Marshall Green is a fourth-generation owner and the dedicated nursery manager at Primex Garden Center in Glenside, Pennsylvania. After growing up around Primex, Marshall attended New England Culinary Institute and pursued a career as a chef in Philadelphia. In 2014 Marshall came home to Primex where he settled in as the woody plants buyer and nursery manager. As the woody plants buyer, Marshall is well attuned to current plant trends and is always looking for the next ‘it’ plant. You can easily spot him in the nursery, typically donning a wide-brimmed straw hat, eager to help and share his extensive knowledge.

Patricia Gallagher is Professor Emerita of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University. She earned bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and geological sciences from Rutgers University, a master’s in civil engineering from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. Her research expertise centers on geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering and sustainability.

At Drexel, Trish taught courses in civil and environmental engineering, geology, and sustainability.  Her course in sustainability, titled “Incorporating Sustainability Principles in Design” was inspired by her desire to teach design from a holistic, regenerative perspective that restores ecological balance and health in communities and ecosystems. The course explores how the concept of sustainability is fundamental to the planning, design, construction, operation, and renewal of resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

Trish believes we need to work in our own communities to restore functional ecosystems in urban and suburban areas. She began volunteering with the Abington Township Shade Tree Commission (STC) in 2019, became an acting commissioner in 2021 and was officially appointed to the STC in 2022. Currently, she co-chairs the STC. Trish is happiest in nature and spends her free time hiking and backpacking around the globe.

Since 2011 John Kennedy has been volunteering with the Abington Township Shade Tree Commission (STC) as an appointed commissioner and currently serves as co-chair. He has been an active Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Tree Tender since 2008. John regularly takes on a leadership role in formulating and delivering STC programs.  His volunteer emphasis has been on park and public space tree planting with the Tree Vitalize - PHS Tree Tenders bare root tree program.  Leading community volunteers to plant over 300 trees in parks and other public spaces in Abington Township.

 John’s commitment to the treescapes around us has inspired him to educate others on the importance of trees in our environment. Conducting hands-on training through demonstration and coaching on how to plant, prune, and care for trees.

 While employed full-time in the food service profession, John returned to school in 2006 as a part-time student to study horticulture. In 2015, he completed his degree at Temple University’s School of Environmental Design in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

He also holds a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy.  

Dr. Christine Carmichael is the award-winning founder and principal of Fair Forests Consulting, LLC, which she began in July 2019. She is also the best-selling author of Racist Roots: How Racism Has Affected Trees and People in Our Cities—and What We Can Do About It.

She holds a Ph.D. in Forestry with a specialization in Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change and holds a Graduate Certificate in Community Engagement from Michigan State University. Dr. Carmichael has published research explaining why 25% of Detroit residents eligible to receive a free street tree between 2011-2014 chose to decline this offer. Since its inception, Fair Forests Consulting, LLC has partnered with several U.S. cities and urban forestry organizations to develop strategies to achieve environmental justice goals through urban tree planting, stewardship, and community engagement. 

Anthony (Tony) Aiello is Associate Director of Conservation, Plant Breeding, and Collections at Longwood Gardens, where he participates in tree conservation, plant exploration and evaluation, and collections development.  Previously he served for 22 years as the Gayle E. Maloney Director of Horticulture and Curator at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, where he managed the Morris Arboretum’s historic gardens and living collections. These positions have allowed him to travel throughout the U.S., Europe, China, and Japan to find novel plants suitable for growing in the Delaware Valley.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in Botany from Cornell University and a Master of Science in Horticulture from Purdue University. For many years Tony chaired the North America-China Plant Exploration Consortium (NACPEC) and participated in the American Public Gardens Association taxonomy and plant collections committees.

Tony’s interests include temperate trees and shrubs – in particular oaks, maples, hollies, witch-hazels, and flowering cherries, as well as economic botany and the history of horticulture. He has written extensively about his travels, as well as his historic and plant interests.

Zhaohua (Cindy) Cheng is a Ph.D. candidate in urban forestry at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She has over five years of experience in community and youth engagement, climate change adaptation, student advising and engagement, and project management. Her Ph.D. research focuses on exploring urban forest-based solutions for climate resilience and urban livability.

