Pat Hall
Co-founder
Patricia (Pat) Hall grew up in rural North Georgia with parents who considered a productive garden essential to life. She learned at an early age the importance of growing your own produce and spent many hours in the family garden learning the skills she needed to grow her own. After leaving home, she attended the Medical College of Georgia and became a registered nurse. She later completed her masters and PhD in nursing, as well as, her Nurse Practitioner Certification. She has been a Cardiac nurse most of her career and now works in collaboration with an interventional cardiologist in Mobile. Pat earned a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy in 2021 (HTI) to enhance her outreach activities. Despite busy work schedules and family responsibilities, she has always had her own garden. While raising her son, she apparently imparted on him a love for gardening as well since he earned a degree in Horticulture from Auburn University. Pat became a certified Extension Master Gardener in 2024. With her healthcare background and gardening experience, she understands that growing your own produce improves one’s health and well-being. Spreading this message to others through Community Gardening became her mission and, by networking with other local gardeners with the same ideas, she started her first Community Garden at the Bee Hive. From there the rest is history….
Carol Dorsey
co-founder
Carol Dorsey grew up in the Alabama Black Belt on a beef and dairy farm with sweet memories of her grandfather’s lush garden. After graduating from Auburn University with a BS in microbiology, she went to work in public health through clinical, environmental, and shellfish microbiology. After retiring, she immediately took Master Gardener classes offered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, certifying in 2016. In 2021, Carol earned a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy (HTI) to enhance community engagement and diversify the populations served by MUG. Master Gardener volunteer opportunities included community gardens and landscapes. Through this outlet Carol has embraced her passions for growing, learning, and outreach in the community. She is active with the Mobile County Master Gardeners, Christ Anglican Church, and Mobile Urban Growers, Inc. Carol and her husband, Bob, live in Midtown Mobile. Their grown children, Lydia and Peter, now reside in Baton Rouge so Bob and Carol share their home with chickens, an Australian Shepherd, and lots of plants.
Connie Guggenbiller
Team member
While visiting her daughter in New York, Connie was inspired by all the community gardens she saw while going for a walk. “Some were designated areas that people had planted; others opened to the public for their own enjoyment.” It inspired Connie to think about what had been done with such small amounts of green space and the possibilities of what we could do in much larger green spaces here in Mobile! When she returned home, she started a conversation with her pastors Chris and Karen Bullock, and so the Central Presbyterian Garden began.
She looks back now and laughs. It started out as an experiment by the inexperienced. They asked anyone who wanted a spot to plant what they wanted in their area. The problem was there was no water to keep anything alive. A boy scout working on his eagle project stepped forward and took on the job of setting up what was needed to keep the plants watered. Connie is proud that the garden is still in existence and looks forward to its continuing evolution.
Deven & Karrie Arnold
Team Members
Deven and Karrie Arnold have been seeking ways to give back to their community together since they met at Spring Hill College. In early 2025, they joined the Mobile Urban Growers team, inspired by MUG’s mission and commitment.
While Deven works in financial data analytics, he uses his prior experience in fine arts and graphic design to support bringing art into the gardens and filling the website with creativity. Karrie has worked for environmental non-profits for the last decade, specializing in geospatial data collection and management. She applies this experience to support structural organization and expanding the network.
John Mitchell
Team member
John was born and raised in Mobile, attending public schools in the city and graduating from Murphy High School. He went on to attend a local community college earning a two-year degree in Agricultural Science and attending Auburn University for one year to Major in Forestry. After college, John went to work for the City of Mobile for 40 years and retired from the police department. After retirement, he attended the Master Garden Program through the Auburn Extension Program and graduated and was certified as a Master Gardener in 2024. He has volunteered and worked in many different programs through the Master Gardener program and continues his learning by attending different extension workshops.