Who We Are

James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center (JBOLC) is a community-driven 501c3 non profit organization located in the Bronx, New York.

JBOLC promotes environmental sustainability, food sovereignty and social justice through outdoor learning opportunities, especially during weekly farmers markets from June through October.

JBOLC connects people with nature by offering in-person learning experiences with plants, food, soil, and garden community to nourish a local regenerative and resilient healthy ecology and build a healthier resilient community.

Staff and Active Board Members

Raymond Pultinas

Director and President

Ray Pultinas(he/him) is responsible for organization's recognition and realization of its mission, maintaining relationships and expanding networks and capacities.

Sung Kim

Assistant to the Director & Secretary & Tresurer

Sung feels blessed to be involved in the work of JBOLC. She is a permaculture designer & gardener and aspired student of herbalism and loves being in nature listening to the plants, trees, wild beings and enjoys to gather the blessings of wild medicinals.

Richard Wooley

Sustainability and Community engagement

Richard Wooley is a former constituent correspondent for the US Senate and speechwriter for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He co-founded several small businesses and coached over 500 startups and emerging companies, helping them re-examine strategies and draw roadmaps to their goals. He's also consulted for non-profits, including DoSomething, Super Dville and ZanaAfrica, which focus on community impact, social-emotional learning and economic injustices caused by lack of health resources. In media, he produced original news video content for CBSeye and, for seven years, co-authored a weekly political opinion column for the Huffington Post. He's an invited editorial writer for CNN.

As a board member, he helps reaching out to broader community through social media and other engagements.

  • Raised on the Caribbean shores of Barbados, the granddaughter of two agricultural families, Dana gardened from a young age. Therefore, stumbling upon Meg's Garden and JBOLC in 2019 was simply kismet. What was once just a walk to garden with community members, has now transitioned into what feels like familial duty.

    As a board member of JBOLC she has served on the Marketing Committee, Finance Committee and Restorative Justice Committee in previous years and hopes to spearhead a Plant Education Series this year. As the garden grows more towards herbalism, it provides the opportunity to learn more about plant based medicine and culinary arts.

    "Our community is rich with culture and wisdom from Turtle Island and all over the world, I'm excited to see what we can learn together"

  • Sharon Lungrin is an experienced finance and operation not for profit professional and entrepreneur.

    As a JBOLC Board Member, Sharon focuses on strategic planning and working to deepen JBOLC relationships with local organizations, elected officials and community members in order to create and sustain a thriving network of good information about resources and opportunities in the Bronx and beyond.

 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

  • Aeternal Lovers

  • Amalgamated COOP

  • Bronx Community Foundation

  • Bronx Historical Society

  • CALL (City As Living Laboratory)

  • CitizensNYC

  • Clatter Valley Farm

  • Concerned Coalition of Legal Professionals

  • Cultured Movement

  • EEAC-NYC

  • Forest For All NYC

  • Friends of Jerome Park

  • Friends of Mosholu Parkland

  • GrowNYC

  • Lawyers Alliance for New York

  • Literary Freedom Project

  • Mi Oh My Hydroponic Farms

  • Montefiore Community Center

  • Montefiore Medical Center

  • MORE Opera

  • National Fruit Tree Planting Foundation

  • New York Botanical Garden - Bronx Green-Up & NYC Compost Project

  • New York Mycological Society

  • NYC Parks

  • NYC Soil & Water Conservation District

  • Partnerships for Parks

  • Plant Native North West Bronx(PNNWB)

  • Rap4Bronx

  • Silver Shoes Dance Club

  • Uptown and Bronx Friendly Fridge

  • Van Alen