In 2014, the Westport Garden Club welcomed Doug Ladd, Conservation Director for The Nature Conservancy in Missouri, as the guest speaker at a monthly meeting. He described the tallgrass prairie as one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world and inspired members to act, urging them to become “pollinators” for native plants.
Building on that momentum, club members began to deepen their knowledge of native species and experimenting in their own gardens. They also organized public presentations featuring Doug Tallamy and Roy Diblik, bringing together municipalities, architects, landscapers, elected officials, conservation agencies, nonprofits, and local businesses. These gatherings sparked important conversations about preserving Kansas City’s prairie heritage, ultimately leading to the creation of the KC Native Plant Initiative.
Now known as Deep Roots KC, the organization works alongside multi-sector partners to expand the use of native plants. At Deep Roots KC, we believe meaningful change begins right outside your door. By helping people plant native plants—one person, one garden, one yard at a time—we are restoring healthy habitats across our community.
Native plants do more than beautify our landscapes. They support birds, butterflies, and bees, improve soil and water health, and offer a simple, powerful way for individuals to take climate action at home.
Board of Directors
Margo Farnsworth,
Chair
Tom Jacobs,
Treasurer
Carolyn Kusmin,
Secretary
Bob Berkebile
Sunny Branick
G. David Gale
Kathy Gates,
Founder
Jason Jensen
Susan Lordi Marker
Marion Pierson, MD
Eric Tschanz
Our mission is to encourage the appreciation, conservation, and use of native plants in the heartland through educating, collaborating, and facilitating the planting of regenerative native landscapes that are essential for a healthy planet.
Our Staff
Stacia B. Stelk, Executive Director
Stacia B. Stelk is the Executive Director of Deep Roots KC, a Kansas City-based organization working to increase native plant landscapes across the heartland. She became Deep Roots’ first Director in November 2017 and leads the organization’s efforts to educate, collaborate, and facilitate the planting of regenerative native landscapes. Her work brings together conservation, community engagement, and practical strategies for creating healthier places for people and nature.
Stacia brings more than two decades of experience advancing environmental initiatives and building partnerships across the Kansas City region. Before joining Deep Roots, she launched and led Ripple Glass, a regional glass-recycling initiative that increased the Kansas City area’s glass recycling rate from less than 4% to more than 20%. Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Programs and Development at Bridging the Gap, where she led environmental programs, partnerships, fundraising, and strategic initiatives. At Deep Roots, she focuses not simply on participation, but on the behavior that matters: getting more native plants into the ground.
Stacia holds an MPA in Nonprofit Management from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Kansas. Early in her career, she was a finalist for Do Something’s BRICK Award which honors young people making a difference in their community.
When Stacia needs inspiration, she looks out her office window to watch the vibrant action in her native plant garden. Bumblebees, butterflies and dragonflies are just a few of the creatures who stop by to say hello!
Maddie Ball, Outreach and Education Program Coordinator
Maddie joined Deep Roots in July 2025 as the Outreach and Education Program Coordinator. She organizes the Habitat Garden Tours and shares Deep Roots’ news through the publication of The Pollinator, management of the organization’s social media, and support for the production of our webinar series Curious by Nature.
Maddie studied Environmental Biology at Kansas State University. She has worked as a contracted researcher for various avian labs across the United States, collecting data to answer species specific ecological and behavioral questions. She can often be found looking up toward the sky to see who’s flying overhead.
Maddie’s passion for conservation is met with her passion for community. Beyond the benefits to her feathered friends, she believes native habitat development is the best way to connect people with the natural world that surrounds them. Maddie is excited to contribute to this impact in her local neighborhoods and to continue supporting the birds by putting more native plants in the ground.
P.J. Born, Land Manager
P.J. joined Deep Roots in December 2023 as the Land Manager for the Shawnee Mission Environmental Science Laboratory (SMESL), a project funded by the Shawnee Mission School District. PJ manages 22 acres including a woodland, prairie, a pond, and a small stream.
P.J. retired from teaching in the spring of 2023. Over his 32-year career he taught Life Science at Highland Middle School in the Turner School District and spent his final 27 years teaching Environmental Education at Shawnee Mission South High School where he also managed the Environmental Science Lab.
Learning about nature while using the SMESL as an outdoor classroom has been a personal highlight. P.J. shares his love of nature with his wife and 4 grown children.
Chris Cardwell, Urban Conservation Program Manager
Chris joined Deep Roots in April 2023 to develop our Nature Advisors program, also coordinating our green stormwater infrastructure, urban canopy, and large landscapes initiatives. Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and passion that he shares with all our programs and volunteers.
Chris earned a BA in History of Art and French from the University of Kansas in 2008. While there he began his professional stewardship journey with Applied Ecological Services. His career highlights since then include founding his own restoration landscaping company, Green Hand, establishing the Green Stewards program at Bridging the Gap, and serving as the first Urban Conservationist with the Miami County Conservation District.
Growing up in the Smoky Hills of North Central Kansas, exploring the rural grassland watersheds, instilled a quiet song in Chris’s heart that continues to inspire him. He loves to commune in nature while kayaking the region’s rivers and lakes, hiking, and camping.
Denna Nachlinger, Administrator / Conference Coordinator
Denna joined Deep Roots in January 2023. She maintains our records and databases and provides organizational support for our staff, committee members and volunteers. She also coordinates our annual conference, Plan It Native.
Denna has a BS and MBA in Accounting from Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business. Denna started her career in accounting and project finance which evolved to project management of IT system implementations and enhancements. She has also administered CRM databases to support efficient sales teams and reporting.
Denna has a lifelong love of the outdoors, nurtured from growing up on a farm. She enjoys her home vegetable garden and is expanding her native plant gardens at her home in Parkville.
Cydney Ross, Outdoor Education Manager
Cydney is a naturalist and horticulturalist who teaches native gardening, leads nature walks, and co-hosts Curious by Nature webinars. She started her conservation career in 2020 as a Native Landscape Specialist at the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center where she stewarded nine acres of public gardens. She transitioned to Deep Roots in 2023 as the Outdoor Education Manager.
Her earliest memories include catching crawdads, camping, paddling Ozark rivers, and gardening with her mom. Cydney has been gardening with native plants for nearly a decade. She is a trained sculptor, earning her BFA degree from Ceramics at the Kansas City Art Institute (’13). Her background instilled discipline, attention to detail, and creative problem solving. This lends itself well to nature observations, design, and native garden maintenance.
Cydney’s endless curiosity, stewardship for the earth, and background in the arts inspires folks to connect with nature. She proudly leads LGBTQ+ inclusive nature programs throughout the Kansas City area and is a self-proclaimed “native plant nerd.”
Kay Thomason, Outdoor Education and Outreach Program Coordinator
Kay joined Deep Roots in July 2025 as the Outdoor Education and Outreach Program Coordinator. She brings enthusiasm and fun factoids to plant sales, workshops, and gardens.
Kay’s love for gardening started early, digging in the dirt alongside her nana as a child. After spending the beginning of her career at a desk, she took a leap in 2020 by enrolling in a farming class, rediscovering her passion for sun, soil, and growing things. Since then, Kay’s grown her hands-on experience and knowledge at Open Petal Farm and Kansas City Community Gardens.
In addition to tending native plants in her yard, Kay grows fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms. On the rare occasion she’s not outside, Kay is diving into one of her many hobbies—crocheting, reading, fermenting, preserving, and about ten others.
