Employee Spotlight: Olivia Price, UW Botanic Gardens Adult Education Programs Supervisor

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Get to know SEFS staff! This series provides an opportunity to find out more about SEFS staff members — what they do in their daily job and how they spend their time outside the office.

What is your role at SEFS?

I am the Adult Education Programs Supervisor at UW Botanic Gardens. Most of my day is spent planning and carrying out classes for the public and horticulture professionals, as well as a few annual symposia. I also manage our work on the City of Seattle’s Trees for Neighborhoods program and UWBG’s general communications.

Tell us about your road to SEFS

It’s been a winding one! After college I spent 7 years working in finance at a global health non-profit based here in Seattle, including spending three months supporting a project in our Malawi office. I decided to go back to school for my MPA and started that program in 2020. By spring quarter I was really feeling the Zoom fatigue, and took a plant ID class at Edmonds College on a whim to get some more outside time. I immediately fell in love with learning more about plants, and quickly decided horticulture was a field I wanted to work in. My first job at UWBG was working on summer data collection for the Trees for Neighborhoods program and leading a project aimed at increasing accessibility of the program in Seattle’s higher-heat neighborhoods.

Tell us about your college experience

I started college thinking I wanted to become a doctor, but very quickly found out that chemistry was not my strong suit. After taking an introductory public health class, I really connected with its systems-level approach to problem solving, so I majored in public health with minors in global health and Spanish. There are SO many options available at UW, which certainly makes making a ‘pivot’ much easier. I also appreciated how most majors here have seminars that will delve into the wide array of careers available in that field. When thinking about grad school, UW was the school on my list. I’m very proud to call myself a Double Dawg!

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Ballard and am excited to be living in the neighborhood again after a decade in the U District/Capitol Hill. I love getting to take the bus to live shows or square dancing at the Tractor Tavern, and spend as much time as possible biking along Shilshole during the summer.

What are your favorite ways to spend time outside of work?

Cooking, trying new craft projects, gardening (counting the days until I can have a homegrown cherry tomato!), shopping for vintage clothes, and camping/hiking during our beautiful Seattle summers. I also manage a weekly gleaning program that donates excess produce from the Ballard Farmers Market to the Ballard Food Bank. We collected over 24,000 pounds of produce in 2023! My parents and sister have moved out of state, but most of my extended family still lives in Seattle and I’m so lucky to get to spend so much time with them.

What inspires you?

Connecting with nature. I love that I get to spend every day facilitating that connection for others, whether it is through forest bathing in the Arboretum or a botanical dyes class.

Employee Spotlight: Tricia O’Hara, SEFS Grants Coordinator

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Get to know SEFS staff! This series provides an opportunity to find out more about SEFS staff members — what they do in their daily job and how they spend their time outside the office.

What is your role at SEFS?

I am on the Grants Team at SEFS. I manage the McIntire-Stennis grant.

Tell us about your road to SEFS

My career has been mostly focused in nonprofits. I’ve worked on grant and program management in organizations focused on environmental sustainability, youth leadership, public health, and international community development. I really love the behind-the-scenes administration that makes things run, so when I saw this opportunity at SEFS, I couldn’t pass it up.

Tell us about your college experience

I went to a small school in southern California called California Lutheran University. I studied International Studies and Spanish. I have an MPA in Development Practice from Columbia University.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the San Francisco, Bay Area. I lived in San Jose and Oakland for a while. I’ve also lived in New York, just outside Los Angeles, and various places in Central America.

What are your favorite ways to spend time outside of work?

Outside of work, you can find me paddle boarding on the lake, sitting by the sound, or watching a Reign game at Rough and Tumble.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by all the incredible work our faculty, staff, and students do, day in and day out.

Employee Spotlight: Natasha Lavides, SEFS Undergraduate Academic Advisor

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Get to know SEFS staff! This series provides an opportunity to find out more about SEFS staff members — what they do in their daily job and how they spend their time outside the office.

