Our Team | Grow Some Good

Our Staff

Grow Some Good…

In Our Team

Grow Some Good is lucky to have an excellent staff of highly qualified, knowledgeable individuals who bring a wealth of experience in agriculture and working with young people. They have degrees in Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, Landscape Architecture, Education, Sociology, Psychology, Business, Computer Science, and Communications. Employees include an Executive Director, Farm to School Program Manager, Fundraising and Marketing Manager and about 10 part-time Garden Coordinators.

Executive Director

Scott Lacasse

Executive Director Scott Lacasse joined Grow Some Good in 2019 as the Program Manager after seven years as a Garden Educator on Maui. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture and completed a Master of Science in Environmental Studies focused on Maui’s watersheds, food systems, and the communities that are dependent upon them. His vision is to apply these systemic principles to connect students to the land that supports them.

Havilah Mills

Our Farm to School Program Manager. Havilah holds a BS in Business Management and over 10 years experience in the non-profit sector. Upon moving to Maui in 2016, she immediately enrolled in the Maui Master Gardener program to learn more about growing food in a tropical environment. After completing the course, she worked as a Horticultural Research Technician with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and shortly thereafter helped run the Master Gardener Program as the interim Program Coordinator.

It was during this time that she started volunteering at school gardens. She then became a school Garden Coordinator, a School Garden Director, our Volunteer Coordinator, and now our F2S Program Manager. She is passionate about connecting both children and adults to the natural world through hands-on, experiential learning, and working to ensure food security for all.

Program Manager

Fundraising & Marketing Manager

Felix Sunny D’Souza

Felix joined Grow Some Good in 2021 as Fundraising & Marketing Manager. After living on Maui for 3 years, he wanted to find a role that would bring his corporate experience in project management, communications, and digital media marketing together to help a community-driven organization achieve its goals. His favorite thing about Grow Some Good is its mission to cultivate sustainable food systems through the community and inspire youth to be involved in the process. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Villanova University. His hobbies include cooking (and eating), being creative, and all things travel.

Kat Powers

Kat has over 25 years of experience as a professional landscape designer and contractor. She has taken courses in landscape design, irrigation, native plant identification, and small business practices. Kat has been working with Grow Some Good as a Garden Coordinator since 2017. She quickly became an integral part of her community and can easily rally an army to volunteer in her school gardens. Kat has a Certificate in Aromatherapy and is a lover of ocean-based activities.

Community Food Systems

Amber Shettler

Amber grew up in the Redwood forests of Northern California where her love of the outdoors began. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Education which allowed her to combine her passion for sharing knowledge and her desire to be out in nature. She went on to work for seven years at the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program where she had the opportunity to manage their garden space and oversee the curriculum for their organic garden and composting program. It was there that Amber realized her true passion was in teaching youth about gardening and sustainability.

As a Garden Coordinator for Grow Some Good, Amber is excited to continue sharing her love of plants and the garden ecosystem with her students.

Garden Coordinator

Waiheʻe Elementary

Garden Coordinator

Pōmaika’i Elementary and Big Brothers Big Sisters

Lacey Abercrombie

Lacey joins Grow Some Good with a very eclectic background. Growing up in St. Louis, she loved spring, summer, and fall when she could run around outside and winter when she could practice figure skating at outdoor rinks. Lacey was a Girl Scout for 12 years, with lots of fond memories at overnight camp. Her love for children began when she was still an adolescent herself, with her Mom working as a Parent Educator and an older sister who ran a summer daycare in their backyard at the age of 11 (Lacey was one of her assistants). At age 16, Lacey put her years of figure skating practice to use and started coaching children, between her babysitting jobs. Upon getting her Bachelor’s in International Studies, she worked for 3 years at the International Institute of St. Louis, a refugee resettlement agency, which was extremely rewarding work; helping people learn specific English skills needed for citizenship and acquiring donated goods for families.

