Julius Buzzard is a father, husband, and the Executive Director of Growing Hope, an Ypsilanti-based nonprofit that empowers everyone to grow, sell, and prepare their own life-sustaining food. Julius is originally from Bay City, where he was raised by his mother and grandparents, who instilled in him the importance of growing food to take care of others. He has lived in many places, including Chicago and Detroit, but came to Ypsilanti in 2013, where he immediately felt at home. Passing down what he learned from his family, Julius strongly believes in the importance of caring for and empowering youth. He has centered much of his career in nonprofit management, teaching, mentoring, and food access work. In his free time, he enjoys participating in anything active–whether that be running, hiking, tennis, or climbing–and volunteering for programs like Black Men Read. He values curiosity, resilience, and community-led solutions that center joy and justice–tending to gardens at both his home and Growing Hope. He lives a life of open-mindedness and will “try just about anything once.”
