Meet Our Team
Sara L. Stewart, RN, MSN
Executive Director, Board President
In 2008, Sara saw the need for fresh, barrier-free food in our community and decided to grow a garden. This spout of an idea has grown and spread throughout our region providing opportunities, resources, and life-long relationships. Her passion for connecting people to healthy food and each other keeps her striving to make this "outrageous" idea the standard everywhere. Contact Sara [email protected]
Executive Director, Board President
In 2008, Sara saw the need for fresh, barrier-free food in our community and decided to grow a garden. This spout of an idea has grown and spread throughout our region providing opportunities, resources, and life-long relationships. Her passion for connecting people to healthy food and each other keeps her striving to make this "outrageous" idea the standard everywhere. Contact Sara [email protected]
Katie Lane
Director of Operations
Katie joined Unity Gardens as an intern in 2021 and has since taken on the role of Director of Operations. She oversees all aspects of the day to day at Unity Gardens, including managing our full time staff, and overseeing our Giving Grove partnership and satellite gardens. She's always happy to talk gardening or fruit trees or rock climbing. Contact Katie [email protected]
Director of Operations
Katie joined Unity Gardens as an intern in 2021 and has since taken on the role of Director of Operations. She oversees all aspects of the day to day at Unity Gardens, including managing our full time staff, and overseeing our Giving Grove partnership and satellite gardens. She's always happy to talk gardening or fruit trees or rock climbing. Contact Katie [email protected]
Danny Davis
Special Projects Manager
Danny joined us in August of 2023 as a jack of all trades. He now keeps the building and garden in shape as well as takes on all sorts of building and infrastructure projects to improve the gardens, including the Geodome, our pack house, and many many raised bed and irrigation projects. Contact Danny d[email protected].
Special Projects Manager
Danny joined us in August of 2023 as a jack of all trades. He now keeps the building and garden in shape as well as takes on all sorts of building and infrastructure projects to improve the gardens, including the Geodome, our pack house, and many many raised bed and irrigation projects. Contact Danny d[email protected].
Eve Renee
Horticultural Lead
Eve is a South Bend native and a woman of the woods. She is a barefooter, forager, and lifelong student of nature. She is a budding herbalist and is interested in pursuing clinical and community herbalism. Eve is very passionate about holistic health and teaching others how to re-establish their connection with nature and re-wild themselves. Through Unity Gardens, she hopes to foster a deep connection between people and plants within her community. Eve plans and maintains all of our growing spaces including our main garden, market garden, and geodome. Contact Eve: [email protected]
Horticultural Lead
Eve is a South Bend native and a woman of the woods. She is a barefooter, forager, and lifelong student of nature. She is a budding herbalist and is interested in pursuing clinical and community herbalism. Eve is very passionate about holistic health and teaching others how to re-establish their connection with nature and re-wild themselves. Through Unity Gardens, she hopes to foster a deep connection between people and plants within her community. Eve plans and maintains all of our growing spaces including our main garden, market garden, and geodome. Contact Eve: [email protected]
Dr. Randy Miller
Intern & Event Manager
Randy loves welcoming people to the garden, working with interns, and making new connections with our amazing volunteers! Randy started with Unity Gardens in 2024 while at the South Bend Community Re-Entry Center. Randy is passionate about leadership, discipline, and giving back to the community. He enjoys learning, teaching, working out, and being a positive influence in the lives of others. The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Contact Randy: [email protected]
Intern & Event Manager
Randy loves welcoming people to the garden, working with interns, and making new connections with our amazing volunteers! Randy started with Unity Gardens in 2024 while at the South Bend Community Re-Entry Center. Randy is passionate about leadership, discipline, and giving back to the community. He enjoys learning, teaching, working out, and being a positive influence in the lives of others. The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Contact Randy: [email protected]
Katy Whittaker
Sales and Satellite Gardens
Katy recently graduated from Indiana University in South Bend. She's a social work major with a criminal justice minor. Katy loves learning about agriculture. She grew up doing 4-H and working with animals and is excited to learn about how the social work and agriculture worlds can combine to teach people how to provide food and animal products for themselves and their loved ones! She now backs up the satellite gardens and manages our sales locations. Contact Katy: [email protected]
Sales and Satellite Gardens
Katy recently graduated from Indiana University in South Bend. She's a social work major with a criminal justice minor. Katy loves learning about agriculture. She grew up doing 4-H and working with animals and is excited to learn about how the social work and agriculture worlds can combine to teach people how to provide food and animal products for themselves and their loved ones! She now backs up the satellite gardens and manages our sales locations. Contact Katy: [email protected]
Ian Quinn
Community Engagement
Ian graduated from IU Bloomington in 2024 with a major in International Studies and a minor in Psych. He recently moved to South Bend! He enjoys gardening, kickboxing, computers, coffee, and learning different languages! He loves to write, and you can usually find him buried in a book or running along South Bend's trails. At Unity Gardens, Ian writes grants, conducts outreach, and helps with Youth Programming. Contact Ian: [email protected]
Community Engagement
Ian graduated from IU Bloomington in 2024 with a major in International Studies and a minor in Psych. He recently moved to South Bend! He enjoys gardening, kickboxing, computers, coffee, and learning different languages! He loves to write, and you can usually find him buried in a book or running along South Bend's trails. At Unity Gardens, Ian writes grants, conducts outreach, and helps with Youth Programming. Contact Ian: [email protected]
Erskin Jenkins
Volunteer Coordinator
Erskin Jenkins is a Re-Entry Center Intern who joined our team full time in December 2025. He is a South Bend native who loves spending time with family and watching sports and reading non fiction biographies. His favorite thing about Unity Gardens is reconnecting with the community. He will helping support our full time.
