Board of Directors

Jill first visited the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in 2000 with her husband, Ken, and was enchanted by the blend of wild and cultivated spaces that are woven into one botanical sanctuary. She was especially taken with the vegetable garden. In 2016, after retiring and moving to the coast, she was amazed to learn that volunteers could actually get their hands dirty and garden alongside the staff. Wishing to start her own vegetable garden, she figured she could learn what grows best on the coast by volunteering, so she joined the organic demonstration Vegetable Garden crew and was hooked on the Gardens! In addition to learning about what grows well, she also found friends and a real sense of community with her fellow volunteers and the staff.

Jill attended the 2018 Master Gardener training program, and she and fellow Master Gardeners organized and presented the 2020 program during the pandemic. She joined the Education Committee in 2020 and became Education Committee chair when she joined the board in 2021. She served as Secretary in 2022 and 2025 and has continued to serve as Education Committee chair since 2021.

 

Jill comes from a long line of family gardeners and has a deep appreciation and love for nature and ecology. In addition to gardening, Jill enjoys photography, travel, hiking, rock hounding, fossil hunting, stargazing, eco-printing, bird and animal watching, mushroom hunting, and is a leader of the Mendocino Coast Mushroom Club.