Edward (Ned) Sibley Barnard was for 17 years senior staff editor and managing editor of Reader’s Digest General Books, where he oversaw the production of several dozen books that sold over one million copies each. From 1963 to 1967 he was project editor of a 15-volume ecology series, Our Living World of Nature, published jointly by McGraw-Hill and World Book Encyclopedia. He edited the volume on Mars in DK’s Eyewitness series and four volumes in Scholastic’s National Audubon First Field Guide series. Among his writing credits are articles for National Wildlife, International Wildlife, and Audubon, 5 children’s books on animals for Reader’s Digest, and New York City Trees for Columbia University Press. Recently he co-produced with Ken Chaya Central Park Entire, the most detailed map of Central Park available. He is keenly interested in old-growth trees and has volunteered as a tree ring technician at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory’s Tree Ring Research Laboratory. One of his recent books is Central Park Trees and Landscapes, a Guide to New York City's Masterpiece published by Columbia University Press in 2016. He also co-authored with Paul Meyer and Catriona Briger a field guide titled Philadelphia Trees published by Columbia University Press in 2017. Currently, he is producing an updated edition of Philadelphia Trees for the University of Pennsylvania Press for publication in 2023. He is also co-writing and producing a book titled Philadelphia Nature, A Field Guide to Wild Places and Wildlife in the City & the Surrounding Delaware Valley with Anne Bekker for publication by Temple University Press in 2024.

Ned moved from Manhattan to Chestnut Hill in 2010 with his wife Pauline Gray.

Erica Smith Fichman has spent her career connecting people with plants.  As the Community Forestry Manager at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, she is the project lead for the Philly Tree Plan.  Erica also supervises the amazing TreePhilly team which provides Philadelphia residents with the resources they need to plant and care for trees in their own backyard.   She is an ISA-certified arborist and the recipient of the Arbor Day Foundation's 2018 Trailblazer Award.  Erica received a B.S. in biology from Haverford College and an M.S. in environmental horticulture from the University of California, Davis.

Joe Hansen is an ISA Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ), and holds numerous certifications through the Tree Care Industry Association including Certified Tree Care Safety Professional (CTSP), and is an Approved Instructor for the TCIA’s Tree Care Academy.  In his role as Urban Forester for the City of Park Ridge, Illinois, Joe is responsible for maintaining the urban forest through the use of the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan, conducts parkway tree inspections, and building plan reviews, assists with managing contracts, and enforces the Tree Preservation Ordinance.  In addition, he serves as Chair of the Public Works Safety Committee.

Outside of his duties with Park Ridge, Joe was recently elected the Municipal Director for the Illinois Arborist Association and he is also a Task Specialist for the Urban Forest Strike Team in Illinois.  The strike team conducts rapid tree assessments after storms to assist communities in need in hopes to preserve trees while assessing their risk.  He also produces a podcast called The Municipal Arborist where he and guests discuss urban forestry and industry-related topics which also provides ISA CEUs to listeners. He likes to share his experiences through training and public speaking engagements.

Steve Blaes holds degrees in sustainable horticulture and environmental science and has over 20 years of experience in the green industry. He has earned multiple green industry credentials, including the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional certification, the Landscape Contractors Association CLT in Ornamental Maintenance, and is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist with their Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) among others. Steve has worked on a plethora of projects ranging from residential to institutional campuses in both rural and urban communities across the country. His scientific area of inquiry primarily focuses on supporting professional landscape best management practices that positively impact riparian ecologies endemic to the piedmont and coastal plain regions. He is currently working as a design and sales consultant in Maryland's Baltimore Metro area while supporting his passion projects in the Chesapeake Bay Bioregion.

