Julie Samuels, Community Garden Coordinator

Julie Samuels has volunteered or been employed as a community organizer on issues of social and environmental justice since moving to Oak Park from New York City in 1972.  Through the years, Julie has served on a variety of task forces and commissions in Oak Park, West Cook County, and Springfield.  These appointments focused on environment, appropriate waste disposal,  energy assistance, energy conservation and parks.  From 1986 through 1993 Julie worked as the State and then Chicago coordinator for the Affordable Budget Coalition to secure home energy assistance for low income people who would otherwise live without heat and lights.

Julie was hired by Openlands in 1994 to organize residents in Chicago’s underserved west and southside neighborhoods to assess open space needs and opportunities and to help residents implement projects which have included parks, trails, community gardens, urban farms and farmer’s markets. In 1998, she helped to organize and then worked with the North Lawndale Greening Committee to design the Neighborhood Youth Garden Corps summer job and community gardens support program and ran it at Openlands in four west side neighborhoods for the next 11 years.   

Julie coordinates Openlands’ Building Urban Gardens (BUGs) organic gardening class, the HomeGrown Chicago Community Food Garden Network training program, and in the Englewood community to support development of a community-based garden organization, community-run gardens and the New ERA Trail.

• B.A., Miami University, Oxford, OH