Jaime Zaplatosch, Education Director

Jaime Zaplatosch started with Openlands in 2004 as the Education Coordinator. During her time with Openlands, the organization’s school-based programs has grown to include a substantial school gardens program, Building School Gardens, and Eco-Explorations for elementary and high school students at the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve. In 2009 Jaime was promoted to Education Director and was selected as a 2009 Awardee of the Community Renewal Society’s 35 Under 35.

Before joining Openlands, Jaime worked at Riverside Brookfield High School, the City of Chicago Department of Environment’s GreenCorps, a community gardening and job training program, and was vice president of GreenNet for two years.

Jaime has helped create school gardening programs at more than eighty schools throughout the city and Jaime has taught people of all ages, ranging from preschool to adult, in London, Arizona, and Chicago. A certified permaculture designer, she is a member of the KidsGardening national advisory board and a member of Mayoral Taskforce for School Gardening, City of Chicago.

• B.A., Environmental Education, Prescott College, Prescott, AZ
• M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, DePaul University, Chicago, IL