Natasha at a botanical garden in Vancouver BC (in aforementioned leather trench)

What is your role at SEFS?

I joined the SEFS advising team in May of 2023 as one of their undergraduate academic advisors! At the moment, I primarily work with ESRM and BSE students, answering any questions related to their academics and advocating for whatever needs that they have. I typically have my door open when I am in the office (and I love visitors!), so please feel free to stop by and say hi if you would like!

Tell us about your college experience

I graduated from the UW in 2022 with a BS in psychology and a minor in education. Though two years of my education were during the pandemic, I tried my best to be involved on campus! Whether it was being a peer advisor in Mary Gates Hall or conducting intersectionality research for the psychology departmental honors program, I found myself within a very supportive community and a passion for diversity work. This pushed me to be involved in other avenues on campus, including the Asian Student Commission, the First Year Experience Council, the Mentor Power for Success Program, and so on. In these spaces, I strived to understand how my identities show up and I recognized the power that came with connection and representation. Thus, listening and leaving space for others became my utmost goal and I aim to embody this in my current position!

Tell us about your road to SEFS

During undergrad, I was a peer advisor/student associate for Undergraduate Academic Affairs (UAA) Advising and the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (in Mary Gates Hall!). It was during these positions that I realized I had a passion for working with students and supporting them in their academic endeavors, particularly in higher education. So, after I graduated, I worked temporarily as a professional staff member at UAA before taking some time off to travel and spend time with family. Six months later, I found myself applying to this position as a temporary worker and permanently joined the team about a month ago!

Where did you grow up?

Natasha and family in Baguio, Philippines

My grandparents immigrated from the Philippines when my parents were young. This eventually resulted in me being born in Renton, WA — southeast of Seattle. When I was four years old, my family moved further north, and I ended up in the Bothell/Kirkland area for most of my schooling. Luckily, most of my extended family resides nearby, though we try to visit our family in the Philippines as often as we can!

Growing up to the east of Seattle, I became very fond of the lakes in Kirkland. My favorite activity was swimming every summer at Waverly Beach Park and going to the Woodinville Barnes & Noble after school. Generally, a lot of my youth included interests that my older siblings had: ukulele, skateboarding, trampoline parks, hacky sack, etc. (admittedly, my sister had a lot of niche interests).

What are your favorite ways to spend time outside of work?

At my best, I enjoy going on runs around the city’s trails and singing karaoke. I also enjoy doing typical bucket list items: taking a train from Seattle to New York, skydiving, posing for the UW bookstore, etc. On a more typical day, my favorite thing to do is spend time with my friends and family, usually ending with us watching a movie or exploring a new thrift/vintage shop.

Over the last year or so, I’ve also gotten really into wearing rather eccentric clothing. I love to use fashion as a way to express myself, so if you see me walking around in a leather trench coat that is much too big, just know it is my most favorite recent find!

What inspires you?

I grew up in the kind of family that did everything together: grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy, taking a long drive. It could be the most mundane activity (it usually is!), and my dad would still rally the rest of my family into the car. This closeness provided me with a very supportive and uplifting community.

As I have gotten older, I continue to be inspired by my family and friends. While I can no longer attend all of my father’s grocery trips, my family’s generosity motivates me to show up for those that I love. Their compassion has been instilled in me, and I have made it my mission to do the same where I can!

Natasha at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland

Employee Spotlight: Deric Kettel, ONRC Maintenance Mechanic

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Get to know SEFS staff! This series provides an opportunity to find out more about SEFS staff members — what they do in their daily job and how they spend their time outside the office.

