Staff & Board of Directors

STAFF

​EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
​Sarah Perry

Sarah Perry was born and raised on farmland near Tappahannock, Virginia. She attended the University of Mary Washington, where she majored in Studio Art, concentrating in Sculpture. During her first year of college, she began volunteering at Downtown Greens. She has been serving in the Executive Director position since July of 2013. In November of 2014, she co-founded Good Turn Earth Company, with the mission to rescue food waste from landfills and turn it into a premium organic soil conditioner. She has found her home in the outdoor oasis of Downtown Greens.

education coordinator
Savannah Steblein

Savannah is a Northern Virginia local who graduated from University of Mary Washington with a degree in English and minor in Environmental Sustainability. Her family cultivated a love for the outdoors within her and she grew up with her hands in the soil and feet on hiking trails. After working as a Park Ranger and volunteering as a Tree Steward, Savannah is excited to share her love of the outdoors with the community as Downtown Greens’ Education Coordinator!

Assistant Educator
​khalilah brooker

Khalilah grew up in Philadelphia and joined the military reserve before traveling the country with her family, where her love for gardening blossomed. She took horticultural classes as College of Lake County and finally settled in VA. 

She is fascinated by succulents and loves the challenge of growing anything unique or different. She loves growing flowers and veggies, the joy of taking a tiny seed and getting a large plant to either eat from or admire makes it worthwhile. Passing that curiosity to children and adults is something she enjoys.
  

Program Coordinator
Janet Douberly

Janet Douberly is the Program Coordinator at Downtown Greens.  She has lived in the Fredericksburg region for most of her life besides a brief stint in Texas where she studied Horticulture with an enthusiasm for soil science and vegetable production.  Working at Downtown Greens has been a dream of hers for years and she is thrilled to have the opportunity to give back to the community while getting her hands dirty.  Janet’s favorite plants tend to be the ones she can eat.

​OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Marianne Tokarz

Marianne began working with Downtown Greens in April 2019 as a recent VCU grad and intern, earning hours for VSU's Certificate Program in Urban Agriculture. Although her green thumb has a ways to go, she's had the opportunity to learn about all the moving parts that make this special place run. She is excited to extend her experience as an intern into this her position as Office Administrator, and continue to be part of the magic and mission of Downtown Greens. ​

garden coordinator
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administrative assistant
​robin pride​

​Robin was born in Richmond, grew up in Northern VA, and has lived in Fredericksburg for almost 10 years. She worked with the Federal Government in Administration for 18 years, served 8 years of active duty in the Air Force, and has spent the rest of her career working with various agencies. She loves working behind the scenes to make sure an office runs seamlessly. She's excited to learn more about the garden and all of the things DTG does for the community.

Farm Manager
Beth mcclain

Beth has worked for Downtown Greens as the Garden Sprouts teacher and loved working with the younger kids. She is excited to be back working in the dirt and with the Downtown Greens crew!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President
Brad smith

Brad Smith has lived all over the world but now calls downtown Fredericksburg home. His grandmother instilled a practical and romantic appreciation for nature in him. He studied Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. He is passionate about mental health, sustainability, veteran issues, youth advocacy, citizen diplomacy, writing, and food. He has volunteered with Downtown Greens for several years and is excited to serve on the board.

Treasurer
​Larry Bramlette

Larry Bramlette, President of the Board of Directors is a retired US Army Colonel and currently works part-time as an engineering consultant for EOIR Technologies, Inc. He serves on the Spotsylvania County Board of Zoning Appeals and volunteers around the corner at Hazel Hill Healthcare Project where his wife, Kathie just retired as the community nurse.

​JAVONNE KIRBY

Javonne was born and raised in New Jersey but is a long time Fredericksburg area resident where she lives in an intergenerational household with her mother and daughter. Coming from a long line of change-makers--having family that led the way for desegregation and equality education in King George County--she has a passion for helping individuals struggling with addiction and for fostering safe spaces for people on the margins. When she's not brightening Downtown Greens, she maintains her own garden, works in the food service industry,  and is an avid artist with many ties to the local art and music community. ​

Lynn ackermann

Lynn has been an enthusiastic and active supporter of and volunteer at Downtown Greens for many years. She served as treasurer of the Board of Directors for two years. Lynn is a retired high school math teacher who worked in Stafford and Spotsylvania county schools.

Jessica Harper

Inspired in part by her pre-adolescent remembrances of home gardening and farm-to-table dining in her home state of Maryland, Jessica developed an early adoration for the natural world and its elements. A garden-hours volunteer since July 2021, she enjoys facilitating DTG's Free Farm Stand Thursdays during the Spring and Summer months as well as helping maintain and preserve the upper and lower gardens year-round. She is overjoyed to serve on the board and anticipates delving even deeper into Downtown Greens' various projects and initiatives in the months and years that lie ahead.

​Christie hoerneman

Christie is a passionate advocate for education, especially continuing education of adults. She has worked for the Central Rappahannock Regional Library and played active roles with the VA Library Association and the American Library Association. One of her favorite duties as a librarian was creating programs to help educate the community and to bring people together over a common interest. She is a passionate advocate for native plants, which she believes are absolutely essential to help combat insect decline. She would love to see the general population learn how they can use native plants and sustainable gardening practices on their properties.

Emerald payton

Emerald is the staff nurse for the Hazel Hill Healthcare Project, located next to Downtown Greens. She is excited to continue building the relationship between Downtown Greens and community members at Hazel Hill. She has a BSN from Delaware State University and over 9 years experience as a registered nurse working with mental health, chronic/acute disease management, home health/infusion, and now community health.

Josie Ramos

Josie works with Micah Ministries as a Housing Locator, with the goal of ending homelessness in the area. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she has served as a financial advocate in the area since 2000. An active member of the Fredericksburg community, Josie has also worked with Hope House, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Empowerhouse, Fredericksburg Continuum of Care, and the Boys and Girls Club, and other local organizations. Josie considers herself an advocate and resource to her neighbors in the area that do not have an established community or family. 

Kimberly cartier

(coming soon)