Mosaic helps make Pottstown stronger by bringing people together.
Mosaic has a three-fold mission. We use the Community Land Trust model to increase numbers of housing units, improve neighborhoods, and allow low-income buyers to become homeowners. We increase a sense of community and bring fresh produce into some of the low-income and low-access neighborhoods within Pottstown through our community gardens and Community Supported Agriculture Scholarship Program. Pottstown Community Arts, a committee within Mosaic, brings arts into the lives of residents through programming of our own and in partnership with Pottstown Regional Public Library, ACLAMO, the Ricketts Center and others.
In June 2010, Mosaic’s founding members began their exploration into the structure and benefits of the Community Land Trust model as a tool for revitalization and increased homeownership. And Mosaic was born. Since that time, we have started and operate four community gardens on donated land in the borough. In 2018, Pottstown Community Arts joined Mosaic and took control of the arts and culture part of our mission.
What is a Community Land Trust?
A Community Land Trust is a nonprofit sustainable model to help revitalize and strengthen communities.
Staff
Tracy Purdy, Executive Director
Tracy served as President of the Board of Directors at Mosaic for nine years before transitioning into the Executive Director position. While serving as President, Mosaic grew to include Pottstown Community Arts, expanded the community gardening program to include The Barth Garden, and acquired the first two community land trust homes. Tracy believes in the power of members of a community working together to improve it and to solve problems and is so proud of all Mosaic has accomplished. Outside of her work with Mosaic, Tracy also works on the Grow For It! Garden Contest and the annual Garden Tour, as well as supporting many local causes. She holds a BS in Community Development and a MS in City and Regional Planning. She runs Three Daughters Inn Bed & Breakfast and enjoys gardening, hiking, and doing genealogy. She and her husband are parents to three grown daughters and one bossy chihuahua.
Tom Petruno, Community Garden Manager
Our Gardens Manager is Tom Petruno, who joined us in June 2023. Tom’s appreciation for gardening began growing up in the nearby Lehigh Valley, with a small vegetable garden in his backyard and a cherry tree. As an adult, he has grown in containers to raised beds, from San Diego, CA to Madison, WI, to Philadelphia and Pottstown, and joining Mosaic as a gardener in the 2022 season.
Tom has a background in biology and ecology, earning his bachelor’s degree in biology from Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, VA. Tom’s prior roles range from being a Project Manager for Mammoth Lakes Ski Area, working in the Education Department for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and being a homeschooling parent. He brings years of knowledge and experience in gardening, education, and working together with others in service-based roles. His hobbies include playing guitar and snowboarding. Tom lives in Pottstown with his wife, Sarah, and their 3 children.
Marie Haigh, Chairwoman, Pottstown Community Arts
Marie runs Pottstown Community Arts, the arts and culture advocacy arm of Mosaic. She co-founded the organization with Audra Ross. When her children were very little, she wanted more opportunities for her kids to make art and see their art displayed outside the home.
Marie loves bringing art projects to organizations in Pottstown and to free events around town so that everyone has an opportunity find their inner artist. Sometimes people will make a variation of Marie’s sample art and other times, they will make something completely unique. Often the art made will be used to temporarily beautify a small area in town, like a garden, or it will be included in an international exhibit when working with global art organizations.
As our top volunteer, Marie organizes projects and events as often as she can. When she is not dragging bags of art supplies around town, she can be found keeping her hands busy in other ways. She volunteers at Althouse Arboretum and Welkinwier monthly to do trail maintenance with a group of equally dedicated friends. She tends several beloved trees and a vegetable garden in her ever-dwindling-lawn. She is a knitwear designer and teaches a knitting class at the annual Pottstown Knit Out. She loves to cook, bake sweet treats, and try new craft projects.
Marie lives in Pottstown with her husband, two daughters, one son, and a dog. She homeschools her children and may enjoy visiting the local museums more than they do. As a thank you to the Pottstown Regional Public Library for being such a huge and free resource to homeschooling, Marie volunteers with the Board of the Friends of the Library.
Our Board
Mosaic’s Board of Trustees is a team of people passionate about and involved in the Pottstown community.
