For 29 years, Ron Wolford has been helping inner city Chicagoans bring beauty and vitality back to their neighborhoods through the Chicago Urban Horticulture program. The Chicago Urban Horticulture program helps communities develop open spaces into productive community gardens, school gardens and green environments spurring community pride and encouraging redevelopment.

Wolford coordinates the Chicago Master Gardener and Master Composter programs. He also writes articles for the University of Illinois Extension Gardener's Corner.

Wolford coordinates and supervises staff and volunteers at Extension's 1,200 square foot organic vegetable garden at the Museum of Science and Industry Smart Home. He also coordinates Extension educational outreach efforts at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, Macy's on State Flower Show, Taste of Chicago, the Green Festival, the Green and Growing Fair, Garfield Park Conservatory, Cook County Juvenile Detention Center and LaRabida Children's Hospital.

Wolford's office is in the University of Illinois Extension Urban Leadership Center. He works with other Extension staff at the Urban Leadership Center providing educational programming for seniors.

Wolford provides social media expertise for Cook County Extension using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, scoop.it, posterous, pinterest, flickr and instagram.

He earned both his master's and bachelor's degrees in agricultural education/horticulture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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