Ava Malloy Ava is part of the CommunityCare Larimer cohort! She will be adopting two vacant lots on Shetland street, where she plans to add color by planting a ton of flowers. Maintaining vacant lots is important to Ava because she sees the value in being involved in her community, and feels like giving back is her duty as a resident.Read More
MH MH is part of the CommunityCare Larimer cohort! MH is adopting two vacant lots in Larimer, which he refers to as a "gateway" project. Community greenspace is important to MH because he wants to build something that people will be proud to have in their neighborhood.Read More
Tab Duckett Tab is a part of the CommunityCare Larimer cohort! In 2019, he will be adopting three vacant lots in Larimer to beautify and steward for a one year period. Tab is passionate about vacant lot maintenance because he knows it improves community perceptions. Read More
Gordon Hodnett Pronouns: he/him/his Gordon started out as a ReClaim South Ambassador in 2013 for GTECH Strategies, now Grounded. He now considers himself as a "Father Gardener." While he was a ReClaim South Ambassador, he created the Garden on Gearing in Beltzhoover. Gordon envisioned the community garden in 2014 and it hasn’t stopped growing since. The once-vacant lot is now an edible garden that provides seasonal fruits and vegetables to passersby, including a fruit tree orchard, colorful mural, and a bench so…Read More
Grace Braxton Grace comes to Grounded as a first-year student in the University of Pittsburgh’s Master of Social Work program and is excited about learning the ins and outs of a community-oriented nonprofit with a powerful mission. As a 2016 college graduate from the University of Vermont, Grace has a background in global studies and culture. Since graduating college, Grace has worked at a day habilitation center with adults with intellectual disabilities and as a care manager at a psychiatric clinic in…Read More
Alex Kluge Alex joined Grounded Strategies shortly after beginning his master’s degree in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. Before arriving in Pittsburgh, Alex worked at USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal, where he worked on community development and food security projects. After 4 years of internationally-focused work, Alex has grown passionate about domestic environmental health, land use, and economic development issues. Throughout…Read More
Megan McElhaney Megan joined Grounded as a third-year graduate student from the University of Pittsburgh. She is pursuing joint master’s degrees in social work and public administration, with concentrations in community organizing and nonprofit management. Before grad school, Megan was an AmeriCorps member working with various youth programs in the Hilltop neighborhoods. In fact, she first learned about Grounded when she helped build a Green Playce at the Allentown Learning and Engagement Center! She has been a trip leader specialist with Venture…Read More