This weekend Executive Director and Founder of the Incubator presented at the 2025 National Grow Together: Planting Seeds of Resilience conference in Manhattan. Presented by NYC Parks GreenThumb in partnership with the American Community Gardening Association and Urban Garden Project, the four day event was hosted by CUNY Graduate Center. This gathering of community gardeners and leaders nationwide aimed to celebrate the power of urban green spaces and community gardening.

Lissie led a presentation, “Funding Your Dream Community Garden: A Go-To Guide of Getting Grants” in Session One on Friday. Participants gained valuable knowledge and resources on available funding sources and general tips for securing grants for community gardens. Gardeners had the opportunity to share success stories and learned about the value of community partnerships to strengthen their garden programming. Attendees participated in think-pair-shares and created personalized, compelling narratives about their gardens to seek funding for future garden projects.

Sharing the story of the growth at Galvez Garden and funding raised for the St. Roch Revitalization Project, Lissie inspired and encouraged everyone in attendance. At the Incubator we believe in creating more green spaces for healthier communities. It was an honor to be represented among the nation’s leading advocates in celebration of cultivating a greener, healthier, and more connected future. We hope our ED’s presentation will lead to more funding to support more gardens throughout the country.