LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Mission Statement:
Empowering Communities Through Food, Education, and Storytelling
Who We Are
Refugee Garden Initiatives (RGI) is an independent, refugee-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Michigan. Guided by lived experience, RGI uses farming, education, research, and storytelling to build more inclusive food systems where culturally meaningful foods are recognized as essential to health, dignity, and belonging.
Through our Healing & Vertical Food Gardens, community partnerships, and public engagement, we demonstrate practical solutions that connect food to culture, wellbeing, and community. We believe food is more than nourishment—it is memory, identity, healing, and a powerful expression of who we are.
Our Story
Refugee Garden Initiatives was founded in 2021 by Phimmasone Kym Owens after reflecting on a question posed in a University of Michigan Social Work course:
"How can you be an agent of change?"
Drawing from her lived experience as a Lao refugee and her lifelong connection to gardening, Phimmasone envisioned an organization that would address not only food insecurity, but also the often-overlooked importance of culturally meaningful foods in health, belonging, and community life.
In 2022, that vision became a prototype garden developed as her University of Michigan Honors Capstone project. The experiences and conversations with refugee families helped shape RGI's early direction and reinforced a simple but powerful truth: food is deeply connected to identity, culture, and wellbeing.
Today, RGI has grown into a community-based organization that collaborates with farmers, universities, healthcare partners, educators, and local organizations to demonstrate innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture while advocating for more inclusive food systems.
Why This Work Matters
For many people, food is far more than nutrition—it is a connection to family, culture, history, and home. When people are displaced or face barriers to accessing foods that reflect their traditions, the effects reach beyond the dinner table and can impact health, identity, and a sense of belonging.
RGI believes culturally meaningful foods should be recognized as an essential part of healthy and inclusive communities. Through demonstration farming, education, research, storytelling, and community partnerships, we work to inspire institutions and communities to rethink how food systems can better reflect and serve the diverse people who rely on them.
We envision a future where everyone has access to foods that nourish not only the body, but also culture, dignity, and belonging.
What Is A Refugee?
According to the United Nations, a refugee is a person who has fled their country of origin and is outside its borders due to a '“well-founded fear of persecution" for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
Founder/Executive Director
Photography by Sarah Boeke
Years later, after moving to Ann Arbor and living in an apartment without access to land, I joined a community garden. It brought me back to that same feeling—of belonging, of reconnecting with something that had always been a part of me.
I eventually returned to school later in life, shaped by the understanding that many refugees, including myself, did not always have access to education or resources earlier on. I wanted to study food, gardening, and how migration intersects with lived experience—because I had lived it.
Refugee Garden Initiatives grew from that journey. It is rooted in both personal experience and a broader vision: to create spaces where refugees and underserved communities can access culturally appropriate foods, reconnect with their traditions, and find pathways to healing, education, and empowerment.
Today, my work brings together food, storytelling, wellness, and advocacy. I collaborate with communities, students, and institutions to help shift how we think about food systems—so that they reflect the people they are meant to serve.
At the heart of everything I do is a simple belief: culturally meaningful food is not a luxury—it is a vital part of dignity, health, and belonging.
With gratitude,
Phimmasone Kym Owens
Founder/Executive Director
My name is Phimmasone Kym Owens, and I am the founder and executive director of Refugee Garden Initiatives (RGI).
I arrived in the United States in 1981, at four years old, through the Chicago airport. I still remember seeing snow for the first time and thinking it was ice cream. That moment—full of wonder and misunderstanding—captures so much of what it meant to begin life in a new country.
As a Lao refugee child, I quickly learned that adapting was not optional. I learned how to use silverware, how to eat unfamiliar foods, and how to follow new norms. At school, milk was often the only thing offered to drink—even though I was lactose intolerant—and lunch never quite filled me the way food at home once had. I missed the comfort of sticky rice, soup, and the sauces I grew up scooping with my hands. Food, which had once been familiar and grounding, became something I had to navigate.
But even in those early years, I found moments of connection. I remember how Lao communities transformed small apartment spaces into gardens—sometimes even in parking lots. Those gardens felt alive. They carried memory, culture, and resilience. They showed me that no matter where we are, we find ways to grow what we need. That connection stayed with me.
Board of Directors
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Dr. Suchiraphon (Su) McKeithen-Polish
PRESIDENT, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Suchiraphon (Su) McKeithen-Polish was born and raised in Thailand and lived in various countries due to her father's diplomatic career. She is a highly accomplished and influential figure in the field of bilingual education and community leadership. With a wealth of experience and expertise, she currently serves as a Bilingual Education Program/Title III Consultant at Macomb ISD and is an active member of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) EL Advisory Committee, EL Statewide Network, and the National Association of Bilingual Education. Additionally, she holds the esteemed position of Commissioner of the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC) and serves as the President of the Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA).
Dr. Su is also a devoted spouse and parent to three accomplished daughters, each flourishing in their respective fields of study and work.
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Colm Fay
TREASURER/SECRETARY, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Colm Fay was born and raised in Ireland and immigrated to the US for graduate school. He is an alumnus of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan and has worked in international development and inclusive business for over 13 years. Colm is an independent consultant and works with non-profits and social enterprises on program design and planning, innovation, and learning strategy. He enjoys cooking, long hikes, camping, woodworking, and travel.
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Dr. Lesli Hoey
MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lesli Hoey was born in Bolivia. She is an associate of Urban and Regional Planning Program at the University of Michigan where she studies grassroots- and government-led efforts to intervene in the public health crisis, environmental degradation, and economic inequities rooted in today’s dominant food system. Focused on policy change, implementation and evaluation, she examines how innovative plans, policies and community visions translate into effective, wide-scaled, sustained action. Much of Dr. Hoey’s research has concentrated on Michigan since 2012 and Bolivia since 2007, places with contrasting contextual factors that affect the emergence and success of food systems transformations.