Officers
President: Barbara Wildfeir is a retired Nurse Practitioner and an RN. Her avocation has been gardening (in as sustainable fashion as possible) for many years. She is one of the original gardeners at Gateway and has been active in the garden since its inception. She became a Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in 2013. She is also the Park Steward for Gateway Park.
First Vice President: Irene Moore. Irene Moore, an avid community gardener since Gateway Community Garden’s inception in 2010, serves as First Vice President and chairs the Donation Committee. Among her many affiliations, Irene chairs the Town of Huntington African American Historic Designation Council and serves on the Executive Committee of the NAACP Huntington Branch where she chairs the Press and Publicity Committee. She is a member of Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church and serves as a Deaconess and Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School Ministry. Mrs. Moore, a retired educator, has resided in Huntington Station over fifty years.
Second Vice President: Carmella Stephens. A patent attorney, Carmella chairs the fund-raising team.
Recording Secretary: Gertrude Meier. Before retiring, Gertrude worked in advertising at J. Walter Thompson as an account supervisor and as an account executive at The Forum Group, an employment agency. In addition to volunteering as a new Trustee for Gateway Garden, Gertrude gives her services to “The Grateful Paw,” a homeless shelter for cats, and to the Harry Chapin Food Bank (Long Island Cares) on Railroad Ave. in the Station.
Fiona Witkowski: Treasurer. Fiona grew up in England and came to the United States in 1986. She has worked as an ombudsman for the elderly and as a children’s social worker with the Family Service League. She currently volunteers as an emergency medical technician with the Huntington Community First Aid Squad. Fiona has been an avid gardener for many years and is an advocate for vermiculture. She has a worm bin in her basement.
Trustees
Nancy Berg is a retired business owner, former Registered Nurse and grandmother. Nancy lives in Huntington Station and has been a Gateway Gardener since 2010.
Idalia (Dali) Boczek works with LI Cares and manages the veterans garden beds.
Naomi Brown resides in Huntington Station with her husband James Jr. She retired after more than thirty years of working in banking but returned to work with the Huntington School District. She enjoys working with students and gardening. Naomi serves on Gateway Garden Donation and Outreach Committee. She has also volunteered with Community Solidarity and serves on the Executive Committee of the NAACP Huntington Branch.
Jenny Holmes is a retired Nurse Educator from Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. She is past president of Nathan Hale Federated Garden club and a member since her retirement 7 years ago. She is currently a flower show judge, as well as a board member in the 2nd district federated garden clubs, chairperson for birds, butterflies and bees and penny pines. She hopes to assist with youth education at Gateway, using an award-winning book by a garden club member The Frightened Frog to teach school- age children about conservation. Besides planting a vegetable box, she helps with harvesting and picking vegetables for food pantries served by this wonderful community garden.
Lauren Kacprowicz is an original Gateway gardener, and a graphic designer with a business in Huntington.
Kathy Kuthy is a homegrown Huntingtonian who has been involved in causes and community work since the seventies. She is a development specialist by day, and a garlic grower by night!
Tina Marrow serves on the Donation and Outreach Committee. She has volunteered for the Community Solidarity program weekly. Tina has lived in Huntington Station over forty years and is an active member of Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church. Her hobbies include cooking, gardening and helping others.
Tish McCrea is an acupuncturist with a private practice in Huntington Village. She is enthusiastic about healthy living through exercise and gardening and enjoys organic cooking. Tish has been a gardener since 2012.
Mary Anne Stetts is a long-time resident of Northport. Since her retirement as Director of Therapeutic Recreation at a local nursing home, she has enjoyed volunteering in a number of programs. She joined Gateway Garden four years ago as a novice gardener and says it has been a great experience all the way! She says everyone has been generous in sharing their knowledge and advice and that she enjoys spending time with community minded people.
Frances Whittelsey is a co-founder of the garden and managed Gateway as executive director of the Long Island Community Agriculture Network until the transition to an independent non-profit in 2015. Frances has a long and varied career as a staff reporter for Newsday and The New York Times; a business owner; author and magazine journalist; adjunct assistant professor at Hofstra University; and, social justice activist. Her blog, The Equalizer, can be found at http://theequalizerfcw.blogspot.com/ She loves the outdoors and playing golf and thinks it’s a miracle every Spring when the vegetable seeds sprout. She helps plan and execute educational programs for children and adults.
Pedro Yepes is a father of three children and a grandpa. He works full time and is also a certified master gardener from Cornell Cooperative Extension. He mostly enjoys growing a variety of vegetables and learning from fellow gardeners. He has a passion for gardening and for helping people and enjoys the physical work of the garden, calling it “my gym.” He feels very grateful for being a part of the Gateway community.