Lacey has called Maui home for the last 4 years. Upon moving to Maui with her husband for his job, her passion for the outdoors grew to one of conservation and sustainability. Therefore, she enrolled in a Sustainable Science Management course at the University of Hawaii, Maui College. Since then, she has worked for Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) and Four Seasons Maui, trying to find a job that fits all her passions and now she finally has: Working with children of all backgrounds, learning about new cultures, protecting our planet and food sources, all while being active outside.

Jasmine Wray

Jasmine grew up in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex of Texas where she spent time living in Austin and Fort Worth. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Biology from the University of Texas in Arlington. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, and yoga. Her love and passion for nature, the environment, and sustainability came from living on Kauai for a year before finishing her degree.

Jasmine found Grow Some Good while living in Costa Rica and knew right away that she wanted to be a part of the Grow Some Good family. Previously a Garden Coordinator for Wailuku Elementary, she is now our Kumu Kit Coordinator. She is excited to be doing work that has supports teaching students valuable skills and lessons in the garden.

Garden Coordinator

Kumu Kit Coordinator

Community Food Systems & Garden Coordinator

Lokelani Intermediate

R. Michi Atickinson

Michi is passionate about working with youth and adults, and supporting a variety of practices that help individuals, families and communities experience healthy lives and relationships. Her journey of learning about human wellbeing has been shaped by diverse cultural experiences living in Canada, Hawaiʻi, the Philippines and South Africa, as well as time spent throughout North America, Asia, Europe and Pacific Islands.

Michi‘s awareness of her own relationship to food and food systems began to transform after living in beautiful rural fishing villages in the Philippines as a young adult. As her understanding of the connections between human wellness and food sources has deepened, her commitment to grow food and help others grow food has become a valued part of her life.

Having grown up in a single-parent home, and living in economically diverse parts of the world, Michi is aware of how financial means can hinder access to healthy food. Michi has studied the cost of nutritious food for over 25 years, and has conducted graduate and undergraduate research on the effectiveness of home-gardening to increase access to nutrient-dense food and household food security. She is committed to helping people learn to grow food at home and in their community as vital practices that support local and global food security, social justice, and sustainable futures.

Michi will be supporting the Community Food Systems sites on Maui and the Lokelani Intermediate School Garden. She has worked in the field of education for over 25 years, and studied at University of the Nations, Kapiʻolani Community College, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She has completed a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Sociology, and is currently completing the Go Farm Hawaiʻi training at UH Maui College.

Laura Finkle

Laura grew up in the Ridge and Valley region of rural northwest New Jersey. She spent her childhood hiking the Appalachian Trail, mountain biking the woodlands, and working with her siblings in their family’s produce garden. She fell in love with nature at an early age; in turn, she has developed a deep passion for helping others to learn about and find their place in the natural world.

She has taken part in nearly a decade of experiential education, working for camps, nonprofits, outdoor science schools, and state parks across the country and island of Maui. Laura believes that outdoor education programs that surround children with the natural world and a supportive community, enable them to develop confidence, character, life skills, and simply blossom as individuals. To be part of something so meaningful and to have the opportunity to create magical experiences for young people, is what continues to drive Laura’s passion for this work.

Garden Coordinator

and program support

Carli Barnes

Carli is originally from San Diego, California. She has a background in science and education with a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California in San Diego. She grew up camping and snorkeling with her father and developed an early love for nature, science and the ocean. She has always had a passion for teaching, starting as a lifeguard and swim instructor since she was 16 years old.

After moving to Maui, she continued her education experience as a naturalist for the Maui Ocean Center, teaching visitors about the amazing marine life that surrounds the islands. Following the nationwide shut down she participated in an internship with The Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission where she worked on restoration projects on the island of Kaho’olawe. “Moving to Maui has afforded me with so many amazing opportunities and I am excited to embark on one more.”

She is excited to be back in the classroom setting and able to share her passions with a new generation of scientists and gardeners.