Together, we can do so much.

Deanna Kitchen

Growing up, Deanna just assumed her deep desire to connect with people and find ways to create community was just the by-product of being born and raised in a town so small it only had one stop light. But she’s come to realize it’s the very fiber of who she is—and the seed that eventually led her to founding the Growing Kindness Movement.

What began as a simple act of giving flowers in her community grew into something far beyond what she ever imagined, rooted in her belief that small acts of kindness can change everything. Deanna is a gatherer at heart, known for creating spaces where people feel seen, welcomed, and connected.

She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband—her high school sweetheart—and their three boys, and remains passionate about helping people experience the kind of connection and belonging we’re all longing for.

 Leslie Wehr

Leslie Wehr recently retired to enjoy her gardens and learn to grow cut flowers. Her

primary garden skills have long centered on perennials and shrubs, inspired by

significant time spent in England studying public and private gardens. With a particular

interest in shade and winter gardens, she is now learning to grow cut flowers. In early 2025, Leslie was excited to find the Growing Kindness Project, a group of kindred spirits passionate about gifting flowers as well as being a supportive community.

Leslie’s professional career was centered in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically

drug development. This career gave her opportunities to develop many professional

skills, moved her from the mid-west to the Mid-Atlantic and provided opportunities to

travel globally. She has gained so much from these travels and interactions, specifically

learning to appreciate and respect different cultures, communication styles and the

beauty and innovation of gardens around the world.

Leslie currently lives outside of Philadelphia, PA on a 4-acre property with woods,

streams and lots of gardens. Passionate about growing and gifting flowers, she loves to

educate, share and learn from others. She is blessed to have 2 wonderful Border

Collies and a mischievous cat named “Loki” to keep her company and help with garden chores.

 Cayla Jones

Cayla is a design and operations executive who has spent her career helping teams and the people within them do their best work. She brings both structure and heart to everything she takes on, and that is exactly what she hopes to offer Growing Kindness as Secretary.

Outside of her professional life, flowers have played an important role in Cayla’s own healing. During a season marked by burnout and loss, gardening helped her rediscover a sense of community, creativity, and purpose. What began as a small flower stand on her porch grew into Petunia Botanical Studio, rooted in storytelling, resilience, and finding light in difficult seasons. Petunia was her mother’s childhood nickname for her.

Growing Kindness brings those two parts of Cayla’s life together. She has experienced firsthand how a single bloom, thoughtfully grown and shared, can brighten someone’s day and create a meaningful moment of connection. She believes the smallest and most personal gestures are often the ones that matter most, and she is honored to help this movement grow in a way that remains warm, connected, and easy for others to be part of.

Cayla lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, David, and their two children, Lincoln and Madelyn. She is happiest creating with her hands, tending her garden, and sharing flowers with anyone who could use a little brightness.

Brenda Brieden

In late 2019, Brenda heard about Growing Kindness in passing and immediately knew this project would be a great fit for her hospital rooftop garden. Little did she know, the project would create a community of like minded volunteers, connect strangers in unique ways, and provide opportunities to connect with patients at their most vulnerable moments.

Knowing nothing about flower farming and very little about gardening, Brenda immersed herself in this new endeavor. Growing up on a farm in Illinois, she was reminded of many parallels including hard work, patience, watching the weather, and the joy of harvest. The garden provided a much needed respite from hospital work during COVID, and in subsequent seasons, a deeper understanding about time, care, and the human connection.

She is a PICU nurse by trade, turned legal nurse consultant. She lives in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan with her family.

Shari Froelich

Shari Froelich retired after a 48-year career in nursing, marked by both dedication and growth. She began as a licensed practical nurse (LPN), went on to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice, and spent the final 15 years of her career serving as a nurse practitioner.

Just before retiring during COVID, Shari began growing cut flowers. In a deeply personal act of kindness, she gifted her very first blooms to the nursing home where her brother spent his final days. What began in that tender season has now grown into her sixth year of cultivating and sharing flowers with others.

Two years ago, Shari returned to work part-time, spending a day and a half each week conducting medical exams for commercial truck drivers—work that feels especially meaningful, as her brother spent his entire adult life as a truck driver.

Kaite Scott

Kaite is an Ambassador Alumni and a Limited Licensed Master of Social Work (LLMSW) for the Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan. At HFM, Kaite is the Program Social Worker serving children and families with bleeding disorder diagnosis supporting events, retreats, conferences, managing a financial assistance program and more. She previously worked as an Infant Mental Health Clinician in southeast Michigan serving families and young children supporting the parent-child dyad through a variety of intervention and theories. In all work, Kaite infuses therapeutic horticultural practices whenever possible in addition to simply sharing flowers with families.

Kaite came to gardening during the pandemic and shortly thereafter found Growing Kindness -- the act of growing and sharing flowers has been tremendously healing for Kaite during a season of personal familial death and loss. Her hope is to share her early childhood knowledge, non-profit awareness, group facilitation wisdom and loving-kindness with the Growing Kindness community.

Kaite lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan with her husband, Tim and their problematic pets, Lola and Kim.

The thing that most excites Kaite about the Growing Kindness mission is empowering others -- people have so much power and light inside them and any time that people access tools and knowledge to reveal more of their light brings her joy. Kaite will be helping lead the development and launch of Growing Kindness Kids, and in doing so, help our organization support thousands of youth as they discover their capacity for positive impact as they grow and give flowers as acts of kindness.

Kaite's  favorite way to give flowers to share them with others changes often! Sometimes she brings them with her to the nonprofit where she works to share with staff and other times to local agencies they partner with. Sometimes, if she finds herself with many blooms, she'll harvest them all and take them to a local senior center.