Joyce Moty, President of the P-Patch Trust Board of Directors, recently announced  the naming of its new Executive Director.  Read the announcement below.

The board of directors of the P-Patch Trust is delighted to announce that Veronica Sherman-King, Director of Planning and Community Building for the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, will become the first executive director of the Trust in January 2012.

The Trust, a nonprofit organization that works to create community gardens throughout Seattle, has accomplished a great deal as an all-volunteer group in our 38 years of existence. We now need to embark on an intense phase of work to help expand and strengthen community gardening in Seattle. To fulfill our mission, we have to grow the organization – and hiring an experienced executive director is the critical first step. Veronica’s wealth of experience in community building, public process and nonprofit development will be an enormous asset for the Trust.

Veronica has worked in the field of community development for more than 10 years, handling planning and large-scale neighborhood development efforts. As a leader in the public and nonprofit sectors, she has worked with public agencies, private investors, commissions and elected officials. An Oregon native, she studied at the University of Oregon and received a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Pittsburgh.

The P-Patch Trust’s mission is to acquire, build, preserve and protect community gardens in Seattle’s neighborhoods. Its efforts are focused on garden acquisition and development, community building through gardening, and support and advocacy for community gardens throughout the City.  The Trust works closely with a variety of partners, including the City of Seattle P-patch Program, and owns or co-owns seven of the 75 P-Patch Community Gardens administered by the Program. More information about the Trust is available at www.ppatchtrust.org.