2022 Webinar Series: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Gardening Education

About Our Presenters:

Gina Dundon—Fort Wayne Community Schools Wellness Coordinator

Gina Dundon, Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) Wellness Coordinator, has been a Registered Nurse for 16 years. She has been working at FWCS for the last 8 years. The first 2 years were spent working as the school nurse for elementary, middle, and high schools. Gina took the position of the Wellness Coordinator in the fall of 2015. Gina’s job includes employee and student wellness. One of her passions is to bring experiences and hands on learning to students that they might not ever have a chance to do. The project that she has been dedicated to is having a Tower Garden in all 50 schools buildings within FWCS. Tower Garden’s give students a chance to plant, tend to, harvest, and even taste different fruits and vegetables. Gina holds a bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master’s in Healthcare Administration, both from the University of Saint Francis.

Alyssa Jackson—Elementary Wellness Teacher

Alyssa is a 2017 graduate of Purdue University who is going into year 6 of teaching Elementary Wellness and coaching High School Cross Country and Track & Field. She is an outdoor enthusiast, runner, and loves cooking with fresh foods. She is the recent recipient of the Indiana Society for Health and Physical Educators (INSHAPE) Young Professional award as well as the winner of the Midwest Society for Health and Physical Education (Midwest SHAPE) Young Professional award. Three years ago her elementary school started a garden with the goal to have student ownership guide the garden's future. The garden helped to spark a camping and campfire cooking unit where students were able to taste watermelon, strawberries, and melon, as well as cook bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini, and squash over the campfire (along with a hot dog and smore of course). While our garden didn't produce enough veggies for all students at the cookout, our school was able to partner with our cafe to follow the USDA balanced lunch plan and provide these foods for all students through the free lunch program.