Jake Handley was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and grew up in Eustis Florida where he received a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Central Florida.  After graduating from college he worked in the zip line industry for 5 years as a guide, trainer, and course builder.  He started his transition into the tree world in 2017 working for Asheville Arborists where he is currently employed. He became a certified arborist in 2019 and has written “The Times They Are a-Changin” for the Arborist magazine an article on climate change. Jake currently resides in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Dana Dentice is a Trees Program Manager and an ISA-certified arborist at PHS. She leads the Tree Tenders program (with now nearly 6000 graduates) to empower citizens to protect and expand tree canopy in communities across the Philadelphia region.  Dana collaborates with organizations and volunteers on planting 1500-2000 trees annually and engages them in follow-up stewardship programs, such as pruning clubs and the PHS Tree Checkers tree monitoring program. She enjoys sharing her expertise in arboriculture and community organizing at Tree Tenders trainings.   Dana previously served as a forestry assistant for the cities of Fitchburg and Madison, Wisconsin where she conducted public tree inventories and led open space planning. She holds a B.S. in Natural Resources and an M.S. in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jeffrey Ling is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborist, registered consulting arborist, and senior consulting arborist in the state of Indiana. He is Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Consulting Arborists and currently serves as its co-liaison to the Council of Tree Landscape Appraisers. In Jeffrey’s hometown of New Haven, Indiana he serves as a member of the Tree Commission.

For 31 years, Jeff co-owned TreeMasters, Inc. a comprehensive arbor-care company. He specialized in Plant Health Care and Woody Plant Pathology. Jeff also served as a Testifying Expert in courts throughout the Great Lakes and the East Coast.

Jeff’s current consulting firm, ARBORWISE, LTD., was founded in 1994. It focuses on horticulture issues, urban forestry concerns, and tree preservation projects.

Jan Johnsen is a principal of the award-winning Johnsen Landscapes & Pools in New York, and an admired garden designer and author. She was the 2019 recipient of the prestigious ‘Award of Distinction' from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Her firm’s website is www.johnsenlandscapes.com

Trained in landscape architecture and professional horticulture, Jan has worked in Japan, Hawaii, and Kenya, among other places. She is an inspiring and popular speaker and loves to show how you can “co-create with nature” in your backyard.

She taught at Columbia University for many years and still teaches at the New York Botanical Garden where she was named “Instructor of the Year”. Jan wrote ‘All About Trees’ and has followed that up with several other books. Her 2021 book, Floratopia – 110 Flower Garden Ideas for Your Yard, Patio or Balcony, (Countryman Press, an imprint of W.W. Norton) joins Gardentopia, Heaven is a Garden and The Spirit of Stone.

Marielle Drennan is the owner of Champion Tree, a full-service plant healthcare company based out of King of Prussia, and servicing the Main Line and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania. Marielle is an ISA Certified Arborist® and a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Certified Pesticide Technician. Prior to forming Champion Tree, Marielle worked on her husband's pruning crew for several years.

She is a passionate collector of David Austin and antique roses, as well as a Pennsylvania Big Tree enthusiast. Marielle is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia where she majored in Mass Communications and double-minored in Studio Art and Film and Visual Culture Studies.

Dr. David Bengston is an Environmental Futurist and Social Scientist with the Strategic Foresight Group of the Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, and is located in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota where he teaches a seminar on environmental futures. Dr. Bengston has published more than 160 research publications, including papers in the Journal of Futures Research, World Futures Review, Futures, and The Futurist. He was the Chair of the North American Forest Commission’s Foresight Working Group and is a member of the World Futures Studies Federation and the Association of Professional Futurists.

Dr. Bengston has worked as a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Union of Forestry Research Organization’s (IUFRO) Special Programme for Developing Countries. He was the Coordinator of the IUFRO Ecological Economics in Forestry Working Group and was an OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development) Research Fellow at Seoul National University in South Korea in 2004. In the summer of 2022, he will be a visiting Fulbright scholar at the University of Eastern Finland.

Nate Shampine, CERP, is Mt. Cuba Center’s Natural Lands Manager responsible for implementing land conservation practices and developing healthy and functional ecosystems. He is a graduate of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner through the Society for Ecological Restoration. He is an adjunct professor at Temple University where he teaches Landscape Restoration to undergraduate and graduate students. He is also a certified wildland firefighter and recently traveled to Arizona and California to assist with wildfire efforts.

