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Christine Smith (she/her), Executive Director
Christine Smith is the Executive Director of Seedleaf. Trained academically as a geographer, she has been with Seedleaf since 2017. Her gardening experience is rooted in the sub-tropics of Florida where she grew up and her grandmother’s Kingston garden and menagerie filled with ginep, breadfruit, pomegranates, scotch bonnet peppers, fish, pigeons, chickens and stray dogs. She is most proud of her title as ‘Ambassador of Flowers’.
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James Hunter (he/him), Farm Manager
Originally from Eastern Kentucky, James Hunter has recently returned from Florida following a career managing a North Florida tree farm. James has a varied career that spans trees and philosophy. James has two sons, two Australian Shepherds, and now calls Lexington home.
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Connor Mason (he, him), Farm Assistant
connor@seedleaf.org
Connor served as an Agroforestry Intern with Seedleaf in the summer of 2026 before joining the team as Farm Assistant. -
Mariella 'Mar' Cardenas (they/them), Garden Manager
Mar Mendoza Cárdenas is the Garden Manager of Seedleaf. They were trained in horticulture at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Mar loves building community in every space that they encounter, and believes gardens should be spaces where both food and joy grow.
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Jessica Schroeder (she/her), Youth Education Director
education@seedleaf.org
Jessica Schroeder joined our team in the Spring of 2026. She studied English and received her Master's in Secondary Education at the University of Kentucky. Jessica has over five years of teaching experience with all-aged students, which includes two seasons at the children's garden in the University of Kentucky Arboretum. When not tending to her own garden or playing with her two young boys, she enjoys training for fitness competitions, reading and writing, and crafting. Jessica hopes to publish a bilingual children's book in the near future. -
Sarah Newman (she/her) , Communications & Advancement Director
Sarah Newman is in her second chapter at Seedleaf as the Communications & Advancement Director, after first joining the team in 2013. Along with experience and a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science, Sarah brings a passion for equitable food systems and community building. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to good music, hiking, and sharing a good belly laugh with others.
Our volunteer coordinators are the heartbeat of what keeps our community gardens bountiful. These folks donate a few hours of time per week to basic garden tasks like weeding and watering. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer garden coordinator, please reach out to garden@seedleaf.org.
Our Volunteer Coordinator Team
B Mead
North Pole
Community Garden
Anthony & Ella Wilson
Community Garden
Jacob Turner
Grace Garden
Callie Dickman & Skylar Gilles
Bryan Ave Community Garden
Joy Harris & Halsten Higgins
London Ferrill Community Garden
Coordinator Needed!,
Castlewood Park Orchard
Seedleaf’s mission is
to nourish communities by growing and sharing food.
Specifically, we provide horticultural training, support the practice of gardening and small scale farming, and increase access to nourishing fruits and vegetables in the urban spaces of Lexington, KY.
Seedleaf is committed to the ongoing connection of people to land, the incubation of healthy community interdependence, and cultivation of growers.
Our work is driven by the belief that this leads to the development of a robust local food economy and a just & equitable system of stewardship over land.
Our spaces are free from discrimination and bigotry; they are welcoming, safe, and accessible places to all who are likewise committed to upholding this standard of respect and kindness for all,
both by our actions and our words.