Garden Time Staff
Kate Lacouture, Co-founder & Executive Director
Kate is a landscape architect, licensed arborist, and garden activist in Providence, RI. She has been teaching incarcerated men and women green industry skills at the RI ACI since 2011. She developed the Green Reentry Job Training program and curriculum, and has been teaching formerly incarcerated Rhode Islanders since 2021. kate@gardentime.us
Emily Cotter, Operations / Educator
Emily’s professional background is in organic vegetable farming and drug policy reform. Her passion for social justice, environmental sustainability, and love of plants all come together in our gardens at the ACI and in our work preparing reentering individuals for a career in the green industries, and she is driven to help foster a learning environment that is compassionate, engaging, and inclusive. emily@gardentime.us
Kyle Campbell, Case Manager
As a writer, speaker, educator, and social justice advocate, Kyle is passionate about activating the community to ensure that the voices of impacted individuals are heard and contribute to meaningful policy changes. Kyle started crossing paths with Garden Time while he was incarcerated at the ACI, where he ran the education building, achieved his bachelor’s degree, and earned a certification in case management. Upon his release, Kyle joined the Garden Time team in an official capacity as our first case manager, helping to expand the organization’s ability to support trainees and graduates throughout their reentry journey. Alongside his work at Garden Time, Kyle is the Director of Community Organizing for the RI Freedom Collective, which he co-founded with Mario Monteiro, and where his responsibilities include grassroots mobilization, public education on legislative issues, coalition building, and organizing direct advocacy initiatives such as rallies, petitions, and legislative meetings. kyle@gardentime.us
Mario Monteiro, Canopy Crew Team Lead
Mario is a criminal justice advocate who has worked for years to reform juvenile sentencing in Rhode Island, leading to the passage of “Mario’s Law” in 2021. A longtime participant in Garden Time programs, Mario served 23 years in prison, where his dedication to the garden class and training service dogs exemplified his strong work ethic and leadership qualities. Since his release in 2024, he has graduated from the Green Reentry Job Training program, expanded his advocacy work, and taken on part time roles to further develop his skills. Alongside leading the Canopy Crew, Mario works with Garden Time employer partner Rhode Island Tree Care, and he serves as Director of Legislative Affairs for the RI Freedom Collective, a non profit which he co-founded with fellow staff member Kyle Campbell.
Trinity Neal, Canopy Crew Member
Trinity has a background in landscaping and graduated from the Green Reentry Job Training program in 2024.
Tyrone Scholl, Canopy Crew Member
Tyrone Scholl is a Green Reentry graduate and past participant in Garden Time’s in-prison gardening program.
Denise Jaiman, Canopy Crew Member / Compost Team
Denise is a Green Reentry graduate and leads Garden Time’s composting operation at OpenDoors. She works part-time for partner organization Zero Waste Providence as the Street Team Lead, conducting compost and recycling education and outreach.
Michael Adams, Reentry Garden Coordinator / Compost Team
Michael is a Green Reentry graduate and OpenDoors Garden Coordinator, where he is responsible for planting and maintaining the gardens that feed the OpenDoors community, as well as weekly produce distribution to churches, shelters and neighbors. Michael has brought personality and perspective to the Garden Time team since 2022, and his passion is exemplified in his outreach work, public speaking, and guidance and compassion towards trainees. As part of the Compost Team, he led a tour of the composting operation at OpenDoors for International Compost Awareness Week and represented Garden Time at the National Cultivating Community Composting Forum in Cleveland, OH where he and colleagues led a breakout session on Composting in Prisons.
Garden Time Board
Vera Bowen
Co-founder, Board President & Educator. Vera is the past president of the Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs and is a national accredited flower show judge. She was the New England Region Director of Garden Clubs and a Director of the RI Horticultural Society. She has been a longstanding member of the Bristol Garden Club, a volunteer in Blithewold’s gardens and is a past director of RI Children’s Garden Network. vera@gardentime.us
Stephanie Moniz
Board Member, Wellness Meeting Facilitator & Educator. Stephanie Moniz is a first generation native to Providence, RI; a formerly incarcerated author/illustrator, public speaker, and community building consultant. She participated in an internationally award-winning documentary film entitled, “Tre Maison Dasan”, which highlights part of her experience as a single mother in the criminal justice system. As Groundwork RI’s Training and Education Coordinator, she manages Storm Crew, runs their Adult Job Training programs, and teaches environmental literacy to Green Reentry classes. As a consultant to Garden Time, she facilitates monthly Wellness Support Group for trainees and graduates and teaches mindfulness.
Aloysius “Ace” Weah
Board member. Ace Weah is a landscaper, Green Reentry graduate and past participant in Garden Time’s in-prison gardening program. He brings a passion for working with people, a talent for outreach, and his lived experience to the team
Robert “Dr Dirt” Rafka
Board member. Dr. Robert Rafka was a chemist at Pfizer for 24 years and became a high school science teacher as a second career. He is a Master Gardener with URI and has taught Garden Time’s incarcerated gardeners soil science and composting since 2012.