Meet Our Team

From about age five, Gina’s mom called her a “troublemaker” but always advised her that if she figured out how to do “it” right, it would serve her well in this world. Her mom was right. Translation?  Meet the Disruptor for Good! She really likes to stir things up and get people thinking AND acting. One of her favorite past times is making people laugh and, because she was clearly born with multiple sets of tear ducts, crying makes the list too. Gina cries proudly and frequently – mostly tears of joy. A few things that immediately turn the tears of joy faucet on are her team accomplishing a goal they set; letters from ten-year old girls sharing that, because of Mrs. Green’s World, they will never use straws again; traveling deep into the Amazon rainforest; her clients sharing the difference Mrs. Green’s World has made in their lives and businesses; being a part of the lives of young people and when her family is all together. Tears of sorrow? Things like mass shootings, 500 children dying of starvation every day due to climate change, the devastation of our oceans and our rainforests and the rate of extinction for our four-legged friends. Her advice if you are thinking about writing a book? As a published author, Mrs. Green says: just do it!   Be sure you have the fire in your belly, the time to tell your story and then really commit to it.  The Queen of Green warns everyone that she stops for birds, all wildlife and to snap pictures of the numerous ways plastic pollution is impacting the health of our planet.  Gina is a dreamer at heart. But she doesn’t just dream – she makes things happen. She has spent most of her adult life working to improve the lives of at-risk children and families, and now our at-risk planet. She is madly and passionately in love with this great planet of ours and is tireless in her efforts to preserve it.  Her big dream?  Raise the consciousness, of every human being on this planet, about the reality of our climate and the health of our planet. Then, educate, inspire and engage them to be the change they wish to see in the world.

Pittsburgh, PA (GO STEELERS, GO BUCS, GO PENS) native Kelly King has always been bossy. Ask her younger sister, Theresa. It’s true. But that bossiness is delivered through a heart of service, gratitude and love…as well as a tenacity to achieve any goal she sets her sights on, and those goals are often for the greater good of her friends, family and community at large. Yup – been that way since birth. Ask her Mama…it’s true. As a member of our team, Kelly is part of the driving force that keeps Mrs. Green’s World reaching for opportunities to further our mission and vision – not only for our business but most importantly, for the global community that calls this planet “home”.

Kelly’s journey to Tucson, Arizona (GO CATS) went the way of Westminster College (GO TITANS) in New Wilmington, PA to Indiana University (GO HOOSIERS) in Bloomington, IN…where she received her Masters degree. Having worked several years in higher education at the University of Arizona, she journeyed to Canyon Ranch where she met a mutual friend of Gina Murphy-Darling’s. That mutual friend repeatedly (for years) told Kelly that she needed to “meet her friend Gina” and one fateful evening…it happened. At a business networking event, Gina and Kelly sat to talk for awhile – neither realizing that they were the person their mutual friend insisted they meet. Gina left Kelly that night with a lingering statement, “we are going to work together one day”….and hence, it was true. 10+ years later and they are working together – doing the good things for people, planet and Mrs. Green’s World.

Kelly celebrates JOY on a daily basis and is so very grateful for her life with her two inspirational children and her forever rock, her husband.

California local Makynna Keefe is a University of Arizona grad who fell in love with Tucson at first sight. Whether it’s enjoying a walk in the hot sun or dancing in the monsoon rain, Makynna finds delight in all things AZ. Moving to Tucson allowed Makynna to educate herself on creating lifestyle changes become more sustainable. Becoming apart of the Mrs. Green’s World team has pushed Makynna to educate those around her on the status of our environment. Her inspiration is seeing those around her take those steps to create a happier, healthier, and kinder world.

Bonnie’s love of art led her to a career in graphic design which concluded with retirement from the University of Arizona in 2007. Long-time friends with Murphy-Darling, she was one of the first to join the Mrs. Green team just months after leaving the university. Bonnie’s environmental journey began in her early 20s and has been an on-going passion. Joining Mrs. Green’s World was a natural fit, keeping her both engaged as a graphic artist and continuing her education in all things environmental. Also a pastel artist, Bonnie (former Arizona resident) lives in northern Michigan and finds time behind the easel a wonderful way to capture the beautiful landscapes around her. Being in nature hiking, biking, snow-shoeing, and water walking are among her favorite activities.

