Julie has spent over 30 years in the non-profit sector working on community-based issues. A North Carolina native, with family originally from Durham, her work has been centered until recently on youth who are challenged to access opportunities in Orange and Durham Counties. In addition, she served as the Vice President of Community Engagement for the Latino Community Credit Union and began her board service at SEEDS in that role after spending a year cultivating relationships in the community surrounding Gilbert Street.

In 2024, she joined the Give an Hour, a national mental health non-profit, as the Director of Strategic Relationships and spends most of her time now on the road- traveling the country upskilling individuals ranging from members of the  military, people with rare diseases, survivors of mass violence and human made crimes.

In her spare time, Julie runs to the mountains to sit by a fire and explore the surrounding landscape. She is the proud mom of two strong adult women and deeply invested in building the next generation of community leaders.

Norman Epps is a proud North Carolinian, raised in Charlotte and a Durham resident for over 20 years. A graduate of North Carolina Central University and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Norman brings a strong sense of community, service, and leadership to his work and volunteer efforts.

With over 15 years of experience at Blue Cross NC, Norman specializes in project management, vendor management, and identifying opportunities for innovation and efficiency. His work is grounded in a belief in the communal nature of food, the importance of sustainability, and a deep commitment to ensuring that those we serve receive the highest quality experience.

Norman has previously served on the executive board of the Triangle Nonprofit & Volunteer Leadership Center, where he supported efforts to strengthen nonprofit capacity and volunteer engagement across the region. He is also an advocate and supporter of Urban Ministries of Durham and the MisstakenID Gives Back (MGB) Foundation.

Outside of his professional and board service, Norman coaches youth sports and serves as a corporate mentor to early career professionals, helping to guide and empower the next generation of leaders.

As a newly appointed member of the SEEDS Board of Directors, Norman is excited to bring his skills, experience, and passion for community-building to support the organization’s mission of cultivating community through gardening, education, and sustainability.

Originally from Northern Virginia, Medusa moved to the Chapel Hill/Durham area in 2021 and quickly began meeting the local community. She works as both a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a Customer Development Executive, blending clinical insight with strategic relationship building.

Medusa is deeply committed to building inclusive and creative spaces. In July 2024, they partnered with SEEDS and launched the Neurospicy Creators Space, a neurodivergent-friendly open studio that offers free art supplies and fosters community through creativity and self-guided expression. Whether crafting pottery, collaging, painting, or playing games like D&D or Machi Koro with friends, she finds joy in connection, play, and shared experiences.

They are excited to contribute to the SEEDS Board and feel especially connected to how SEEDS integrates nature, gardening, and community impact. Medusa believes in the power of shared spaces to heal, grow, and transform lives.

Born in Peru, Paola is a mixed media artist and dancer who resides in Durham since 2005. A fierce advocate for human, social, gender rights and Neurodiversity inclusion, she believes strongly in intentional active community collaboration and participation to increase the levels of emotional intelligence and mental health. She lives in downtown Durham with her husband and their two dogs.

A N.C. native and product of the N.C. community college & UNC system, I am heading into my fourth year as an academic advisor at Durham Tech and I am the primary advisor for Building, Engineering and Skilled Trades (BEST). 

I earned my AA from Pitt Community College and a Bachelors from NCCU in mass communications with a concentration in journalism and minors in English literature and global studies.

I spent more than a decade as a journalist/photographer and editor and taught journalism to high school and college students for UNC-Chapel Hill. I spent almost as much time as director of a Durham-based nonprofit specializing in workforce training (soft-skills, job coaching, internships and apprenticeships) and financial capability/literacy.

I've recently “retired” as a director, communications manager and coach of a Durham-based youth football organization and now enjoy continuing to coach students into successful careers.

Emily Guzman is currently a Director of Student Development and Support at North Carolina Central University. She previously served as the Diversity Officer and the Director for the Department of Diversity and Inclusion at NCCU.

Ms. Guzman attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities for her bachelors with a double major in Child Psychology and Spanish. She also studied abroad for an academic year at Tec de Monterrey, Campus Mazatlan, during that time she had an internship with Desarollo Integral de la Familia.  Later she received a Masters of Science in Counseling with a specialization in Marriage and Family Counseling. from California State University at Fresno. 

At NC Central, Emily serves as a vital resource for students, faculty and staff from various backgrounds, providing support, guidance, development and advocacy. The workshops and events she and her team facilitate aid the development of long-range strategic planning goals, as well as recruitment, retention, matriculation, and graduation rates of under-represented populations. She is also responsible for advising faculty, staff and alumni the importance of embracing an inclusive and welcoming environment. She works collaboratively with other departments to sensitive and educate the campus community.

Prior to joining NCCU in September 2016, Emily worked with transitional aged and emerging adults, ages 16-21. She provided case management services, empowerment, and vital resource connection including mental health services. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor and has served as a mental health therapist, health educator, and social worker within the Black, LGBTQ and Latine communities. She has provided workshops on working effectively with diverse populations, implicit bias, and Safe Zone.

In 2009, she became an immigrant rights activist when a crisis affected her family. This sparked her to create a blog that received national attention in the Washington Post, LA Times, Huffington Post, and Democracy Now. Her blogs were later edited and published as a chapter in a textbook called, Living Together, Living Apart: Mixed Status Families and Immigration Policy.

Her experience and passion as an advocate and educator with the various marginalized communities has been demonstrated throughout her entire career. 

Katherine has a lifelong love for plants, dirt, and the natural world.  She has a degree in horticulture, and turned to wildlife gardening as a way to combat climate anxiety. She’s made an ongoing project of transforming her yard here in town, into a vibrant and diverse habitat for native species.  Katherine is also on the board of Backyard Butterflies, a non-profit dedicated to creating more wildlife habitat in the triangle.  

Katherine served in the Peace Corps in Honduras in 2002-2004, where she helped families and schools plant fruit trees and vegetable gardens to improve child nutrition.  (She realized on a recent visit – to her dismay – she encouraged the community to plant entirely too many mangos!)  In Honduras she got to experience the magic of Blue Morpho butterflies (and also met her husband).   Upon returning to the US, she realized she had an equal passion for people-centered work.  She took a Master’s in Social Work, and has served the Durham community for over 20 years in mental health, community health, and social services.

Katherine loves sharing the joys of the natural world with other people.  She has a long history of organizing plant swaps in unsuspecting community groups because she has more plants than space.  Katherine loves to help friends and neighbors choose the best plants for their yards, replacing invasive species with native plants. She has a talent for plant identification.

Katherine joins the board of SEEDS, excited to promote food security, support arts programs in the garden, and encourage more people to play in the dirt.