Staff

Curtis McKinney Project Coordinator City of Chicago Department of Transportation / Greencorps Chicago Curtis Mckinney is a Project Coordinator for the City of Chicago Department of Transportation/Greencorps Chicago. Curtis works with the Program Director to insure that the Grant Agreement between the City of Chicago and WRD Environmental is being fulfilled. He is a lifelong resident of Chicago who enjoys sports, traveling and spending time with his family.	Andy Johnson Program Director WRD Environmental / Greencorps Chicago Andy Johnson, Program Director, is WRD’s lead for Greencorps Chicago. Andy has been working on the Greencorps program since 2005 and is responsible for all of WRD’s commitments to the Chicago Department of Transportation for the program. His primary role is to manage the budget, partner relationships, and overall quality of the program. He enjoys seeing the success participants achieve during the program, spending time outdoors, and watching English soccer.
Mario Baxtrom Case Manager WRD Environmental / Greencorps Chicago Mario Baxtrom is WRD Environmental’s Workforce Development Case Manager for Greencorps Chicago. He’s primarily responsible for providing employment mentoring to trainees in the subsidized employment experiences to assist in job orientation, developing positive workplace relationships, and reinforcing the standards of performance outlined in the Greencorps Chicago employee handbook. He also provides case management services to trainees during regular meetings on-site and during frequent visits to the trainees’ work sites.	Kyle Williams Project Manager WRD Environmental / Greencorps Chicago Kyle Williams, Project Manager, grew up in west-suburban Elmhurst and first became involved with corps programs as a corpsmember for the Coconino Rural Environment Corps in Flagstaff, Arizona. Kyle has been managing projects and providing technical training for Greencorps Chicago since 2013. His professional interests are in developing and delivering quality corps programming that connects participants to life-transforming opportunities. He is an ISA Certified Arborist, Illinois Prescription Burn Boss, and a Leave No Trace Master Educator.
Joe Sussman Project Supervisor WRD Environmental / Greencorps Chicago Joe Sussman is the Project Supervisor at Greencorps overseeing our ecological restoration projects, and providing technical and horticultural training in the field. Joe is passionate about urban and civic ecology, conservation, and natural resources. He began working with Greencorps as an instructor for the youth program, and transitioned to working for the job training program in 2017. Joe is an ISA certified arborist.	Tavaras Short Shop Supervisor WRD Environmental / Greencorps Chicago Tavaras Short is the Shop Supervisor at Greencorps Chicago overseeing our daily operations. Tavaras came through Greencorps as a Crew Member in 2010 and transitioned to Crew Supervisor in 2011. By 2014, Tavaras was promoted to Operations Coordinator. In 2018, Tavaras moved on to a company called Cardno as Field Tech Supervisor. In 2019, Tavaras returned to Greencorps using his knowledge and skills to help new trainees excel.
Matthew Smith Field Coordinator Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago Matthew Smith is a Field Coordinator at Greencorps overseeing multiple sites at a time. He helps provide technical training and mentoring to Crew Supervisor and new trainees. Matthew started as a trainee at Greencorps in 2012 and then advanced the following season to an Advanced Crew Member. In 2016 he became a Crew Supervisor and then went on to work for a contractor in 2017 & 2018. Now he is back at Greencorps sharing his knowledge with others and working to increase his own knowledge by striving to become an ISA certified arborist
Deshawn Dunn Crew Supervisor Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago Deshawn is a 2016 graduate. He left Greencorps to work for Cardno for a year. Now he is back at Greencorps as a Crew Supervisor.	Jerry Etheridge Crew Supervisor Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago A lifelong resident of the north side of Chicago, Jerry has a longstanding interest in the ecology of the Great Lakes region. He graduated from the Greencorps job training program in 2018, and after working on the winter crew has transitioned to Crew Supervisor for the 2019 season.
Michael Hendricks Crew Supervisor Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago Michael graduated from Greencorps in 2016. That year he was named Corpsmember of the Year by the Corps Network. In 2017 Michael earned his US Forest Service Class A Feller Certification while working for the Southwest Conservation Corps in Durango, Colorado. He has also spent 2 years on the Jackson Park project in Chicago with Applied Ecological Services.	Daniel Longfellow Crew Supervisor Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago Daniel has a background working for the Southwest Conservation Corps in Salida, Colorado. He is a graduate of Greencorps in 2018 with Outstanding Performance. Daniel also worked on the Greencorps winter crew in 2019 and is excited to be back as a Crew Supervisor.
Ruben Lopez Crew Supervisor Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago Ruben Lopez is a first year Crew Supervisor at Greencorps. He has a diverse background of work experience in the green industry including ornamental gardening at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, ecological restoration with the Chicago Park District, and tree care with Davey Tree Expert Company. In addition to his 3+ years of experience in the industry Ruben is also a student at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign pursuing his degree in Environmental Sustainability.	Lisa Oliphant Crew Supervisor Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago Lisa is a 2015 Greencorps graduate from the West-side of Chicago. During training she participated in an internship with Applied Ecological Services (AES), and then she went on to work for OAI via Highbridge building rain gardens in South Suburban areas. From there she went to work for Wiley’s Lawn Care Services in 2017 and returned to Greencorps as an advanced crew member. This is Lisa’s second year as a Crew Supervisor.
Angela Rodgers Crew Supervisor Signature Staffing / Greencorps Chicago Angela Rodgers is a 2016 Greencorps graduate who came back as an Advanced Crew member for that winter. In 2017, Angela was promoted to Crew Supervisor. She has experience leading crews on City Colleges of Chicago landscaping projects, construction projects with Chicago Park District and restoration projects with the Forest Preserves of Cook County. This is Angela’s third year as a Crew Supervisor.