Tim Branch, Farming Manager

The newest member of Parks & People’s team, Tim is a trained master gardener, experienced Parks & People volunteer, and dedicated community greening leader.  He lives in the neighborhood served by Parks & People’s flagship Marvin Gaye Community Greening Center and Farm.

Steve Coleman, Executive Director & President

Steve Coleman has led Washington Parks & People’s award-winning alliance of community-based greening partnerships since 1990.  Beginning with his first park volunteer effort over 50 years ago, Steve went on to serve as an intern reporter for Public Broadcasting’s MacNeil/Lehrer Report, vice president and director of research for a national organization, program director of an international environmental advocacy network, staff officer for a national foundation, a fundraising consultant for environmental media initiatives, a community organizer, an elected and appointed DC community representative, and past Trustee of both the City Parks Alliance and the National Recreation and Park Association.  Born in India, Steve was the founding chair of World Urban Parks.  He has gone around the US and 12 other countries sharing about Parks & People’s work and lessons learned through keynote speeches, technical assistance, and fellowships.  He and his family live in DC’s diverse Reed-Cooke neighborhood, on the corner where Parks & People began its work of countering violence and restoring the diverse outdoors a generation ago.

Katrina Gaynor, Program Coordinator

Katrina Gaynor is a graduate of the DC Green Corps program who now coordinates programs at each of Parks & People’s facilities.   Passionate and dedicated to Parks & People’s work, Katrina has been a leader in assisting returning citizens during and after incarceration.

Behnam Mehrabkhani, Sites Manager

For 22 years, Behnam Mehrabkhani has trained, coordinated, and inspired  tens of thousands of Parks & People volunteers helping in all aspects of park and landscape revitalization and building restoration and construction. He came to Parks & People in 2001 from Iran, helping to assist the award-winning exterior restoration of the Josephine Butler Parks Center before he could speak more than a few words of English. Before coming to the United States, Behnam supervised a staff of 18 machinists in a Tehran factory and worked as a welder in Turkey. The father of two children, Behnam is an avid soccer player and fluent in Persian and Turkish.

Ashleigh Mitchell, Program Manager

A proud graduate of the University of the District of Columbia (Bachelor of Science) and Parks & People’s DC Green Corps program, Ashleigh Mitchell now leads Parks & People’s programming at each of its five facilities.  Ashleigh has served Parks & People for seven years, bringing training and experience in business, management, and community organizing and programming.  Raising two children in neighborhoods Parks & People serves, Ashleigh is deeply dedicated to using parks to advance the life of children and youth across DC.