Staff
Annie Ferris became the Global Garden Educator for Rosa Parks Elementary after being captured by the program at Eugene Field. As an artist and Global Gardens volunteer Annie was inspired by the student's eclectic garden art projects, garden brainstorming lists and garden journals. The inspiration moved her to crate a series of paintings expressing her love of the program. The creative possibilities of Global Gardens along with the program's commitment to peace and cultural diversity education lead her to join the staff. Annie has 12 years experience working with children including as a VISTA volunteer and through art therapy. In addition to working with Global Gardens Annie facilitates weekly art sessions with Alzheimer's patients and continues to fill her days with painting, knitting, reading and traveling with her husband Scott and their dog, Ella.
Jenny Nemec-Charles was one of Global Garden’s first team members. She met Heather Oakley in December of 2006 to discuss the phenomenal idea of empowering children through gardening. During the program’s inaugural semester at Eugene Field Nemec-Charles volunteered weekly while she finished her studies at OSU-Tulsa. After graduating in May 2007 with a degree in Liberal Studies she joined the staff as a full-time employee. In November 2007 she gave birth to her first child and is now a full-time mother and part-time teacher for Global Gardens. Influenced by her mother’s passion for gardening, Nemec-Charles created and maintained a community garden at the apartment complex where she used to reside. She now lives in a house with her husband, daughter, dog and cat where she continues to dig up the yard to accommodate her ever-growing and fluctuating collection of plants.
Ayschia Saiymeh began as a Global Gardens volunteer in August 2007 and quickly transitioned to staff taking on the role of Community and Public Relations Coordinator. A Tulsa native and OSU public relations graduate she is familiar with the community, and knows that the citizens of Tulsa are among the most philanthropic in the country and giving is a as much a part of the culture as biking down riverside and high school football rivalries. Believing that gardening can be a catalyst for building strong communities she found her calling in Global Gardens. Traveling the world, writing and flying a kite are a few other things that make her come alive!
A native Tulsan, Lindsey (Watts) Smith discovered the joys of working with children while still a teenager herself. Mission trips and volunteerism afforded her the opportunity to open her heart to kids from many different backgrounds and cultures. Since that time, she has continued to teach students in schools, clubs, camps, and churches. Lindsey has been living in the mountains of North Carolina for the past 9 years, during which time she has also been raising four of her own children- Madeleine, Ben, Nicole, and Wesley. She is thrilled to be joining our fantastic team at Eugene Field Elementary as the Garden Educator and has truly fallen in love with our program, the other teachers, and of course, the children.
