Meet the Team

Executive Producer and Host: Joe Lamp’l

Joe’s infatuation with gardening and nature began as a child after a run-in with his parents’ favorite shrub, he panicked and jammed the broken branch into the ground. A few weeks later, it had taken root. Joe was not only relieved; he was also hooked on horticulture.

That passion is evident to a nationwide audience who has watched Joe as host of the popular series, Fresh from the Garden on DIY Network and GardenSMART on PBS. As one of the country’s most recognized and trusted personalities in gardening and sustainability, today, he combines his national television experience and expertise of gardening, environmental stewardship and passion for living a more eco-friendly life, as host and producer of Growing a Greener World on public television. Joe also shares his know-how on NBC’s TODAY SHOW, ABC’s Good Morning America, The Victory Garden on PBS and more.

Off-camera, he is founder & CEO of The joe gardener® Company, devoted to environmentally responsible gardening and sustainable outdoor living. Joe is deeply committed to “growing a greener world” through his popular books, blog and podcast series, nationally syndicated newspaper column, and regular contributions to popular magazines and social media networks.

Co-host: Patti Moreno

Patti is a lifelong city girl who started gardening in 1998 as a way to eathealthier and lose some post-pregnancy weight. Her frequent shopping trips to her local gardening supply store earned her the nickname “Garden Girl” from one of the store’s salespeople. Eventually, Patti transformed the backyard of her Boston home into an in-town garden that now produces almost all of the food her family eats and has become a focal point within her inner-city community.

Working tirelessly to promote her concept of Urban Sustainable Living, Patti is a contributing editor to Fine Gardening’s GROW magazine, a columnist for Organic Gardening Magazine, a contributor for Farmer’s Almanac, and host of the PBS series Farmer’s Almanac TV. In addition, she has her own product line that has been named Best Retail Product by two nationally-recognized garden trade shows.

Using her popular moniker, “The Garden Girl,” Patti hosts an Internet video series at gardengirltv.com, earning the rank of Most Watched Garden Host on the Web by Tube Mogul.

Nathan Lyon – Chef

With an infectious personality and incredible culinary talent, Chef Nathan Lyon is known to viewers across the country for his simple, innovative cuisine featuring fresh, local ingredients. Among the final four on the second season of The Next Food Network Star, he is the chef and host of A Lyon in the Kitchen (Discovery Health and Fit TV) and appears as a guest chef / expert on Home Made Simple (TLC) and Real Simple Real Life (TLC).

Nathan holds a BS in Health Science from James Madison University as well as a Culinary Arts Degree from Le Cordon Bleu. He has cooked for the Inspector General, numerous non-profit organizations, and has worked with local growers in California farmers markets for almost a decade. Blending grassroots and gourmet, Nathan believes that great meals make great neighbors.

Todd Brock – Consulting Producer

Todd is a seventeen-year veteran of the television production industry whose work as a writer, producer, and director has been seen on HGTV, DIY Network, PBS, and Gospel Music Channel. Graduating with honors from the University of Iowa, home of the world-famous Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Todd spent eight years in local TV news. Notably, he produced over 800 episodes of a live morning, magazine-style show at the NBC affiliate in the country’s ninth-largest market. A freelancer since 2001, Todd’s recent work includes the highly-rated HGTV docu-series Ground Breakers, the long-running PBS series Barbecue America, and dozens of writing projects ranging from food blogs to true crime memoirs to how-to books. His book, Building Chicken Coops for Dummies, was published in 2010 by Wiley Publishing.

Theresa Loe – Co-Executive Producer

Theresa’s prior experience can be found as a columnist, book author, radio correspondent, video host and producer. Theresa is an expert in small space gardening, urban homesteading, and educational school gardens. She’s also trained as a Master Food Preserver and appears periodically on GGW to demonstrate canning and preserving without the intimidation. Theresa gardens on less than 1/10th of an acre in Los Angeles and yet is able to raise chickens, grow enough food to feed her family of four and preserve the harvest. She’s also the owner of LivingHomegrown.com, a website dedicated to living locally and sustainably through gardening and canning.

Rich Kunkel – Director of Business Development

Rich has a “green thumb” for new business development. Putting together marketing, promotional and advertising programs is something that he truly loves. And, the bigger and more complex the project, the better. With more than 20 years as a publisher of trade magazines, Rich brings a wealth of knowledge in sales and marketing to The joe gardener Company. He relishes the opportunity to help companies grow their business through Growing a Greener World. A perfect day for Rich is solidifying a relationship with a new marketing partner and a round of golf in the low 80’s.

