Katie Stonebloom
Life Lab Board Member
Katy is an educator and bilingual language specialist (retired) with a long teaching career in central coast rural schools and farmworker communities. She joined the board of Life Lab in 2020. She was an early collaborator with Life Lab in the NSF funded Language Acquisition and Science Education in Rural Schools project as a LASERS lead teacher. Katy co-founded and co-authored the Kids Around the University program with collaborating Aromas teacher Linda McCue and their early elementary students, the earliest of early college outreach efforts under the auspices of the UCSC Educational Partnership Center in the late 1990’s.
Before moving to Aptos in 2012, Katy lived with her family in Aromas for almost 30 years. She served as the south county Area 7 trustee on the Cabrillo College governing board for 18 of those years.
International volunteer work in education and science, and an active sense of adventure, have taken Katy to five continents and over 30 countries, including collaborative work with the American Federation of Teachers Education for Democracy program in Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Albania. Katy is a graduate of UCSC in Institutional Analysis, and a product of their teacher education and credentialing program. She received an MA in Mexican American Graduate Studies with Bilingual Education Emphasis and a Bilingual Specialist Credential from SJSU. She is a certified Wildlands Firelighter/ Firefighter, and volunteers with the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, relearning and applying fire in stewarding wildlands. Katy and her extended family share the three-acre Stonebloom Family Farm and Vineyard in the Aptos hills, where they enjoy daily contact with nature, love of learning, and the production and enjoyment of good food.
Jacob Young
Life Lab Board Treasurer
Earning his Certified Financial Planning® designation (CFP®), Jacob has been helping clients meet their financial needs since 1996. He currently manages over $400,000,000 in client assets and enjoys his personal connections with each client and learning more about their past, present, and what they expect for the future.
Jacob grew up in Placerville, California, and now lives with his family in Soquel, California. He enjoys being outdoors, watching and participating in various sports, especially running and baseball. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish, loves traveling and seeing new places, and is fascinated with history, especially local history. In addition, he helps the local schools by sponsoring a scholarship for graduating seniors and supports various local charitable organizations.
Oscar Paz
Life Lab Board President
Oscar Paz (he/him) was born and raised in the land of eternal spring, Guatemala, and brings his passion for teaching to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) where he serves as the current Education and Outreach Manager. Before his current role, Oscar taught Spanish in Santa Cruz and even served as a substitute teacher in the county. Outside of the MAH, Oscar enjoys taking road trips, soaking in hot springs, and over the past few years, snowboarding! Connect with him over goth music, action movies, a vegan dish, or cat pictures. Reach out! Oscar is thrilled to be a part of the Life Lab family and looks forward to serving on the Board.
Daniela Etchegaray
Garden Classroom Program Director
831-200-3703
daniela@lifelab.org
Bio Coming Soon…
Anali Zambrano Castro
Administrative Assistant
831-400-2016
admin@lifelab.org
I love cooking and spending time with my family. I grew up between the city and my grandparents farm and ranch, surrounded by cows, pigs, chickens, horses and lots of corn and sugarcane. I care about our environment and teaching our children to care about our planet and also about our culture. In my free time I like to make Mexican food, like tamales, chiles rellenos, mole, pozole, etc. I also enjoy going for walks at the beach or in the forest and connecting with nature. I'm happy and grateful to be part of Life Lab, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn and help for the good of our planet in a time of important climate and environmental changes.
Regi Jones
Director of Curriculum and Professional Development
831-200-3484
regi@lifelab.org
My name is Regi Jones and I grew up and attended university in North Carolina. My passion for education began while working with groups of Burmese youth in the summer. That launched me into moving to New Orleans to dive into my curiosity about the connection between food and education. Primarily focusing on how food can be used to connect people across cultures and how what we eat is shaped by our own ancestral connections. When I’m not thinking about how to draw young people into those conversations I love any outdoor activity, trying new foods and watching That’s so Raven.
John Fisher
Director of Programs & Partnerships
831-471-7831
gardendirector@lifelab.org
John came to Life Lab in 2000 with years of experience as an environmental educator in places such as Hidden Villa and in Honduras as a Peace Corps Volunteer. After a couple of years working at UCSC CASFS as Outreach Coordinator, creating a summer camp program, and expanding fieldtrips John came to Life Lab. With Life Lab he built and maintained the Garden Classroom and developed programming for children and UCSC interns. Currently John is focused on sharing the innovative work of Life Lab through communications, educator professional development, and networking across the state and nation. John attended UC San Diego and has a BA in Biological Anthropology. At home John tends a small flock of hens, a mini orchard, and a cut flower/vegetable garden with his wife and son.
Whitney Cohen
Executive Director
831-200-9014
whitney@lifelab.org
Whitney Cohen (she/her) is a nationally-recognized leader in the school garden movement. Whitney brings tremendous commitment to, and expertise in, place-based education; student-led inquiry; strategies for engaging a diverse student population; and the intersection between environmental education and the public school system. Whitney was asked to step into the role of Executive Director in July 2024, following 17 years as Life Lab’s Education Director. Whitney has led school garden conferences and leadership institutes, given keynote addresses, and designed and taught educator workshops nationwide. She has written and contributed to various activity guides, including The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids, The Growing Classroom, and The Soil Story Curriculum. Whitney is also a lecturer at UC Santa Cruz where she teaches a course on environmental education. Whitney received her MA in Education from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2002 and her BA in Sustainable Community Development from Vassar College in 1999. Prior to working with Life Lab, Whitney taught Earth, Life, and Physical Science and Introductory Spanish for five years in a low income, public middle school. At this school, Whitney worked with the local community to create a school garden and a watershed adoption project. In addition to classroom teaching, Whitney has worked in environmental education and public health in California, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Read more about Whitney.
