Garden Time Staff
Kate Lacouture, Co-founder, Executive Director & Educator. Kate is a landscape architect, licensed arborist, and garden activist in Providence, RI. She has been teaching incarcerated men and women gardening and 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
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
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. Reformist/change agent, criminal justice (adult/youth advocate), post-secondary education reform, social justice advocate, writer, speaker, artist, entrepreneur, and creative kyle@gardentime.us
The Canopy Crew, Tree Stewardship for low-canopy neighborhoods of Providence.
“I keep coming back to the program because this program and the instructors make me feel human again. Getting dirty, pulling weeds is the next thing to ‘mental freedom’.”
Garden Time Board of Directors
Vera Bowen: Board President & Co-Founder, Garden Time; National Accredited Flower Show Judge; Past Director of New England Region, Past President, National Federation of Garden Clubs; Past Director, RI Horticultural Society; Past Director, Rhode Island Children’s Garden Network. (Board member from Incorporation/2013-present)
Kate Lacouture: Executive Director & Co-Founder, Garden Time; Landscape Architect & Principal, Green Circle Design. (Non-voting Board member from Incorporation/2013-present)
Robert Rafka: Board Vice-President, Garden Time; High School Science Teacher, former Chemist at Pfizer, URI Master Gardener. (Board member from 2016-present)
Aloysius “Ace” Weah, Ace Weah is a graduate of the Garden Time to Work program and the Green Reentry Job Training program. He brings much to the team, including a passion for working with people, a talent for outreach, and his lived experience. (Board member from 2025-present)
Stephanie Moniz: Stephanie Moniz is a first generation native to Providence, RI; a true creative with a passion for pursuing Black equity through art activism and purpose driven vision. She is a formerly incarcerated author/illustrator, public speaker, and community building consultant. Her first published book was written and illustrated while serving a sentence at the Adult Correctional Institution in 2015, and self published in 2018 under the pen name Charlotte Apricot. Using her experience as a tool, she has been able to teach the power of vulnerability. She participated in an internationally award-winning feature length documentary film entitled, “Tre Maison Dasan”, which highlights part of her experience as a single mother in the criminal justice system. She’s taken her talents to private practice and launched Steph Artivista Consulting. She helps people develop skills of emotional intelligence to co-create inclusive and ethical institutions, programs, and work spaces. Stephanie works for Groundwork RI and runs our monthly wellness support group for trainees and graduates. (Board member from Incorporation/2020-present)