Brian “BK” Koehler has been the director of the Park Maintenance Institute since early 2020. BK holds degrees in Business Administration (BS), Parks and Recreation Administration (BS), and Experiential Education (MS). He is an experienced facilitator and event professional with an extensive background in teambuilding, ropes course / climbing tower construction, and outdoor adventure leadership.

Before joining the Park Maintenance Institute, BK was based in Hong Kong through 2015 as an experiential educator, producer, and entrepreneur. Upon his stateside return, BK stepped into operations and facility management of the Student Union and Recreation Center at Central Washington University.

BK is a native Pennsylvanian, but self-proclaimed “global citizen.” He is motivated by a thirst for experience, and driven by a desire to engage leaders that impact society. He believes in the power of positive energy, an innovative mindset, and servant leadership. In his free time, BK enjoys gardening and playing disc golf.

Linda Langelo is a Colorado State University Extension, Horticulture Agent. The five counties under her care are in Northeast Colorado. In 2020, a 100-year event called a derecho devastated the small towns of Akron and Haxtun. To help in the recovery of these towns, she sought to partner with the Colorado Forest Service Regional Education Coordinator, Donna Davis, and was able to secure funding from Colorado Tree Coalition (CTC) to reforest these communities.

She received her Master’s Degree in Education Administration from Salisbury State University in Salisbury, Maryland. Graduated from the Horticulture Program at Longwood Gardens after graduating from Cabrini College with a degree in English Communications, with a minor in Biology and Botany. She was a member of the Tri-Beta Honor Society.  In July 2021, she was the recipient of the Lois Woodward Paul Memorial Award.

During her 40 years in horticulture, she has both implemented arboretums and overseen them. As Assistant Director of Horticulture at Salisbury State University, she helped implement a campus-wide arboretum still going strong today. She went on to be Director at Adkins Arboretum early in its implementation increasing its exposure in the local and surrounding communities and as a member of the American Public Garden Association.

Currently, she writes a monthly column called the Relentless Gardener and has a Facebook Page titled Garden the Plains, and has a book awaiting publisher’s approval called “Plants Are Speaking. Are You Listening?”

Melissa Custic manages the Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI). The CRTI is a collaboration of regional partners working together to improve the health, diversity, and equity of trees in the seven-county Chicago Region. Melissa works closely with colleagues of partner institutions to increase canopy cover, reduce the presence of invasive species, and works to increase the preservation of oak ecosystems in the Chicago Region. She has developed several resources and training programs aimed at improving tree selection, planting, and care, as well as targeting invasive woody removal and replacement. Melissa’s professional interests include urban forestry, urban ecology, environmental justice, tree care, climate change, and soil ecology. Melissa is also an ISA-certified arborist.

Amber Grant is a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD) in the Environmental Applied Science and Management program at X* University (formerly known as Ryerson University). Her doctoral research focuses on examining environmental justice in urban forest management and decision-making in the United States. Most recently, Amber has been working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to investigate how environmental justice is being pursued and implemented in community tree-planting programs and practice. Amber has also worked with Dr. Andrew Millward and his Urban Forest Research and Ecological Disturbance Group for the last seven years conducting interdisciplinary research regarding urban forest function, ecological change, and human interactions with urban nature.

William Fuchs is the Head Gardener at Andalusia Historic House, Gardens, and Arboretum. William has worked in several positions at Andalusia over the last 22 years including 14 years as the Head Gardener. William came to Andalusia as an intern in 1998 while finishing his Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture at Temple University, Ambler campus. Before attending Temple, William received his Associate Applied Science degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Cumberland Community College. William’s interest in horticulture and gardening has been lifelong, working in various positions in the industry for over 30 years including the 7 years William managed his own design, install, and maintenance landscape company. William grew up on a small farm where a variety of crops were raised for farmer’s market stands as a side business. William is glad to be a part of this incredible community that helps promote a better place to live by planting beautiful trees and gardens.

Mohamed M. Hassona is the Head Horticulturist at the Qur'anic Botanic Garden, the Qatar Foundation in Ar-Rayyan, Qatar.

