Charaf Abourached
Assistant Garden Teacher, LHA
Charaf Abourached was born and grew up in the beautiful city of Marrakech, in Morocco. When he was young he helped on his great uncle’s farm that had vegetables and olive, apple, and orange trees. This awakened Charaf’s love of food and spices and his drive to give back to his surroundings. A person of many interests, Charaf has run a restaurant, made public art and giant puppets and sculpture, built his own furniture, and used to teach P.E. at LHA before joining the garden team. He loves to learn, and is excited to combine his experiences with food and farming in Morocco with growing practices in the U.S.. He is confident that in his classes students will take care of each other and learn life skills that they will be able to use throughout their lives. In his homelife, he is often immersed in one of his many hobbies, like woodworking or drawing.
Claudia Barker
Executive Director
A native New Orleanian, Claudia Barker comes from an Italian family with a love of good cooking and enjoying food in community. A strong proponent of teaching children where food comes from and how to prepare it in healthy ways, she also believes that we can change the world by attending to children’s social and emotional needs and teaching them respect for life. When Claudia’s not leading the charge for development and communications at FirstLine and ESYNOLA, she can be found reading and writing, hanging out on her screened porch with family and friends, or walking in City Park with her dog, Red Bean.
Megan Brummer
Lead Chef Teacher, Green
Megan Brummer grew up in Colorado, has lived in Iowa and Washington D.C., but New Orleans is her heart and forever home. She earned her Masters in Social Work and Public Health at Tulane University. Megan worked in the HIV social work field before finding her calling in culinary education. As a chef educator, she is passionate about cooking and trying new foods, exploring other cultures and cuisines, eating for joy and nourishment, the trouble with sugar, and the necessity of salt. She believes our work promotes equity, and has the power to decrease violence, increase educational success, and foster happiness in students’ lives. When she’s not in the teaching kitchen, Megan might be lifting heavy things, running as fast as she can, listening to live music, or eating and laughing with her family.
Lou Duplantier
Lead Garden Teacher, Green
Devin El-Amin
Associate Garden Educator, Ashe
Andy Gelter
Associate Kitchen Teacher, Green
Abisoye Igenoza
Lead Garden Teacher, Ashe
Derrick Johnson
Associate Kitchen Educator, Ashe
Zach O’Donnell
Program Manager
Zach O’Donnell, the son of science teachers in Chicago, has been an educator since 2006. He has a science teaching certificate from San Francisco State University, a certificate in Ecological Horticulture from UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and a B.S. in Biology from Saint Louis University. Before joining ESYNOLA, Zach lived in Mozambique where he worked as a field agronomist. Using gardens as educational spaces combines Zach’s passions for science, growing food, education, and playing in the dirt. When he’s not teaching garden classes or laying under trees and looking up, he is probably going for a very long run.
Tim Phillips
Garden Educator and Library Assistant
Jae Semien
Lead Kitchen Teacher, Ashe
Charlotte Steele
Director of Edible Schoolyard New Orleans
Charlotte Steele hails from New Jersey, but it was in Michigan where she discovered the magic that is local food and farmers markets that inspired her lifelong love for food and the people who grow it. As an educator, she places importance on the therapeutic aspects of nature and community. Charlotte uses Emotional Freedom Techniques and other brain-based strategies to help children learn how to identify their needs and meet them self-sufficiently. Before joining the network as the Director of Edible Schoolyard New Orleans, she was a member of the garden education staff at Wheatley since our program began there, and she believes that food is life. Don’t be surprised if you see the garden teacher students lovingly know as “Ms. Charlotte Cantaloupe” fiercely skating with the Big Easy Rollergirls.
Regina Sullivan
Lead Garden Teacher, LHA
Liliana Tabora
Lead Garden Teacher, Wheatley
Braian Tomé
Associate Garden Teacher, Green
Braian (pronounced Brian) Tomé was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and grew up in Miami, FL. He first became interested in horticulture at Florida International University, where he studied environmental science. Braian has worked at farms, nurseries, and botanical gardens, and was an agriculture extension agent in the Peace Corps in Paraguay. Cultivating lush gardens and cooking and eating delicious food is Braian’s passion. He wants to live in a world where children have a deep appreciation for nature, and learn to grow their own food and cook it at home. When he’s not teaching and gardening at Green, he might be playing soccer, practicing yoga, gardening and cooking at home, or running out of oxygen in a steam room.