About the Gardens
The Ithaca Community Gardens is a not-for-profit membership organization devoted to furthering community food self-sufficiency. We have a board of directors consisting of up to eleven members of the organization elected by their fellow members for two-year terms. You can email the board at ithacagardensboard@gmail.com or phone 607-216-8770 (leave a message), or send mail to Ithaca Community Gardens, PO Box 804, Ithaca, NY 14851.
Board of Directors
Sean Jacobs
Peter Fry
Pete has been a member of the community garden for several years. He is currently active in managing the garden infrastructure and common area plantings. His background is varied and includes farming, the building trades, plant nursery management, garden design, hardscape construction, and landscape architecture.
Doug Dylla
Doug Dylla has lived in downtown Ithaca for 40 years. He has had a plot at the Ithaca Community Gardens for over 15 years and loves growing veggies and flowers. He operates a consulting practice on housing and community development issues. Previously, he was the executive director of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services.
Laurie Worrall
Laurie is an ex-pat Chicagoan who is gardening again after a 30-year hiatus. She spent her career working with colleges and universities to develop civic and community engagement teaching and learning opportunities and build authentic, democratic community partnerships. She has served on and worked with nonprofit boards for over 20 years.
Tobias Tillemans
Tobias Tillemans grew up in Ithaca and earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in before spending 15 years teaching high school environmental science and agriculture in Seattle, India, and Hawaii. He recently returned home with his wife and family where he grows and gathers food, plays music, and works as a financial advisor. The Community Gardens have been a big part of his reconnection to the fertile soil and community of Ithaca, New York.
Ron Liso
Ron Liso has been a long-term Ithaca Community Gardens member and has served on the ICG board off and on for the last 20 years. He lives in downtown Ithaca and has helped manage the water system at the gardens for the past 10 years. He loves gardening and chatting with other gardeners about their gardens.
Sandra Greene
Raised in the small town of Xenia in southern Ohio, I have lived in Ithaca for more than 30 years as a Professor of African History at Cornell studying social, cultural and economic (including agricultural) practices in a small West African rural community. Retirement has meant I have been able to spend far more time outdoors hiking and kayaking; recently I added gardening to that mix. I joined the Ithaca Community Gardens just two years ago, after being deeply impressed by the ICG’s vision and values. As a first-time gardener, I have had great experiences growing various flowers and vegetables while exchanging ideas with my fellow gardeners. I joined the board to help the ICG sustain and build upon the work it has already accomplished so that it can continue to thrive into the future.
Joanne Trutko
Joanne’s professional background includes managing large budgets and complex administrative issues in the publishing industry, in city government, and at a research institute at Cornell. Raised in Ohio, Joanne moved back to Ithaca 20+ years ago and has had a ICG plot for nearly 10 years, first on the highway side before the reconstruction, and then with a new bed on the railroad side. She gradually became involved with garden operations and our gardening community — helping with tools maintenance and mowing, mulching and weeding walkways, bulletin boards, community outreach, and more. She joined the Board in 2025 as the Treasurer.