Volunteer Coordinator
Erskin Jenkins is a Re-Entry Center Intern who joined our team full time in December 2025. He is a South Bend native who loves spending time with family and watching sports and reading non fiction biographies. His favorite thing about Unity Gardens is reconnecting with the community. He will helping support our full time.
Jonathan Gonzalez
Garden Guide
Jonathan has been part of the Unity Gardens team since 2010! You'll often see Jonathan out in the garden, helping visitors harvest, taking people to meet the goats, and being a listening ear.
Garden Guide
Jonathan has been part of the Unity Gardens team since 2010! You'll often see Jonathan out in the garden, helping visitors harvest, taking people to meet the goats, and being a listening ear.
Chad Bartalone
Beekeeper
Chad Bartalone is a recent graduate of IUSB School of Social Work pursuing a graduate degree in clinical therapy. Prior to joining the team at Unity Gardens, Chad worked for the past twenty years as a firefighter and paramedic in the Southwest Michigan area and later for the South Bend Fire Department. He lives on the west side of South Bend with his wife Raquel and two children. Chad is serving as our new beekeeper.
Beekeeper
Chad Bartalone is a recent graduate of IUSB School of Social Work pursuing a graduate degree in clinical therapy. Prior to joining the team at Unity Gardens, Chad worked for the past twenty years as a firefighter and paramedic in the Southwest Michigan area and later for the South Bend Fire Department. He lives on the west side of South Bend with his wife Raquel and two children. Chad is serving as our new beekeeper.
Victoria Kintzele
Lead Intern
Victoria is earning her bachelor's degree in biology at IUSB and joined Unity as an intern in 2025. She has a profound fascination for entomology and botany, but you can find her all over the garden. She loves to embrace her creative side with our handcrafted products, while also getting her hands dirty during the growing season! She will be supporting our staff part-time during the winter season.
Lead Intern
Victoria is earning her bachelor's degree in biology at IUSB and joined Unity as an intern in 2025. She has a profound fascination for entomology and botany, but you can find her all over the garden. She loves to embrace her creative side with our handcrafted products, while also getting her hands dirty during the growing season! She will be supporting our staff part-time during the winter season.
Hillary Corona
Intern
Hillary is a first year intern at Unity Gardens. Hillary loves house plants and has over 30! She loves to go out to eat trying new restaurants and experiences. Hillary is currently pursuing her criminal justice degree at IUSB!
Intern
Hillary is a first year intern at Unity Gardens. Hillary loves house plants and has over 30! She loves to go out to eat trying new restaurants and experiences. Hillary is currently pursuing her criminal justice degree at IUSB!
Arturo "Tootie" Casiano
Intern
Tootie is an intern from the South Bend Community Re-Entry Center and is looking forward to new opportunities and to creating new stories, not only for himself but also new stories with you.
Intern
Tootie is an intern from the South Bend Community Re-Entry Center and is looking forward to new opportunities and to creating new stories, not only for himself but also new stories with you.
Amado Garcia
Intern
Amado is from Fort Wayne, Indiana and is a proud father. He is looking forward to his internship with Unity Gardens in order to educate himself and pass the things he learns on to his daughter. Amado is focused on learning about healthy food, self efficiency, and community engagement.
Intern
Amado is from Fort Wayne, Indiana and is a proud father. He is looking forward to his internship with Unity Gardens in order to educate himself and pass the things he learns on to his daughter. Amado is focused on learning about healthy food, self efficiency, and community engagement.
