Quyen Edwards, President
Quyen works at the Portage District Library which is where she first became interested in native plants when she attended a presentation by Ilse Gebhard about Monarchs and Monarch Waystations. Quyen manages the Monarch Waystation and native plantings on the library’s property as well as the PDL Seed Library. She is especially interested in moths, butterflies, caterpillars, and their host plants.
RosaLee Ward, Vice President
In addition to her KAWO involvement, RosaLee (she/they) is the Executive Assistant and board liaison at YWCA Kalamazoo, and they also sit on the board of directors of the Suzuki Academy of Kalamazoo. She became a first-time native plant gardener in the summer of 2022 out of a deeply felt responsibility to live in right relationship with and intentional stewardship of the land and home she purchased in late 2021. Feeling the tension of being both a white person—a descendant of colonizers on stolen land—and a fierce advocate for racial justice, decolonization, and the Land Back movement, RosaLee sees stewarding the land and steering it towards something that more closely resembles what it might have looked like pre-colonization as an anti-racist practice and a means of healing past and present harms wrought by settler colonialism.
They have spent the last several years engaged in slowly transforming their grass lawn lot into an ecological haven, and have loved welcoming all manner of more-than-human kin to live alongside them. She hopes the neighbors will catch the native plant bug soon, too.
Cameron Lockwood, Secretary
“I lived briefly in Michigan as a teenager, and moved back a few years ago, at a time when I was developing a much deeper appreciation for the natural world. It was after we removed a patch of lawn at home and replaced it with tallgrass prairie that I got truly hooked on native plants. All it took was seeing the explosion of Rudbeckia hirta in the second year! I was lucky to then meet some very welcoming folks affiliated with KAWO during my frequenting of local plant sales. I feel fortunate to live in a community with so many smart, passionate people dedicated to preserving our ecosystems and biodiversity, and am excited to be a part of this group!”
Ellie Shenker, Treasurer
Ellie’s lived in the multiple states across the Pacific Northwest, New England, mid-Atlantic, and Texas, but is excited that her family has decided to stay put for the long haul in Kalamazoo, where she can start gardening for the first time in her life. Outside of native plants, she loves reading, struggling with ceramics, and hanging out with her partner and kid. She works in governmental and nonprofit grants compliance and accounting and is always happy to figure out how to use her talent for boring, detail-oriented tasks to do good.
Mel Luna, Chair of Programs and Executive Committee Member-at-large
Mel Luna strives to honor the sentience of the living world with curiosity, care, and patience. She is always learning how to be a better steward of the land and all her relationships.
Beth Bradburn, Web Chair and Newsletter Editor
Beth has lived in various (mostly eastern) US states. She moved to Kalamazoo in 2004 to teach college literature and, after early retirement in 2021, stayed for the flora and fauna. She still loves reading and writing, and enjoys using her communication skills to promote native landscaping.
Kira Griggs, Executive Committee Member-at-large
“I grew up in Southwest Michigan and returned after college and living abroad. I joined KAWO with my dad, Chuck Jordan, avid tree and bird connoisseur, and rediscovered the beauty of Michigan’s natural ecosystems. I jumped into various volunteer projects with KAWO, including planting and weeding at the Portage Library, working plant sales, and conducting site visits. I have transformed my suburban lawn to native plants in an attempt to show that native plants can be beautiful and functional. Through this work, I hope to inspire others in my community to reconnect with our local landscapes and see native plants as an accessible, meaningful way to care for the place we call home.”
Mike Weis, Executive Committee Member-at-large
Mike is the owner of the Kalamazoo-based landscape company, Dropseed! Native Gardens and Ecological Restoration. He has been gardening with native plants since 2005. He also works seasonally for Hidden Savanna Native Plant Nursery and volunteers as an ecological steward for Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy and Stewards of Kleinstuck, where he serves as a board member. Mike is also an accomplished percussionist, composer and conceptual photographer.
“I learned about native plant gardening in 2004 after being dragged by my wife to a presentation at the Chicago chapter of Wild Ones.”
Paul Laferriere, Chair of Community Projects
“My first deeply-felt connection to the natural world was through birding. Now I appreciate and love learning about native plants, and find great satisfaction in exploring natural areas, and volunteering with conservation, restoration, and native gardening activities around Kalamazoo. I’ve been a member of KAWO Community Projects since 2020, and recently completed the MSUE Conservation Stewardship Program.”