Deric KettelWhat is your role at SEFS?
I’ve worked for the Olympic Natural Resources Center as the Maintenance Mechanic II for the past 28 years. I was hired three weeks before the ribbon cutting ceremony in July of 1995. Taking on a new facility was challenging but at the same time, exciting! There is a personal sort of ownership that I feel toward this facility. So, when asked what I do for work, this is what I say. I take care of all maintenance related work including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, security and fire systems, and a very complex water system out here. We are on 40 acres, mostly forested with an extensive trail system. I also help facilitate field projects for various researchers. I’ve also had the privilege of working with the SEFS It team as well as Campus IT folks over the years in troubleshooting issues out here at this remote site.

Tell us about your road to SEFS
The first question I usually get is “The University of Washington has a facility in Forks?” The second question either by people I meet here, or longtime friends is, “how did you end up working for the University of Washington?” The short answer is my wife is responsible for me getting this job, and she reminds me of that fact all the time, and then we laugh, but it’s true! She was hired on toward the end of construction to do a final cleaning of the buildings here and she let me know that the University was soon going to be looking for a Maintenance Mechanic for the facility. I had no idea this place was even being built right here in my own hometown! So, I applied for the Maintenance Mechanic II position and the rest is history. It was the first time in my life that I left a job to go to another one, I had mixed feelings about that, but looking back after 28 years it was one of the best decisions, I would end up making.

The longer answer is I grew up in a time period where the trades were still taught in school, things like carpentry, welding and auto shop class. As Mike Rowe says all the time, and I couldn’t agree more, when these types of classes were dropped from the school curriculum, less and less young people ended up in these types of jobs. By the time I was 14, I could wire an entire house, thanks to my stepdad letting me shadow him. I was welding and using all kinds of shop tools all before I even had my driver’s license. Everything I came across I would take apart to see how it was made. I was and am still curious about how things work.

Over the years before coming to the UW, I had several jobs in maintenance, local mills, the hospital here in town that all led me to being offered and accepting this job. The local staff here as well as folks at the U have been an absolute pleasure to work for.

Where did you grow up?
That is also interesting. I grew up right here in Forks Washington and graduated in 1982. Fast forward to 1995, when I was hired at the U, and here I am still, although 4 years ago my wife and I moved a bit farther away to the area of Agnew Wa. Working for the University in my hometown of Forks is the best of both worlds. It has that small town atmosphere without all the traffic and other challenges that can sometimes come with living in a big city. For 25 years I had a less than two-mile commute, some mornings I might even see another car on the road. That alone was worth a lot!

Deric KettelWhat are your favorite ways to spend time outside of work?
I grew up riding motorcycles and have had several over the years. Getting out exploring either on long road trips on my big bike to places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Glacier National Parks or just spending time in my own areas on the forest roads riding my dual sport motorcycle in an area where I grew up is one of my all-time favorite things to do. Of course, nothing beats time spent with family and friends sitting around the fire pit whether at home or camping, telling stories.

What inspires you?
This question is harder to nail down, mainly because there are so many things that move me. It’s also a question that can be different for each one of us. For me, it’s the simple things like watching a child play with a puppy, to the grace of seeing someone reach out to a total stranger in a simple act of kindness. When I see a couple in their 80’s holding hands, I want to know their story, and sometimes if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll strike up a conversation. It’s those conversations that inspire me every day.

Employee Spotlight: Perry Acworth, UW Farm Manager

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Get to know SEFS staff! This series provides an opportunity to find out more about SEFS staff members — what they do in their daily job and how they spend their time outside the office.

What is your role at SEFS?a person in a baseball cap in a field of flowers
My role at SEFS is managing three field sites on campus, at the UW Farm. These three growing sites, the planned Urban Farm at Mercer Court, the rooftop Culinary Garden at MacMahon Hall and the main production site just west of the Center for Urban Horticulture.

As the UW Farm Manager, I not only support academic activity, but also grow food for the community, much like a working farm. The learning tools, or vegetables, fruit, flowers that students learn to grow, are all distributed across campus to UW Dining cafeterias and retail outlets, to households via a CSA and donated to UW food Pantry and other food banks.

