About Us

Hayes fell in love with the Tetons when she was 15, and after working seasonally as an outdoor educator and restoration crew member, eventually moved to Teton Valley in 2002. Then her career in land management and ecological restoration took her to Seattle for 17 years during which time she had a family and grew a myriad of fruits and vegetables in her yard. She returned to Teton Valley in 2021, and is excited to be back and digging into both the dirt and the community. You can find her biking, hiking, or skiing with her son, husband, and dogs when she is not in one of our school gardens or attending one of our workshops.

Taylor was very excited to join the Mountain Roots Education team in the fall of 2023. Taylor has many years of experience in ecology and habitat restoration with a focus on plants and noxious weeds, and when she is not working with students in a school garden classroom, she's busy serving as Landganics' field manager and noxious weed expert. She also has experience teaching in Teton Valley, loves project-based education and gardening, and enjoys sharing these joys with the students at Victor and Tetonia Elementary schools. Taylor moved to Teton Valley in 2013,  and can often be found working in her vegetable and fairy gardens, or getting out on a good wildflower hike, mountain bike ride, or river float with her two girls, May and Charley, and husband, Ellis.  

Eating dinner in a hut in Honduras, Amy looked out the window and realized she could identify the exact fields and trees supplying the food on her plate. It forever changed her perspective – no longer did fruits, vegetables, beans and rice come from aisles at the grocery store, she now understood food comes from growers. Amy feels passionate about sharing this ethos with students and workshop participants. 

Amy loves all things marketing and communications. She's the co-founder of Garage Grown Gear, an online store dedicated to ultralight backpacking and cottage outdoor brands. Amy has lived in Teton Valley for 15 years and adores our community. Amy’s daughter attends the local middle school. When not tapping away on the computer, Amy can be found backpacking, mountain biking, skiing, foraging and at the yoga studio.

Zander brings an infectious enthusiasm for nature and culinary exploration to the role of Garden Educator. Her journey began in a town surrounded by agriculture, where she not only developed a love for the earth but also gained an understanding of food systems and their critical importance to our communities.

Zander has worked on farms across the globe, enriching her knowledge of sustainable practices and appreciating diverse cultural approaches to agriculture. Throughout her career, she has embraced outdoor education, guiding students to discover the joy of growing their own food and understanding the processes that bring it to their plates. Zander loves cooking for her loved ones and creating healthy recipes outside in her free time. 

Lita was born and raised in Teton Valley and spent her childhood skiing, hiking, and spending time in the garden. She was lucky enough to attend Alta Elementary School during the first year of their school garden project with Mountain Roots. She loved all of the hands on experiences and creativity that the school garden provided. 

Her first job out of high school was a farm hand at Teton Full Circle Farm where she developed a passion for farming and organic agriculture that brought her back to that job for 3 consecutive summers.

Now she is excited to expand her farming experience by getting a closer involvement with the community. Through her work at Sweet Roots Farm Camp, she hopes to inspire creativity, resourcefulness, and environmental stewardship in the students, and help them develop a closer relationship to this beautiful valley.