Hassona joined the Foundation in late 2010 to provide comprehensive horticultural support, direction, and expertise to initiate activities related to the development of the Qur'anic Botanic Garden’s initiatives on agriculture, horticulture, nursery production, and tree management. With over 17-years of dynamic hands-on experience in horticulture, Hassona is responsible for all the plants in both the open spaces and greenhouses at the garden. He also manages all propagation while overseeing the curatorial information for all plants and trees.

Hassona also manages all agricultural staff including coordinating work schedules and staff evaluations.

Hassona has a master’s degree in science in Sustainable Agriculture & the Environment and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Sciences & Education from his university in Egypt. Hassona is an alum of the Advanced International Training Programme on Plant Breeding & Seed Production and Plant Genetic Resources from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

He also contributes to the ongoing education-based conservation programs targeting the community, for food security, reforestation, and plant propagation.

Josh Behounek is the Business Development Manager with Davey Resource Group. Josh started his career as an inventory arborist working on many large-scale street tree inventories across the country. He then transferred to a Davey Residential and Commercial office in northwest Chicago, where he spent four years performing plant health care and climbing trees. In 2006, Josh transferred back to DRG, where he now leads business development activities across the country for the Environmental Consulting team. He is most passionate about helping clients proactively and sustainably manage their environmental ecosystems.

As a presenter, he has done over 100 presentations at international, national, and regional conferences and workshops. Josh is an ISA Certified Arborist ® Municipal Specialist, and is Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ), Josh graduated with a bachelor’s degree in forestry resource management from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. As a frequent business and pleasure traveler Josh has hugged over a dozen national champion trees and is always on the lookout for another one.

Katie Dubow is president at Garden Media Group, a women-owned and run public relations firm specializing in the home and garden industry. Author of the annual Garden Trends Report, Dubow travels the world scouting and presenting garden trends to audiences from Italy to Chicago.

Dubow is a guest host on QVC for Cottage Farms, judge at the Philadelphia Flower Show, the inaugural recipient of the Emergent Communicator Award from the Association of Garden Writers, vice-chair of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, and an awarded member of the 2018 Forty Under 40 from Greenhouse Product News.

Previously, she worked at CBS Studios in New York City and was a public relations & marketing manager at Monet Jewelry. Katie received a degree in communications from Northeastern University where she was also a Division I rower on the crew team.

Dubow lives and gardens in West Chester, PA with her husband, two daughters, one dog, and six chickens. Find her in the garden with her children, practicing yoga or dancing to Zumba. Her goal is to convince people that brown thumbs can, in fact, be turned green.

Follow along @KatieGMG and on Facebook at KatieGardenGirl

Cliff Drouet is a Forester with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) which is a federal agency under the Department of the Interior. Cliff is working with the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI). The program restores old surface mine sites throughout Appalachia by planting native seedlings and establishing wildlife habitats. This reforestation program was started in 2004 by OSMRE and it has evolved into a highly successful program with good seedling survivability and growth. Having native trees growing on old mine sites greatly improves air, water, and soil quality while providing wildlife habitat and recreation benefits on the site. The ARRI program partners with private landowners, federal, and state agencies, non-profits, academia, and corporations to restore old mine sites back to native forests across Appalachia.

Jason Lubar has been employed at Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania as the Associate Director of Urban Forestry for over twenty years. His career has focused on educating a wide audience about trees and natural resources. He teaches professional-level arboricultural courses, presents at international conferences, and supports Morris Arboretum’s educational mission by providing a wide-range of tree-related consulting services to a diversity of clients including design firms, arborists, townships and municipalities, schools, and corporations.

We have invited Jason back today in light of the recent tornados that have ravaged our Mid-Atlantic Region. This podcast is dedicated to the aftercare of trees from tornado and derecho damage.

Tom Knezick is the General Manager of Pinelands Nursery & Supply.  He became interested in the agricultural and the nursery industry as a child when he planted his first pussy willow at age 2. As 2nd generation nurseryman, his parents Don & Suzanne Knezick started the nursery in 1984. Tom’s primary focus is bringing a business-minded approach to growing, selling, and marketing native plants.