I collaborate with multiple departments and professors in over 24 units supporting learning by hosting and instructing during labs, field trips, research, and capstone projects. The UW Farm office is within the UW Botanic Gardens, the administrative home for the farm.

Tell us about your road to SEFS
I made the leap from my previous occupation as a commercial farmer to farming management and education in 2012, when I moved from Maine to the Pacific Northwest. I started a graduate degree in education at UW around the same time. I moved around a bit, working on campus farms to the non-profit farm and garden sector and then applied for the UW Farm Manager’s position in January of 2018.

It was after I was hired that I learned that the UW Farm is actually administered by a unit within SEFS, the UW Botanic Gardens. Over the last five years, the SEFS Director has a large impact on the UW Farm as a program and has been a positive force in developing resources and support for the campus farm development and it’s academic future. Because I work on the edges of campus, I rarely make my way to Anderson or Winkenwerder, but I do love those Salmon Bakes!

Tell us about your college experience
I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont ‘87 and an MS in Natural Resource Management and Administration from Antioch New England back in ‘92. Years later, I decided to go back to school at the age of 45 as my interests in connecting with the next generation and urban populations increased dramatically. I asked myself, how can I have the most impact as a farmer? Growing crops for market in my New England network or taking a leap and working with those who are the most disconnected from their food supply and access to healthy food. I was learning increasing obesity and diabetes issues in our nation’s population, and I wanted to try to work on changing that with hands-on experiences for our youth. UW is a very large university, but I feel like I hit the jackpot as far as that impact goal. I work with amazing faculty and directors who are focused on this educational aspect as well, so I feel like I have community here. The students are incredible – they are so excited to explore the farm as a green space in our city. Their energy is contagious.

Where did you grow up?

Originally from Long Island, New York, I have a special place in my heart for the Northeast. From 1995-2012, I owned and operated a commercial grass-based sheep dairy, made farmstead yogurt and feta cheese, raised layer hens and grew vegetables in Union, Maine. In addition to running my own farm, I worked for five seasons at a greenhouse and nursery operation in Harpswell, Maine and a summer in the fisheries industry in Alaska.

What are your favorite ways to spend time outside of work?
When I am not working, I am still thinking of farming so “outside of work” is hard to imagine. All the farmers I know pretty much think about farming 24/7, even in their dreams. The energy comes from a deep desire to be outside, enjoy the daily challenge of working with plants and animals and marvel at the everyday gifts and miracles of our natural world.

In the off-season (mid-November – mid-January), I like to cook, bake, dive into a book (I am currently reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer) or go for a long walk. When the weather warms up, and I have a day off, I like to bike to the farmers market, a thrift store, or just go for a ride. Hiking is also one of my favorite past times. I feel so lucky to be in such a beautiful part of the world. There are very few places in our nation with such stunning snow-capped mountains rising up from an ocean.

What inspires you?
Primarily two things inspire me – Students, faculty and community volunteers bring so much energy, commitment, and ideas every day. To find the farm you have to really seek it out. Those that do are deeply interested in all the topics related to farming, food systems, the environment, public health, soil health – you name it – it all intersects on the campus farm no matter your major or background. The farm is a safe space to have open discussions on any number of topics. Every day the farm is like a flipped classroom. The students and volunteers inspire me with their questions, which forces me to dig deeper, learn more, and improve.
I am also inspired by other farmers and farm workers who work so hard on a daily basis. As I toil, pull weeds, pick fruit and harvest with the farm team in the heat or cold weather, I know I have it easy compared to many others. When I was a small-scale commercial farmer, I had challenges, especially extreme weather events due to climate change that pushed me to my limit. Today, I think about farmers across the globe and so many are doing incredible work such as preserving seed diversity, working for food justice and environmental justice, and sharing their practices, which informs what I do. I have also been inspired by recent events that the pandemic brought to light – acknowledgement and accountability for my role in supporting BIPOC farmers and food workers.

a group of people stand around a picnic table with gardening suppliesa person holding a plant seedling