Ron Finley

Ron Finley envisions a world where gardening is "gangsta", where kids know their nutrition and where communities embrace the act of growing, knowing and sharing the best of earth's fresh-grown food. Widely known as the "gangsta gardener," Ron planted organic vegetables in the parkway in front of his South Los Angeles home and began a horticultural revolution. Ron's belief that gardens build communities has blossomed into a quest to change how we eat and the founding of the Ron Finley Project, an organization dedicated to changing culture and growing people. A man of many interests, Ron's career started in his family garage where he built a clothing company, The DROPDEAD Collexion, becoming a top seller with many high-end retailers such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Sacks Fifth Avenue. Ron's passion for the arts is also reflected through his expansive collection of Black entertainment memorabilia, an exhibit entitled "Ron Finley's Travels Through Blackness." Today Ron's mission is changing the composition of the soil in communities around the world.