Our Story

2008-2009

Imagine Haitian has its roots in 2008 when Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Cooke graduated from Furman University and moved to Haiti. With the support of a year-long fellowship from the Compton Foundation, she set out to establish a reforestation project under the guidance of her mentor, Georges Valme of Miami, Florida. Georges connected Lizzie with community leaders at Eben-Ezer Mission in Gonaives, Haiti, where she made her new home.

The next year was a roller coaster of successes and failures. Most notably, Lizzie’s first tree nursery, constructed with the expertise of a local agronomist, was wiped out by massive flooding during the 2008 hurricane season. For months afterward, Lizzie’s efforts were redirected toward helping secure immediate aid for local residents whose homes and livelihoods had been destroyed.

In early 2009, as the reforestation project was getting back underway, Lizzie began working with Josué Jean, a local pastor and community organizer. Originally from a more verdant region in northern Haiti, Josué dreamed of transforming the eroded landscape around Gonaives “from a desert to a garden.” Under his guidance, the new nursery flourished and the project expanded to include many small villages in the surrounding mountains.

2010-2013

Lizzie returned to the U.S. in fall 2009 to pursue a master’s degree in Environmental Science at Indiana University. During this time, she launched an informal organization named “Imagine Haitian” to support the reforestation project in Gonaives. She raised donations from family, friends, and community partners while Josué continued to lead on-the-ground development of the tree nursery.

In spring 2010, Lizzie returned to Haiti with two other students from IU (one is now her husband, Michael). They visited the nursery site in Gonaives, talked with people in the area, and took photos to share with donors. Josué had greatly expanded the nursery and created a program to distribute tree seedlings to local students.

Lizzie visited Haiti again in summer 2012 to document the reforestation efforts in photos and videos. By then, Josué had planted several large fields with trees and engaged hundreds of students in planting thousands of additional trees throughout the community.

In 2013, after five years of involvement, Lizzie stepped back to focus on her family and career, and another American supporter took the lead in fundraising for the project.

2014-2024

Josué persevered on the reforestation project while attending to his many other duties as a pastor and community leader. In 2017, he received funds from a U.S. church to dig a 500-f00t-deep well, which provided a reliable source of irrigation for the tree nursery.

The nursery also invested in a motorbike with a small trailer to transport seedlings and other supplies. Josué and his partners began to sell plants, seeds, and landscaping services to those who could afford it as a way to fund their ongoing educational initiatives.

In late 2023, in the midst of turbulent political conditions in Haiti, Josué asked Lizzie to support an emergency food program for local children. Lizzie and her husband, Michael, recruited friends and family to raise money for the food program, as well as for a solar-powered water pump to improve irrigation at the nursery.

While engaged in these fundraising efforts, Lizzie realized that the only way to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project was to incorporate Imagine Haitian as a U.S. nonprofit. She filed the paperwork in 2024, and by early 2025, the organization was up and running.

Today

Imagine Haitian is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, registered in the state of Illinois. Elizabeth Cooke serves as the President and Treasurer of the organization. She is joined on the board by Wilmonise Elize as the Vice President and Laura Wunder as the Secretary. Josué Jean serves as the Lead Project Manager, although that title does not begin to capture his vast contributions to the organization—which would not exist without his passion, dedication, and expertise.

We believe Imagine Haitian is just getting started and look forward to a long, bright future!