On Monday, September 28th, 2026, Scott Froschauer, the president of our board of directors, passed away. Besides serving as our leader for the last 2 years, Scott was a longtime friend and collaborator of RuckusRoots, and had served on our board as a general member since 2018.
Though his passing was unexpected, we are grateful that his transition happened peacefully in his sleep.
As best conveyed by his close friends and family, Scott was “a wonderful partner, friend, fur-daddy and at his core, an extraordinarily beautiful mind who was a jack - and master - of all trades who couldn’t be more down to help, join or rejoice.”
“For RuckusRoots, Scott was our light. He held the vision for and lifted us up as an organization for the past 2 years as president. Through our conversations, we shaped much of the inspiration for where RuckusRoots is headed. Scott cared deeply about what we are doing, saying and bringing forth as an organization.
Scott wanted us to be sustainable, he wanted us to last. He wanted our work to matter and more importantly he already believed that it did. He was always already believing in RuckusRoots, and showing us that every day through his presence, dedication and seemingly unending capacity for volunteerism.
He wanted voices from the community to be amplified. He wanted Indigenous input to be highly valued and incorporated. He wanted us to think about the next step and to not rush because of what the next fiscal cycle was telling us to do.
Scott was our rudder and our anchor at the same time. He had enough light, enough energy to hold both of those positions. Scott knew our beginnings, and now, we must hold onto his light, carrying the organization in a way that honors him, the way he lived his life, and how and why he made his art. We will move forward in a way that makes him proud.”
–Christine Spehar, Executive Director
Scott helped fabricate and install RuckusRoots’ 2016 Wild Art sculpture at the Los Angeles Zoo. Photo by Erinn Bone.
As we transition through this challenging time for our team, community and for all who loved Scott, Lauren Rainen has graciously stepped in to serve as our interim president from her previous role as secretary of the board of directors.
“Though we must move forward, we want to take this interim time to honor and recognize Scott as the president of the board of RuckusRoots, and to dedicate this time to honoring all that he gave to our organization.
I recognize that I am stepping into unfillable shoes. We all know how incredible and natural Scott was in this role, and that no one could ever replace him. Scott always brought such depth, creativity, intuitiveness, and forward action into his work with RuckusRoots. I will strive to carry Scott’s energy and vision as my inspiration as we move forward.
Thank you, Scott, for everything you have done for us. I truly can’t say enough. Scott, you were a remarkable leader, a true treasure, and we are incredibly grateful to have had you.”
–Lauren Rainen, Interim President, RuckusRoots Board of Directors
We would like to share some words from Scott, which we have not yet published. He wrote them to be included in our 2025 Impact Report, and we gratefully share them with you now to remember the vision and love he had for the work we did together. Thank you, Scott.
"I am so inspired by the work RuckusRoots did in 2025, because the work is authentic. It’s connecting children and the community with the things that are real.
When someone learns about growing plants in the Rebel Garden or the Friendship Garden, they learn about the balance of life, what fresh food really is and where it comes from and they learn about much larger systems that will reveal themselves as metaphors later in life…that each organism relies on the others.
This is what I find so powerful in the work RuckusRoots does: it spans the practical & the metaphorical. The “From Earth to Art” program’s project of making an earthen bench, for example, is the process of making a real object. It’s the making of a resting place for someone to pause and take in the beauty that surrounds them, a chance to calm their nervous system in a world that makes that increasingly more difficult. It’s unquestionably practical while also existing as a philosophical framework for communal effort and connecting to the earth.
RuckusRoots continues to inspire me, offering much-needed grounding that is only possible because the work comes from a foundation that is authentic & real."
– Scott Froschauer, President, RuckusRoots Board of Directors