Pinelands Nursery is proud to supply local ecotype trees, shrubs, grasses, forbs & seeds to the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast grown from wild-collected seed.  Most of the plants they grow are planted in ecological restoration projects from Virginia to Massachusetts, creating landscapes that attract pollinators, curb climate change, prevent flooding, and create wildlife habitat.

Tom is a member of the New Jersey Nursery & Landscape Association Board of Directors, Atlantic Seed Association Executive Committee, and is Secretary of NJ Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Agriculture Professionals.  He also operates an e-commerce garden center with his wife Melissa, and recently had his first child. Tom also hosts the Native Plants Healthy Planet Podcast.

Megan Barstow is the Conservation Officer at Botanic Gardens Conservation International. She began her career as a Global Tree Search Intern, compiling species lists of trees and their country-level distributions towards the publication of BGCI's GlobalTreeSearch Database before moving into a role as a Conservation Officer within BGCI. This new role led to her producing International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Assessments for a variety of tree species including,  Global Timber Species and assessments for species protected under CITES, which is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. Also in her role at BGCI Megan works closely with partners in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Malaysia to complete the Global Tree Assessment. She is also an IUCN Red List Trainer.  Her special interest is to make assessments for the plant family Dipterocarpaceae which contains high valued trees for timber in Asia. Her work contributed to the State of the World's Trees report, for which she jointly led the communications of the report. Megan studied at the University of Bath in biology and her placement year was spent at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank.

Neil Pederson is a Senior Ecologist at the Harvard Forest who studies the dynamics and long-term development of forests from individual trees to trees across regions and subcontinents. He is especially interested in the response of trees as they interact with climate and as they interact amongst themselves. Neil conducts basic and applied research to help develop ecologically-based, long-term forest management. He digs natural history, charismatic megaflora, and old-growth forests. Neil is also very curious about the growth, longevity, and ecology of broadleaf trees and forests.

Neil earned an associate degree in math while playing lacrosse at SUNY-Morrisville, received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY-College of Environmental Science & Forestry, and received a Master of Science from Auburn University studying an old bottomland hardwood forest in South Carolina. After a stint as a tree-ring technician assisting on climate change research in Mongolia and Russia at the Tree-Ring Laboratory of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, he earned a Ph.D. studying forest ecology and climate change along the eastern coast of the United States at Columbia University. Before becoming a senior ecologist in the Fall of 2014 at the Harvard Forest, Neil was an assistant professor in biology at Eastern Kentucky University and a research professor at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory.

He currently has grants with the US Forest Service and National Science Foundation to study the impacts of extreme climate on the lives of trees in the Northeastern US and how climate might have shaped the old-growth forests we love today.

Jennifer Santoro is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment (GEV) at Villanova University, where she teaches courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Environmental Science. Jen is originally from northern New Jersey where she grew up learning about trees from her dad. She studied Environmental Science at Hamilton College and received both a Master of Forestry and Master of Environmental Management degrees from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Currently, she is finishing her Ph.D. in Natural Resources (Applied Forest Ecology) at the University of Vermont while she teaches at Villanova. Jen’s research focuses on spatial modeling of forest disturbances in the northeastern United States; she’s particularly interested in the long-term impacts of climate change and invasive pests on forest diversity. Jen strives to foster a love of maps and nature in her students, and she hopes her research will promote a greater understanding of the importance of trees and managing forests to be resilient in the face of climate change.

Allison Brown holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of California, Davis where her research focused on the significance of mycorrhizal fungi in tidal salt marshes. She has taught courses in Plant Pathology at Temple University – Ambler Campus and Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and she is currently teaching Biology at Delaware Valley University.  Fungi often take center stage in Allison’s lectures and have been the highlight for many guest presentations including those for Master Gardener programs, the New Jersey Mycological Association, and other mushroom clubs, as well as the American Chemical Society.  Most recently Allison gave a presentation entitled “Villains in the Garden” for the ONE Symposium at Tyler Arboretum, where she introduced her audience to the parasitic fungi commonly associated with trees. Allison also leads mushroom hikes and enjoys exploring the culinary delights of local fungi.

