Biographical Info

Donielle Nolan (Doni for short) has been at Mason since 2010 when she started as an undergraduate student studying biology and volunteering as the president of the GMU Organic Gardening Association (GOGA). She joined University Sustainability in 2013 as the summer intern for the Potomac Heights Organic Vegetable Garden (PHVG) and later as the assistant coordinator for the Permaculture Design Certification Course (PDCC).

After working all summer in the garden, she knew that growing food was her passion. In 2014, she was hired part time to start the hydroponic greenhouse program at the President’s Park Greenhouse. The facility is still going strong today, hosting hundreds of volunteers every semester, and growing lettuce, microgreens, and culinary herbs year round, which are served in the dining halls and sold to customers on campus. She became full time staff in 2016 when she combined the greenhouse and gardens into a single program.

Doni received her Master’s of Science in plant science and pest management in 2018 and began teaching sustainability courses as adjunct faculty for the School of Integrative Studies. She is now pursuing her PhD in Biosciences with the College of Science, studying beneficial microbes that treat Pythium root rot disease in hydroponic systems. Her passion and joy are contagious as she engages and educates the community about sustainable food production, composting, herbal medicine and so much more. If you would like to get involved with the Greenhouse & Gardens Program, or have a landscaping related project idea, please contact Doni at dnolan6@gmu.edu, or find her in the campus gardens during the weekly volunteer shifts.