Stewards of Mission
Josh Singleton
Founder & Living System Steward
Josh has spent more than two decades working alongside living systems through agriculture, landscapes, and community gardens. What began as a love for growing plants gradually became a lifelong pursuit of understanding how people, communities, and creation flourish together. Along the way, the garden became more than a place to cultivate food. It became a teacher, revealing patterns of stewardship, participation, and faithful attention that extend far beyond the garden itself.
Those experiences shaped the founding of The Neighborhood Garden Project and continue to influence Josh's work today. Rather than offering predetermined solutions, he walks alongside individuals, families, churches, nonprofits, and organizations as they learn to observe reality more honestly, steward what has already been entrusted to them, and faithfully participate in the opportunities before them.
Josh believes that healthy living systems reveal timeless principles. Whether restoring native landscapes, tending a garden, leading an organization, or navigating a season of transition, the invitation remains the same: to receive reality honestly, steward it faithfully, and allow time to reveal what is true.
Fred Lazare, Steward of Provisions
Fred has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1989 and has worked with Houston non-profits for over twenty-five years. For sixteen years, Fred managed multiple aspects of the back office for a successful developer and owner of affordable housing, and he continues to consult in the affordable housing industry, along with maintaining a small accounting practice. Fred and his wife enjoy working the small garden at their townhome, careful to put only native plants into the soil.
Christopher George, Steward in Discernment
Christopher George is a natural connector, a quiet pollinator shaped by his roots in the Show Me State. Though his professional background is in accounting and finance, his deepest satisfaction comes from building relationships that foster mutual growth within mission-driven communities. He and his wife have been members of Emmanuel Episcopal Church for more than fifteen years, where they raised their two children and remained actively engaged in parish life. For the past seven years, Christopher has also volunteered with the Boy Scouts alongside his son as he worked toward earning the rank of Eagle Scout, strengthening his commitment to youth formation and learning through the outdoors.
In recent years, Christopher established an apiary at Emmanuel and is now entering his third season of beekeeping. Caring for the bees has naturally drawn him into the garden, where he has seen firsthand how healthy hives and healthy soil support one another. From the apiary’s edge, he has observed Josh’s steady dedication to the garden, his devotion to teaching, and his open invitation to curious minds of all ages. He looks forward to helping invite others into this quietly transformative space, where growth unfolds as naturally as a bee pollinating a flower.
Elie Maalouf, Steward in Discernment
TNGP stands at the intersection of community, wellness, and personal development. Elie views the garden as a space where skills are learned, patience is practiced, care is demonstrated, and kindness blossoms.
Committed to the long-term health and integrity of the organization, Elie supports the work of the garden by focusing on governance, clear strategy, and sustainable growth, ensuring that both the land and the people it serves are thoughtfully supported. He believes growth requires both vision and accountability.
Drawing on his background in partnerships, strategy, and long-term planning, Elie contributes to TNGP’s continued improvement and thoughtful expansion into new communities.
As a board member, Elie serves with humility, prioritizing listening, collaboration, and alignment with the organization’s mission and vision.
The Neighborhood Garden Project maintains all required legal officer roles in accordance with nonprofit law.