Our Team

Board of Directors

Nisha Parekh – President

Born in South Africa during the apartheid regime and raised in Los Angeles, Nisha Parekh’s career has been driven by the desire to identify and dismantle colonial legacy in the modern era and build a just, environmentally sustainable future. Nisha currently works as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor where she prosecutes employers who violate federal employment law. She received joint graduate degrees from UCLA in May 2017, obtaining a law degree from the UCLA School of Law and a master’s in public policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She graduated from law school with specializations in the David J. Epstein Public Interest Law Program and the Critical Race Studies program. Nisha currently serves on the board of the Los Angeles Community Garden Council, which she joined in October 2019.

Prior to her studies at UCLA, Nisha worked as a researcher, writer, consultant, and teacher. Prior to law school, Nisha received a Fulbright scholarship to Brazil where she researched the relationship between Brazil’s exclusion of agricultural workers from its post-slavery labor laws with Brazil’s ongoing racial apartheid. She has been deeply involved in food justice, local food, and non-GMO movements in Los Angeles as an activist and gardener. She is certified as an LA County Master Gardener and has helped start school gardens and teach gardening to youth in low-income neighborhoods. She also served as an associate producer to the documentary film GMO OMG, which explores what genetically modified seeds are and their prevalence in our food system. Nisha holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international relations from USC.

Erika Crenshaw – Vice Chair

Erika Crenshaw is an educator, community builder, and steward of the El Sereno Community Garden. Erika believes that bringing diverse stakeholders together happens through meaningful and transformative education. Erika is a veteran of the U.S. navy. She was a public school teacher, and then became an administrator at the University of Southern California. Since 2019, Erika has been facilitating a career change that allows her to continue excelling in the fields of education and community building. She was elected Garden Manager at the El Sereno Community Garden and began working to bring solar energy to the garden. Since then, Erika has become a certified Photovoltaic Solar Installer and is currently working with Tesla, the nation’s most innovative solar company. Under Erika’s leadership, the garden has reopened its doors to the community with programming for all ages. Along with a core team of garden leaders, she works to bring about positive social change through educational garden programming as well as coalition building with residents, community organizations, local schools, businesses, and elected representatives; and, she serves on the LA 32/El Sereno Neighborhood Council. Erika holds a BA in community studies from UC Santa Cruz and a master’s in education from the University of Southern California.

JUAN CARRERAS-8TU

Juan Diaz-Carreras – Treasurer

Originally from Peru, Juan grew up all over the US, eventually settling in Southern California in 2006. Juan started his professional career working in the Everglades after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies, Biology, and English from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Public Administration degree focused on Environmental Growth Management from Florida Atlantic University.  Now a seasoned manager with Carollo Engineers, who make logical decisions by combining input from stakeholders with well-honed intuition and whose leadership style is collaborative, but assertive when necessary. Flexible and enthusiastic about new things, while focused on planning for the long-term and delivering results in line with schedule and budget. Comfortable with delving into the details on projects, including financial analysis for large and small projects alike as well as for organizations such as the LA Community Garden Council.

cyndiintheriverCynthia Hubach – Interim Executive Director

After a long career in Los Angeles as a journalist and documentary writer and producer, Cyndi returned to school in 2010 to pursue a master’s degree in Urban Sustainability from Antioch University. One early lesson was the important contribution that community gardens make on many levels, from food access and security to community cohesion, to environmental services like stormwater capture, pollinator support, and the simple addition of green space. In 2012, Cyndi began work to convert a quarter-acre vacant lot in Elysian Valley into the EV Community Garden which she continues to manage today. The garden now serves 30 families, diverts literally tons of food waste from landfills as a hub for LA Compost, and hosts weekly food distribution events sponsored by LA Más. Cyndi is on the City of LA’s Community Forest Advisory Committee where she is working for a greener, more resilient and environmentally just Los Angeles. She also serves on the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council’s Green Committee and is on the board of the Silver Lake Reservoirs Conservancy. She has been a Master Gardener since 2012. Cyndi lives in Silver Lake and loves her electric car.

Glen Dake 

Glen Dake is a landscape architect and leader in building community-designed landscapes, transportation, and school improvements in Southern California neighborhoods, where he has practiced since 1987. In 1996, he founded a practice to deliver professional landscape services to the building industry, institutions, and community groups. He helped to found the LA Community Garden Council in 1998 and helped to build the Echo Park Community Garden with the Trust for Public Land. He joined Los Angeles Council Member Eric Garcetti’s staff to lead his successful green agenda between 2001 and 2005 and assisted in bringing the City into compliance with the Clean Water Act, the successful campaign for Prop O, adoption of the Renewable Portfolio Standard for energy, and developing thirteen new parks. Mr. Dake’s design work includes prominent campus improvements at UCLA and at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography; as well as the innovative outdoor learning environment for Los Angeles’ High Tech High School, and many playgrounds and childcare environments. He has also designed numerous local solutions to protect Southern California watersheds and enhance groundwater and surface water resources.

California Landscape Architect #4139
Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture 1987, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Kavita Sharma, MFA

Kavita became involved in community gardening more than 20 years ago at Solano Community garden, and has since devoted volunteer time to the LACGC, and is also a Master Gardener with the UCCE.  She brings 25 years of experience in communications and marketing to the organization. She holds an undergraduate degree in English/Creative Writing and Italian from the University of Southern California and a Master of Fine Arts in English/Creative Writing (Poetry) from The University of Alabama. She has held a variety of professional roles in both private and academic environments and currently manages internal communications for a Big Four tax and accounting firm in a global capacity.  She is a published poet and her interests include gardening, writing, singing, and spending time with animals.