Kelsey Cerdas
Communications Manager
831-400-8577
kelsey@lifelab.org
Kelsey is thrilled to join Life Lab as the Communications Manager. With over a decade of experience as a professional artist and business owner, she brings a creative touch to her work. Kelsey earned her degree from UC Santa Barbara, where she honed her skills in communication and creativity. In her free time, she enjoys surfing, traveling, hiking, gardening, and spending time with family, activities that deepen her love for nature and education.
JENNA MOBLEY
Guest Educator
jenna@lifelab.org
Jenna began her career in education as a second grade teacher in Atlanta Public Schools. At present, she continues to work at the intersection of the education system and local food systems, primarily developing curriculum and training teachers around the world with partner organizations including FoodCorp, Georgia Organics, Life Lab, and Small Bites Adventure Club.
LUISA AVILES
Guest Educator
JOHN BRISSENDEN
Life Lab Board Vice President
John is a Native Californian, gently raised by conservationist Presbyterians amidst olive and orange groves, spuds of Tulelake, walnuts and apricots of the Santa Clara valley. John is very grateful for his four kids, six grandkids, and his lovely wife of 41 years, Patty. He was elected to the Live Oak School District Board where, with the help of many, spawned Life Lab, VISTA volunteer. John is a founding member of the Land Trust and member of the Santa Cruz County Community Foundation. He has also devoted time to serve as the congressional aide to Leon Panetta, worked as the innkeeper in the High Sierra for 40 years, was elected to the Alpine County Board of Supervisors, helped to create the Friends of Hope Valley, and has worked in real estate! In addition, he has worked with John Laird to create the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and after 16 years, he still sits on the Board for the Santa Cruz Land Trust representing the Governor.
ALICIA MARTINEZ
Life Lab Board Member
Alicia Martinez, Library Director, at Watsonville Public Library is an experienced librarian with a demonstrated history of working in both public and academic libraries. A Watsonville High School graduate (class of 1984), Alicia was born and raised in Watsonville to immigrant parents of Mexico. She is a first-generation Latina and the first in her family to graduate from college. Alicia earned a Master’s in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University and a Bachelor’s in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Cal State Monterey Bay. In her spare time, she loves to read a variety of genres and enjoys traveling and exploring Mexico and other parts of the world. Her other favorite past-time is spending time with her three grandchildren exploring the outdoors.
Regi Jones
Lead Facilitator
regi@lifelab.org
Regi is from North Carolina and spent most of their time growing up barefoot, playing outside when they weren’t outside they could be found inside, eating good food. That passion for the intersection of food, play and the outdoors is at the intersection of the work Regi does today. Their combined interest led them to a career in food education which started in New Orleans. While living in New Orleans they developed curriculum and expertise in building relationships with students in the outdoors. As a bridge builder and life long learner Regi sees the immense power of relationship building across similarities and differences and uses the outdoor classroom to encourage students to take social and academic risks that enable them to drive their own learning. When Regi isn’t teaching the Certification Course they can be found writing curriculum, playing outside or having a snack.
Barbara Gordon, PhD
I was born in New York City and had all my childhood education there. I was an elementary school teacher for three years after graduating from Brooklyn College. After my children were born I returned to school. I received a PhD from Columbia University.
I was on the faculty of both Hunter College in New York and San Jose State University here in California. At both campuses I taught nutritional biochemistry and pharmacology.
I served as chairperson of the Nutrition Department at Hunter College in NYC. There I developed courses, programs and conferences exploring the importance of cultural awareness in nutrition. I always wanted my students to know where their food came from and who grew, transported and perhaps altered it into the products students ate.
At San Jose State I developed a garden with students. They informed me about vegetables that were culturally relevant to them, and we grew those. This changed with each semester depending on the students. I found that a very satisfying experience.
Since moving to Santa Cruz, I’ve happily served on the board of Life Lab.
Vivian Rogers
Director of Development and Finance
vivian@lifelab.org
831.200.1864
Bio Coming Soon…
Dr. Jackie Medina
Dr. Jackie Medina has been an educator for more than two decades. She began her teaching career as a bilingual teacher internationally serving children in Italy, Guatemala, and Mexico. In 2005, she continued her Dual Language commitment at Starlight Elementary School. She was a teacher leader and a parent liaison for ten years before becoming the assistant principal, and then the Principal in 2015. She led her school and district to develop several literacy projects under the umbrella of her campaign called “Building a Culture of Literacy.” These projects include various family literacy projects and she played an instrumental role in developing the “Birthday Books From Coco” program as a board member of the Live Like Coco Foundation . She is also a community leader for bilingual education. Dr. Medina played an active role in Sacramento, helping create a statewide “Seal of Biliteracy” award for graduating seniors and criteria for an elementary school pathway award.
Student literacy, parental engagement, and dual language instruction have been the key focal points of her career. Since 2015 she has been a leader in the school gardens and environmental movements in school. Her school has been an Ocean Guardian school for six years and the first Green Certified School in Watsonville. Her most recent accomplishment was opening the nationally recognized Culinary Garden and Teaching Kitchen. This unique and exemplary program is a product of the deep and rich partnership between Starlight, Life Lab, and the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. She regards this project as one of her greatest accomplishments in education.