Susan Downing Day is a Professor of Urban Forestry in the Department of Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and Program Director for the Bachelor of Urban Forestry.  Susan’s research focuses on managing urban soils to enhance tree growth and longevity in the context of environmental challenges such as stormwater mitigation and land development impacts on soil-mediated ecosystem services. She helped shape the soils metrics for the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES®) international crediting system for sustainable design projects and developed Soil Profile Rebuilding, a rehabilitation technique to restore damaged urban soils in situ and enhance urban soil carbon storage. Her research in the water relations of tree-engineered soil systems and in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust has informed stormwater policy in the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States. Susan also led Urban Forestry 2020, a research-based investigation into urban forestry career paths and education. Susan has published more than 130 articles and book chapters on urban forests and urban soils and is the 2017 recipient of the L.C. Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research. Susan holds a B.A. from Yale University, an M.S. from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.

Ari Miller is the director of design at Hinge Collective, a public interest design firm that puts community engagement and public participation at the forefront of their practice. As both a landscape architect and arborist, Ari has always advocated for the integration and restoration of natural systems in urban design. Over the course of his 17-year career, Ari has worked as an arborist at Morris Arboretum, as a green roof design specialist at Roofmeadow, and has also led large-scale civic design projects at OLIN Partners. At Hinge, he uses this experience to help communities find design solutions that best support human and ecological health in their own neighborhoods through the enhancement of public space and community-led planning. Ari has also been adjunct faculty at the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania and Jefferson University.

Bill Logan (William Bryant Logan) has spent the last five decades living with trees, as a writer, arborist, and teacher, first in coastal California and the Sierra Nevada, then for the last thirty years in the regenerating forests of New York. Logan is founder and president of the Brooklyn-based tree company Urban Arborists. His firm trains and cares for the pollards and aerial hedges in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has planned, planted, and currently cares for numerous landscapes and gardens at historic properties and urban parks in the Tri-State area. Logan lectures widely, from the Arnold Arboretum in Cambridge to the Huntington Library in Los Angeles and internationally, about the relationship between people and trees.  He has won the True Professional of Arboriculture award from the International Society of Arboriculture and the Senior Scholar award from New York State Arborists.

His most recent book, Sprout Lands: Tending the Endless Gift of Trees, has been awarded the 2021 John Burroughs Medal for distinguished nature writing. His essay “The Things Trees Know” was excerpted from Sprout Lands before the book’s publication and published in Orion. It won the 2020 John Burroughs Nature Essay Award. Logan’s earlier books are Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, Oak: The Frame of Civilization, and Air: The Restless Shaper of the World.  Dirt inspired an award-winning documentary that was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. Oak was featured in a story on CBS Sunday Morning. Logan has written for the New York Times, Orion, Emergence, Natural History, House Beautiful, House & Garden, and many other publications, winning numerous Quill and Trowel Awards from the Garden Writers of America. He is on the faculty at the New York Botanical Garden and has taught poetry in the New York City schools and nature writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

Dr. Tony Kendle is a horticulturist, educator, and researcher. He is the co-author of Urban Nature Conservation: Landscape Management in the Urban Countryside and the new book A Wonder In the Garden. Both books review the importance of urban and garden biodiversity.

After working for a local government parks department, Tony studied horticulture at the University of Bath.

This lead to further study and research in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Botany and Ecology. Tony was awarded a Ph.D. on the reclamation of mine spoil and the creation of new woodlands on destroyed land. This was followed by several years working as an ecological consultant, which gave him experience in the restoration of many degraded sites, from coal mines to metal mines, deserts, and even the island of St Helena in the mid-Atlantic.

During this same time period, Tony also worked with Peter Thoday, horticultural teacher, and presenter of the Victorian Kitchen Garden on the BBC. Through joint consultancy, they produced management plans and tree surveys for heritage sites and healthcare properties.

Tony then moved to the University of Reading where for ten years he taught Horticulture and Landscape Management in the degree and postgraduate level programs. His additional experience includes being a visiting teacher at the Royal Agricultural College and the Kew School of Horticulture.

Tony’s former students have progressed to roles in many countries as greenspace managers, educators, and directors of organizations working on city greening and community health.

