Jeanne Nolan

Jeanne Nolan is a professional gardener, entrepreneur and leader in America’s burgeoning urban farming movement. As founder of The Organic Gardener Ltd., she has designed and cultivated more than 650 farms and food gardens in and around Chicago—in downtown parks, public school yards and inner-city shelters, on restaurant rooftops, townhouse terraces and suburban estates, even in the mayor’s back yard. She is also the designer and project manager for The Edible Gardens at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, a 5,000-square-foot vegetable garden for children at the world-famous zoo which welcomes 25,000 visitors a year. At a time when more Americans than ever before are cooking healthy food from scratch, Nolan is taking the movement to the next level and teaching and inspiring us to grow healthy food from scratch.

Her touching personal story, passion for gardening, and experience educating others about organic food makes her a popular choice for schools, gardening clubs, community groups, and non-profits. Her recent lectures include a talk to Kraft executives, the Garden Club of America, and Holistic Moms Network. In addition to her speaking career, Nolan writes a weekly blog for Babble.com and is a consultant for corporate outreach programs like Hidden Valley Ranch’s “Love Your Veggies” campaign.

Random House published her book, From the Ground Up: A Food Grower’s Education in Life, Love, and the Movement That’s Changing the Nation in 2013.