Backyard Growers appoints Julee Allen as Executive Director

Gloucester, Mass. (August 13, 2026) - The Board of Directors of the food equity nonprofit organization Backyard Growers announced today that Julee Allen has been appointed to the role of Executive Director. Allen brings extensive nonprofit leadership experience from the international development sector, following over two decades leading community-rooted programs at the intersection of food, health, and education all over the world. 

“Julee is an accomplished leader with deep expertise not just in strategy, operations, and fund development, but in the careful work of partnering with the communities that a program serves,” said Board President Suzanne Clerkin. “We look forward to supporting her as she leads Backyard Growers into its next phase of impact in the Cape Ann community and beyond.” 

Founded in 2010, Backyard Growers is a grassroots organization with a mission to expand equitable access to high-quality, fresh food and vegetable gardens. The organization is committed to cultivating healthy, connected, resilient communities through home, school, and community gardens, as well as a weekly food-focused farmers market.

“Throughout my career, I have watched what happens when a community’s relationship to food shifts from dependence to agency. It is transformative,” Allen said. “Because of that, I am a longtime admirer of Backyard Growers’ work here in our own community and I am committed to deepening and expanding the organization’s impact.” 

Allen has held leadership and senior advisor positions at FHI 360 and Save the Children U.S. in Washington, D.C. She led programs and fundraising  for Save the Children International in Kathmandu, Nepal, and the education sector in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Allen also directed education and workforce development initiatives for US Agency for International Development in Haiti and oversaw humanitarian services for refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong, SAR. 

Throughout Allen’s time living and working internationally, Gloucester and Cape Ann remained her base. She lives in Gloucester and has served as a volunteer with Gloucester Education Foundation and the Sawyer Free Library.

Learn more about Backyard Growers’ mission and impact atbackyardgrowers.org. 

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Backyard Growers is a grassroots organization that cultivates healthy, connected, resilient communities by empowering people to grow their own food. Founded in 2010, its community programs and award-winning school programs increase access to vegetable gardens in community gardens, backyards, schools, public parks, housing developments, and more. Learn more at www.backyardgrowers.org.