and Management from Eastern New Mexico University (2016), and an AS in Biology from Western Texas College (2014). Originally from Dallas, she now resides in Austin, Texas as an active community leader.
07 Tatianna Cannon
Board Member
As a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Tatianna earned her B.A. in Letters and an M.Ed in Adult and Higher Education. Tatianna has a wealth of experience in the nonprofit sector, including leadership and fundraising positions for the University of Oklahoma, Teach for America, and as a regional executive director with ALSAC/ St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Most recently she has been leading Solar Austin as its inaugural executive director and managing Aster Collaborative, which she initially founded to help maximize the scope and influence of nonprofit organizations for the greater good. Aster Collaborative now assists corporations and programs globally in the areas of education, health and human services, non-profit management, business development, anti-racism training, political consulting, and much more. Tatianna has assisted non-profit organizations as a consultant and as a keynote presenter on topics including fundraising best practices, public affairs and board management for nonprofits, diversity, equity and inclusion, generational philanthropy and workplace motivations, and educational issues as well as topics surrounding educational systems more broadly.
08 Zachary Carr
Board Member
Zachary Carr is an experienced professional in higher education, whose career has been dedicated to enhancing student engagement and success through innovative service learning initiatives and strategic partnerships with nonprofit organizations and community partners. With a robust background in creating and managing programs that bridge academic learning with real-world impact, he has successfully led efforts to integrate service learning into the curriculum, providing students with valuable hands-on experiences that also benefit the community. His expertise lies in developing partnerships that enrich educational outcomes while addressing community needs, particularly in areas of sustainability and education. This includes working directly with educational institutions, local nonprofits, and community groups to create programs that not only educate but also instill a sense of civic responsibility and environmental stewardship among students. Zachary's approach has always been collaborative, ensuring that all stakeholders are engaged and that programs are tailored to maximize impact. He is excited to share his expertise to further the mission of PEAS.
09 Lauren Vay
Board Member
Lauren Vay is an experienced marketing professional currently working and living in Austin, Texas. In her current role at the State of Texas, Lauren serves as the Marketing & Communications Program Manager for the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office where she assists in promoting the state of Texas as the premiere place for business. Lauren has experience volunteering her time for non-profits in Austin as well as Fort Worth. Lauren currently serves on the Marketing & Fundraising Committee for PEAS and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra. Other non-profit experience includes Marketing Chair, Leadership Fort Worth Annual Pull 4 LE Clay Shoot and Event Planning Committee, Business Assistance Center Inaugural Event in Fort Worth. Lauren received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas Christian University with a minor in Energy Technology Management. Lauren is a native Austinite and plant enthusiast.
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