ABOUT PEOPLE FOR PALMER PARK

Board of Directors
April 2023-April 2024

People for Palmer Park is governed by a member-elected board of directors that volunteer and represent the surrounding communities and various professions.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Stacy Varner - President / Ex Officio, All Committees

Rosalinda Haskins - Vice President / Recreation Committee Chair

Patricia Little - Treasurer / Chair, Finance Committee
Patricia can be reached at patricia@peopleforpalmerpark.org

Chris McTaggart - Secretary / Preservation Committee
Chris can be reached at chris@peopleforpalmerpark.org

Nikolette Barnes - Board Executive Assistant
Nikolette Raquel Barnes is a Detroit native with a passion for food, youth, sustainable living and nutrition education. She began her love affair with growing food in 2008 while volunteering at D-Town Farm. Since then, Nikolette has worked to expose Detroit youth to the Food Justice Movement locally and globally. Nikolette also advocates for youth and adult consumers to reclaim their spending power and make better food choices. She has worked for the Eastern Market Corporation, Detroit Public School's Office of School Nutrition, Greening of Detroit's Urban Agriculture Department, as well as the Detroit Food Policy Council. In addition to her local community involvement, she currently studies Early Childhood Education as well as serving on the Mutual Aide Resource Council for National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Her most important work is raising her 11 year old indigo child who is ecstatic about cooking, farming and singing! Nikolette can be reached at nikolette@peopleforpalmerpark.org
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Eric Adams - Events Committee
Eric is a Bagley resident who finds himself at Palmer Park most days via tennis, disc golf, or walking his dog in the woods.

Barbara Barefield - Chair, Events Committee
Barbara Barefield has been an arts and community activist since the mid-1970s, from publishing a weekly newspaper to presenting concerts at the DIA and in historic homes. Chair of the PFPP Events committee, she is also PFPP’s graphic artist for print. Prior to owning her graphic design firm Barefield DesignWorks, she was art director of the Detroit Free Press Sunday magazine and of UAW Solidarity magazine. A graduate of University of Michigan School of Architecture and Design, she recently opened Barefield Clayworks, a Detroit ceramic studio, with her son. Barbara’s photography has been widely exhibited, and published in her book Jazz Space Detroit, as well as local and national media. When her hands are not in clay, or clicking a camera, Barbara is the co-producer of Palmer Woods Music in Homes with her husband jazz guitarist/composer A. Spencer Barefield, playing with her St. Bernard, Devo, and planning and promoting events at Palmer Park. She can be reached at barbara@peopleforpalmerpark.org

Robyn Childers - Events/Preservation/Recreation Committee

Joe Darling - Events Committee and Arts & Culture Chair

Sylvia L. Greene - Events Committee and Membership

Reverend Gregory Guice - Recreation Committee 
Since being ordained at the Unity School for Religious Studies in Lee's Summitt, Missouri in 2000, Rev. Gregory Guice has established himself as one of Unity’s outstanding spiritual teachers of Unity principles and beliefs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Sociology from Kentucky State University, he attended Marygrove College in Detroit where his curriculum was in Early Childhood Studies and in 1986 he received a Master of Arts Degree in Clinical Psychology at the Center for Humanistic Studies in Detroit.  Rev. Guice has been employed as a Counselor, Teacher, and Social Worker in the Detroit area. He created a community organization at Detroit Unity Temple to fight crime within the neighborhood and he continues to reach out to various areas with the “Look for the Good” campaign. He has published two insightful and motivating books, “The Courage to Conquer Fear” and “Spiritual Waters”.

Abe Gurewitz - 

Rhonda Hendren - Chair, Membership Committee
Rhonda can be reached at rhonda@peopleforpalmerpark.org

Amy Kuras - Chair, Marketing & Communication Committee

Rochelle Lento - Log Cabin Committee

Roy Raines - Chair, Preservation & Beautification Committee
I have been a resident of Palmer Woods since 2011. I am a retired sales engineer. I love Palmer Park and am involved with the community garden, orchard and help out as much as I can. My hobbies are house restoration, carpentry projects, biking and yoga.

Heidi Reijm - Finance/Preservation Committee
Heidi Reijm, Ph.D. has been a Detroiter since 2011, lived in the Palmer Park community with her two sons and dog since 2015, and has been an avid park user ever since. She has worked in the nonprofit community development field and in philanthropy for almost 20 years, recently received her Michigan Master Naturalist Certification, and is using her skills and love of urban nature conservation to continue PFPPs efforts to conserve the park as a natural resource and as an asset for Detroiters to enjoy each other, arts and culture, and health and wellness.  When not doing all this, Heidi is an avid runner, cyclist, yogi, and hiker. 

Nancy Varner - Farmer's Market, Events Committee/Recreation Committee 


ADVISORS

Angela Lugo-Thomas - Farm & Community Manager
Audrey McPartlin - Farmers Market Manager
Sgt. Douglas Musten - Detroit Mounted Police Liaison

PAST BOARD MEMBERS

Sharon Gamblin - Past Vice President / Recreation Committee Co-Chair
Wendell Byrd - Finance Committee
Angella Durkin - Past Treasurer, Finance Committee
Sigal Hemy - Finance Committee
nayomi cawthorne - Farm & Community Manager 
DiAnna Solomon - Fundraising Committee
Vittoria Valenti-Amodeo - Events, Fundraising Committee
Molly Leebove - Farm & Community Manager 
Amy Lebowsky - Secretary / Chair, Marketing & Communication Committee
Kailey Poort - Marketing & Communication Committee Co-Chair
Krista McClure - Past Board Member
Jason Fligger - Past Log Cabin Committee Chair
David Mangum - Past Preservation Chair
Kim Hagood - Past Board Member
Will Robinson - Past Board Member
Leonora King - Past Secretary
Kim Fracassa - Past Board Member, Marketing & Communication Chair
Roberta Henrion - Past Board Member
Clinton Griffin - Past Vice President and Preservation & Beautification Chair
Lindsay Page - Past Farm & Community Manager 
Gregoire Eugene-Louis - Past Board Member, Marketing & Communication Committee
Kathy Bledsoe - Past Board Member
Sarah James - Past Chair, Membership
Eric Williams - Past Board Member
​Lori Heinz - Past Chair, Recreation/Events (Ad Hoc)
John Secco - Past Community Liason
Helen Broughton - Past Treasurer
Alicia Biggers-Gaddies - Past President & Vice President
Daniel Scarsella  - Past Preservation & Beautification Chair
Omega Headen - Past Board Member
Sgt. Eric Eide - Safety & Security, Mounted Police Board Rep
Mack Jones - Deceased
Trina Tucker - Liaison, City of Detroit Recreation Dept. Rep
Karen Petola - City of Detroit Recreation Dept. Rep
Brooke Ellis - Past Secretary
Jacqueline Poole - Detroit Golf Club H/O Rep
Keith Williams - Past Board Member
Craig Bristow - City of Detroit Recreation Dept. Board Rep 


PFPP is entrusted as an Adopt-a-Park Partner with the City of Detroit.
NEXT: OUR MASTER PLAN