Lynn Robbins has been a University of Arizona wildcat at heart since 1978. After graduating from UA with a BA in Business Economics, she was led to a position with Tucson based VisionQuest. She met her future husband, Paul, while working together in a wilderness camp. They spent their engagement working on a wagon train traversing the borders from Mexico to Canada and back. That was just the start of their lifelong adventure together!  They completed their family with three beautiful children: Tyler, Michaela and Gabriele. Lynn’s love of her family led to her involvement in local school advocacy, youth sports and community concerns. She is a self-proclaimed sports nut and can quote statistics in any number of sports like nobody’s business. Investing in her children, especially as a stay at home mom for 13 years, is what Lynn considers her most important life’s work. Lynn has been a part of Mrs. Green’s World before Gina even knew she was going to start on the radio. Her concern for leaving a sustainable and healthy environment for her children is a big motivation for her involvement on the team. Lynn is a family first champion and finds great joy in her life by truly living and embracing who she is in the world.

Since 2011 Dave’s been keeping the audio aspect of all things Green — in the pink.

Dave’s always loved sound. Making it (don’t ask), recording it, engineering it. It started when he was ten, recording a faux radio show on a cassette recorder with his friends in suburban St. Louis. Eighteen years later found him doing a morning show north of Chicago on a Top 40 station. Not nerdy enough, he thought to himself, and so he decided to start a business, building his own home studio and recording radio commercials for clients — and, eventually, anything for anybody. Labrecque Creative Sound was born in 1993, growing into a commercial studio space in downtown Tucson by 1999. Projects included radio spots, jingles, audio post-production for TV/video/film, location sound recording, general music recording, and more. Clients included everyone from advertising agencies and corporations to voice-over artists and musicians.

In 2011 Dave joined the Mrs. Green Team, overseeing studio equipment configuration and operations, as well as acting as “the voice” of the Mrs. Green’s World and Down To Earth shows — and handling any needed post-production tasks, like putting together show promos or other announcements. Since 2012 he’s done it remotely, from the cool, green, and moist (as opposed to hot, brown, and dry — no offense, Tucson) woods of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, where he spends his non-Mrs.-Green time renovating an old nineteenth-century fixer-upper with his wife, Rebecca, and their cats.

Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena quote is Jennifer’s favorite, and sums her up pretty well. She has found her way in and out of many arenas, dancing from one to the next, with a whole lot of gratitude along the way. Jen loves to collaborate, learn and grow with a top notch team. Jennifer is so excited to be a part of the Mrs. Green’s World family, sharing our mission and vision through storytelling, action, inspiration and education. Jennifer is also a passionate traveler, as well as an educator, focusing on girls development and leadership.

Niccole Celeste Radhe is an avid outdoor sports enthusiast and nature photographer who promotes conservation and outdoor lifestyles through her images as well as articles she writes for local magazines. Niccole started writing “Take a stroll with Niccole” columns 4 years ago to create an awareness of the beauty that surrounds us right here in Arizona and to encourage and inspire people to get outside and do that hike, bike ride or other outdoor adventure. Celesteal Photography is her photography business and in addition to photographing events and weddings she works with many non-profit organizations around Tucson that protect and enhance our environment, our human rights and that promote the arts and education. The Watershed Management Group, YWCA, YMCA of Southern Arizona, KXCI, Reid Park Zoo, Cienega Watershed Partnership, Sierra Club, Tucson Values Teachers, TRAK Ranch, and Pima Association of Governments are just a few of the myriad of important non-profit organizations that Niccole works with.

Our extra special four-legged friend that presides over meetings, keeps us off track, and makes our hearts burst for all the right reasons.  Thank goodness she rescued us!