Forest Keck
Intern
Forest is spending the summer engaging with their hometown after returning from their first year at IUB where they're studying environmental management, entrepreneurship and studio art!
They have been in love with Unity Gardens since their preteens, and are making the most out of their summer internship by not only enjoying spending time outside and serving their community, but learning about the inner workings of a socially and environmentally focused nonprofit.
They love picking up new artistic hobbies way more often than they should, their most recent fascination is flower arrangement!
Intern
Forest is spending the summer engaging with their hometown after returning from their first year at IUB where they're studying environmental management, entrepreneurship and studio art!
They have been in love with Unity Gardens since their preteens, and are making the most out of their summer internship by not only enjoying spending time outside and serving their community, but learning about the inner workings of a socially and environmentally focused nonprofit.
They love picking up new artistic hobbies way more often than they should, their most recent fascination is flower arrangement!
Christopher Vargas
Intern
I'm a current student at IUSB studying Law and Public Policy. I've always loved food and through that, most of my work has been in kitchens. I was attracted to Unity Gardens because of the opportunity it brought to bring people together through food. Working with food in a new medium than how I usually do in kitchens is refreshing to see how versatile food is. In my free time I love thrifting, listening to music, and window shopping.
Intern
I'm a current student at IUSB studying Law and Public Policy. I've always loved food and through that, most of my work has been in kitchens. I was attracted to Unity Gardens because of the opportunity it brought to bring people together through food. Working with food in a new medium than how I usually do in kitchens is refreshing to see how versatile food is. In my free time I love thrifting, listening to music, and window shopping.
Evie Morrison
Intern
I am a student at Michigan State University studying Horticulture Sciences. I love being outdoors and learning about plants and animals. I am so glad to be a part of Unity Gardens as a summer intern and to help support their mission to grow health and community!
Intern
I am a student at Michigan State University studying Horticulture Sciences. I love being outdoors and learning about plants and animals. I am so glad to be a part of Unity Gardens as a summer intern and to help support their mission to grow health and community!
Leia McCann
Intern
Leia is a student at IUSB studying Sustainability Studies. She will be graduation in December of this year with two additional minors in Women and Gender Studies and Business Administration. Leia loves music, and has started collecting vinyl the past couple of years. Additionally, she has a chinchilla named Ziggy, and he is 9 years old.
Intern
Leia is a student at IUSB studying Sustainability Studies. She will be graduation in December of this year with two additional minors in Women and Gender Studies and Business Administration. Leia loves music, and has started collecting vinyl the past couple of years. Additionally, she has a chinchilla named Ziggy, and he is 9 years old.
Casey Dyczko
Intern
I am a student at Hope College in Holland, MI. I'm majoring in Sociology on a criminal justice track, and what excites me the most about being at Unity is working with and creating a relationship with the community.
Intern
I am a student at Hope College in Holland, MI. I'm majoring in Sociology on a criminal justice track, and what excites me the most about being at Unity is working with and creating a relationship with the community.
Claire McGuire
Intern
Claire is a second-year MD student at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she is pursuing a concentration in Ethics, Equity & Justice. She is an intern from IUSM’s Summer Community Health Innovation Program. Outside the gardens, you can find her singing at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart or combing through the racks of a Goodwill store.
Intern
Claire is a second-year MD student at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she is pursuing a concentration in Ethics, Equity & Justice. She is an intern from IUSM’s Summer Community Health Innovation Program. Outside the gardens, you can find her singing at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart or combing through the racks of a Goodwill store.
Zoe Brown
Intern
Zoë is a biology nerd and current nursing student, minoring in nutrition and health promotion. She has a love of all living things, especially her cat Moxie. She is at Unity as an intern from IUSM’s Summer Community Health Innovation Program, and is looking forward to connecting with the community in and around Unity while here!
Intern
Zoë is a biology nerd and current nursing student, minoring in nutrition and health promotion. She has a love of all living things, especially her cat Moxie. She is at Unity as an intern from IUSM’s Summer Community Health Innovation Program, and is looking forward to connecting with the community in and around Unity while here!
Market Support
Taylor Waldron
Market Support
Taylor is a South Bend native who joined Unity Gardens as an intern in 2017. Since then, she has worked part-time on Saturdays at our farmers' market booth. During the week, Taylor works for a local print and embroidery company in Mishawaka.
Market Support
Taylor is a South Bend native who joined Unity Gardens as an intern in 2017. Since then, she has worked part-time on Saturdays at our farmers' market booth. During the week, Taylor works for a local print and embroidery company in Mishawaka.