Audra Ross, President
Senior Branding Specialist
Audra Hammer Ross strongly believes in the transformative power of Mosaic CLT’s model for community revitalization, increased homeownership, and the reutilization of vacant properties. With a 30-year background as a civic volunteer in diverse capacities from student liaison to the local school board to Inspector of Election, Audra has resided in the Pottstown area for 15 years becoming involved with many local organizations. Alongside her board position, she also serves as the committee liaison for Pottstown Community Arts, and was a co-founder of this collaborative townwide arts outreach group. Audra is an alumnus of Rosemont College and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. With a background in community mental health, Audra has a deep understanding of the connecting power of communities. She has worked as a clinician within Pennsylvania’s Family Based Mental Health Services Program (FBMHS), holds a certification Philadelphia Child & Family Therapy Training Center, and in her current professional capacity, Audra works as an executive resume writer and branding specialist, helping professionals navigate career transitions.
Naomi Crimm, Secretary
Community Planner, Montgomery County
Naomi is dedicated to creating inclusive and resilient communities and has experience working on local and regional planning projects in several municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York. She currently works as a community planner with Montgomery County Planning Commission. Naomi has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a master’s degree in city & regional planning. She is an avid reader and forest gardener and stewards a flock of chickens, several bee colonies, and a tree nursery with her husband in nearby Douglassville.
Debra Parkins
Debra is a mother of two and grandmother of six, ranging in ages from 2 to 22. A resident of Pottstown for more than 25 years, Debra is the proud owner of Mosaic’s first community land trust home, a joint venture between Habitat for Humanity, Genesis Housing and Mosaic CLT. Debra holds an associate degree in business with a dual major in accounting and paralegal. She has worked as an administrator for small business and a customer success manager for a global corporation. Her creative ventures are writing with a penchant for lyrics, poems, and short stories. She enjoys painting, sewing, and baking. Though she enjoys building things, she is presently without a table saw or proper work area, so those endeavors are a bit hindered.
She is an advocate of all things human rights and is hopeful Mosaic can pave the way for more affordable homeownership opportunities in our community.
Ian Matlack
Greater Delaware Valley Market President, Peoples Security Bank and Trust
Ian serves as Greater Delaware Valley Market President for Peoples Security Bank & Trust Company (“PSBT”) which has offices locally in King of Prussia and Doylestown. PSBT has become one of the largest independent community banks in eastern Pennsylvania with a footprint stretching through Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. PSBT has a team that is devoted to the people and local community. Each office offers a wide range of financial services that covers personal banking, business banking and home financing. His professional career spans almost 20 years in the financial services industry with working at local community banks in commercial real estate lending. Ian also serves on the Board of RSVP, another local non-profit organization. A resident of nearby Gilbertsville, PA, Ian and his wife, Danelle, have a son and a daughter. Hobbies include activities that his children are involved and supporting Liverpool Football Club
Geri Kelly
Clinical Psychologist (Retired)
Geri is a lifelong Pottstownian. She began her professional career as a teacher in the Pottstown School District. While teaching she pursued a master’s degree in counseling psychology and a certification in School Psychology. She is a licensed PA Psychologist. She also served as an adjunct professor in school psychology at Immaculata University. Geri’s involvement with Mosaic began with her participation in our community garden contest, eventually becoming a judge and member of the garden committee. Needless to say, Geri is an avid gardener who enjoys both the work and pleasure gardening entails. She is also a voracious reader. Her greatest pleasure comes from time spent with her family and friends.
Juliann Wade
Virology Department Supervisor, Charles River Laboratories
Juliann Wade is a life-long resident of Pottstown and mom of two boys and 3 rescue cats. She is active in the community, belonging to several organizations including Pottstown Community Action, NAACP, Leanne’s Life Changing Fairies, Kate’s Casa, and is a gardener at Mosaic’s Barth Garden. Juliann has a BS in Biology and BA in Spanish from Chestnut Hill College. Her interests include gardening, hiking, and issues around affordable housing, food security, and the environment/sustainability.