Carl Pennington – Director, Director of Photography

With a strong creative and technical background, Carl brings many years of expertise from various facets of the film and broadcast video industry. Trained in Mass Communications at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, he has produced episodic series as well as commercials for national television networks. Since 2003, his work includes directing, shooting and editing hundreds of episodes for GardenSMART, a national series on public television. Previously, Carl has worked for Dick Clark Productions and been a freelance video editor for other companies, including various broadcast TV stations. Carl is the founder of Day Three Media and now is the president of frame212 Creative.

Leonard Carter – Lighting Director and Camera Operator

Creativity comes naturally for Leonard but his training and experience doesn’t hurt either. His technical expertise necessary to capture each moment perfectly, comes from the School of Visual Arts in NYC and work at Dino De Laurentis Film Studios (currently Screen Gems) in 
Wilmington, NC. As a Director of Photography and cameraman, Leonard’s gift of creativity gives him a feel for the artistic aspect of each image. His strength comes from his solid understanding of lighting and motion and how they translate emotionally to the viewer.

With over 25 years of experience and national awards acknowledging his talent along the way, Leonard continues to sharpen every aspect of cinematic storytelling.

Christa Hanson – Social Media Director

In Christa’s words, she’s a “nerdy lady passionate about Internet, photography, gardens, design, direct marketing, and making genuine connections”. We agree but never considered her nerdy. Christa’s mastery of Social Media and gift for knowing how go beyond just building fans but forming true relationships in a virtual world, impresses us more every day. Christa is a regular speaker on social media for business and networking, an active member of Social Media Club Greenville, SC and Connect Young Professionals, sometimes goes by Tink, and frequently glues her fingers together.

Robin Haglund – Writer

Robin is not only the Founder and President of Garden Mentors®, she is also an important member of our GGW writing team. Robin is a pioneering garden coach and award-winning garden designer with a passion for cultivating beautiful, functional, sustainable outdoor spaces. She has appeared on HGTV’s Landscaper’s Challenge and was featured in our season one episode on Urban Beekeeping. In addition to holding a certificate in Environmental Horticulture from Lake Washington Technical College and a BA in English from UCSB, Robin is a Certified Professional Horticulturist (CPH) as defined by the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Organic Gardening Magazine, The New York Times, Sunset Magazine and many, many others. Robin’s diverse horticulture education, garden coaching experiences, and her design insights make her a master at explaining garden knowhow to a television audience. And she always tells the story from a sustainable perspective, making her a perfect fit to the GGW team!

Heather McClain – Production Assistant

Heather is an avid gardener and journalist from Chester County Pennsylvania and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. Her interests in sustainability and gardening have taken her from public radio Reporting for WRTI Radio in Philadelphia to PR and blogging for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia International Flower Show, which is where she first joined up with the “Growing a Greener World” Team. Before that, Heather was a Production Assistant for both the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, and the CBS Early Show in New York. When she’s not helping to set up episodes of “Growing a Greener World,” Heather blogs about her novice gardening experiences at growwhereurplanted.wordpress.com or she talks shop at Mainline Gardens in Malvern, PA.

Jordan Crossingham – Senior Photographer

Jordan studied photojournalism at RCC in Asheboro, NC. Her love for photography opened many doors including staff photographer for Liberty University and a freelance shooter for Bucknell University.  She has won several awards and has been nationally published for the past 6 years, including Fine Gardening Magazine and Acres USA.  In addition to photographing the “world-class” GGW team, she’s had the opportunity to photograph presidential candidates, astronauts famous authors, actors, and more. In her words, of all her professional experiences, she “prefers nothing more than being on the GGW team”. In our words, “we think she’s a smart cookie”.

Sara Griggs – Camera Operator and Post-Production Assistant

Sara studied Film and Italian at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She has worked in many forums, from the newsroom at Fox 5 in Atlanta to behind the scenes at the Travel Channel, but likes the atmosphere of being part of a production team the best! She brings a fresh perspective and an eye for detail to the set, and joviality to the editing studio. In her free time she enjoys photography, traveling, and short films. She would love to explore Russia, and appreciates a quick wit.

Jon Milavec

This Award-winning Producer and Director of Photography for Mixed Bag Media has been part of the joe gardener family for years, beginning with Joe’s first television series on the DIY Network, “Fresh from the Garden”. Always easy-going and enthusiastic, Jon has that wonderful ability to bring out the best of you in front of the camera. According to Jon, “to work with Joe Lamp’l often requires getting dirty, hot, wet, sun-baked and bug-bitten…which is all part of the fun!” Jon loves his work and enjoys being around people who are working hard to change the planet.