Meet our Team
Vanessa Cross
Executive Director
vanessa@togetherwegrowgardens.org
Vanessa has lived in Newark most of her life, and she now lives in Newark with her husband, Doug, and 3 children: Emmett, Jonathan, and Charlotte. Vanessa came to work with TWG during the spring of 2020 and immediately became invested in and passionate about the mission of our work! She loves working with her hands in the gardens and using her organization and office skills inside. She is so excited to be working with us!
Kristen Little
Assistant Director
kristen@togetherwegrowgardens.org
Kristen first learned about Together We Grow Gardens at our annual fall fundraising Gala. She is passionate about helping others become self-sufficient and decided to come on board with us to help us achieve our mission. Kristen enjoys working with Together We Grow to bring the community together and help others.
Anna Busic
Power of Plants
Program Director
powerofplants.togetherwegrowinc@gmail.com
Anna has a great appreciation of the benefits of gardening for families and communities. This appreciation has come from experiences like picking up potatoes from behind the plow as a child, to continually seeing the health and happiness her extended family has from gardening and sharing their produce. Anna and her husband have 5 children and live in the Newark area. She enjoys helping her children and their friends grow and pick food in their gardens at home. Her interest in movement, health, teaching and gardening makes Anna’s work at Together We Grow a perfect fit for her! She loves serving the Licking County community through her work in the Power of Plants and Children's Garden Programs.
Jennie Mason
Here We Grow Gardens Program Director
jennie.togetherwegrowinc@gmail.com
Jennie has lived in Alexandria and
Newark for 24 years with her husband, Doug and 2 dogs, Yogi and Mater. They have 3 children and 5 grandchildren, which they spend as much time with as possible.
She loves being outdoors, working in her yard, quilting and spending time with others. She has been in sales and customer service most her life. Since both retired she feels like working with the Together We Grow family is a perfect fit with all her positive energy.
Mike Roberts
Gardener
togetherwegrowinc@gmail.com
Mike Roberts was one of the original founders of Together We Grow. He helped start all the gardens, built hoop houses and sheds at all the gardens and helped to build the greenhouse in 2017. He also served as Board President for the first two years.
Mike retired from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in 2014 from his position of Coordinator of Telecommunications and Data Management. He also received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1999 from MVNU. He now continues to help the organization with development of gardens and new projects on a part-time basis.
Mike is married to Pam (Executive Director of Together We Grow) and has four adult children, as well as 14 grandchildren.
Kyle Anderson
Garden Director
kyle@togetherwegrowgardens.org
Kyle is a lifelong Licking County resident, and currently resides in Newark with his soon to be wife, Julia, and two children: Carson and Eloise. He is an avid hockey and soccer fan, and loves exploring the great outdoors with his family. He has worked in different greenhouse and growing/farming settings in the past and he joined the Together We Grow family in the spring of 2024 . He is always looking for ways to give back to the community he calls home, and has quickly become very passionate about our mission.