His combined experiences led Tony to a role as a member of the founding team for the globally famous Eden Project in Cornwall – a site recognized for “reconnecting humankind with the natural world.”

The Eden Project is a botanical garden that was established as part of the United Kingdom’s Millennium initiative of national inspirational projects. It was developed by the team that had earlier restored the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Rather than being a conservatory of rare plants, Eden has an educational charitable mission. The living collections demonstrate our daily dependence on plants and the places where they are grown for us. The living collections are not rarities but staples, even so, they are plants that few people ever get to see in person.

Tony now works for Eden’s new company, the Eden Project International which works on developments throughout the United Kingdom and around the world.

John Perlin is a Professor and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Physics at University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of A Forest Journey: The Role of Trees in the Fate of Civilization.

 Perlin says, “It is my hope that this edition of A Forest Journey will make clear the imperative humanity faces because losing our forests would not merely be the end of nature, it could mean the end of us.”

Originally published in 1989, the book’s comprehensive coverage of the major role forests have played in human life …….earned its recognition as a Harvard “Classic in Science and World History” and as one of Harvard’s “One Hundred Great Books.”

In this latest edition, Perlin cites data on how humanity has cut down half the trees on the planet in the last 12,000 years and that deforestation continues at an alarming pace with 15 billion trees removed per year. That’s 500,000 square miles of forested land lost since the first edition of A Forest Journey was released.

Perlin is also the author of three other books: A Golden Thread: 2500 Years of Solar Architecture and Technology; From Space to Earth: The Story of Solar Electricity; and Let It Shine: The 6000-Year Story of Solar Energy.

Perlin lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Pandora Young is a Senior Horticulturist working in Longwood Garden's Outdoor Landscapes since 2005. The areas under her care are Peirce’s Park, a historic arboretum dating back to 1798, and Peirce’s Woods, a 7-acre art-form garden featuring plants native to the eastern United States.  She is also an instructor for Longwood’s continuing education program, teaching courses on native and edible plants.  In her home garden, the rules are: it has to be native or edible, ideally both (with the exception of Lily of the valley). She received a B.A. in Japanese studies, with a minor in Biology from Earlham College in Indiana.

Public horticulture combines her passion for art, science, the great outdoors, and connecting with people from all walks of life.

Our second guest is Scott Wade the Curator of the Peirce Historic Tree Collection at Longwood Gardens, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Scott is a certified arborist and has work in commercial, private, and public horticulture his entire career. He is a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Liberal arts. Scott is the past state coordinator of the Champion Tree Program of Pennsylvania, documenting the largest of each species of tree in the state from 2006-2019.  He started at Longwood Gardens in 2009 performing tree assessments part-time and has been there ever since.

Sara Fern Fitzsimmons has worked with The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) at Penn State University (PSU) since 2003, assisting chestnut growers and researchers throughout the Appalachian Mountains.  Born and raised in southern West Virginia (Hinton), Sara studied Biology at Drew University in Madison, NJ.  She then received a master’s degree in forest ecology and resource management from Duke University’s Nicholas School.  After a short stint as an editorial assistant at All About Beer Magazine, Sara returned to the forestry field, where she has been ever since. Sara hopes her research and professional work will facilitate long-term conservation and restoration of native tree species at risk from exotic pests and diseases.

John Holback’s environmental experience started as a child helping his dad cut invasive vines from the trees in the woods around their home. He learned a broad array of conservation efforts as a young adult in AmeriCorps and continued to build his skills while volunteering and working as a field coordinator with the Friends of the Wissahickon in the Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. John now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California and continues to apply his knowledge in his work in the Santa Cruz Mountains as an open space technician for Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in Los Altos, California. John is also a professional musician and a graduate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Corey Bassett is a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where she is researching urban forest management and ecosystem services. She has worked and lived across the United States, where she has managed statewide urban and community forestry programs and performed arboricultural consulting and municipal tree care. Beyond her current research area, she is very active around issues such as establishing career and mentorship pipelines for early career professionals, setting standards for tree care for wildlife, and connecting urban forestry with related disciplines.

Corey currently serves as the first Student Representative to the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Board of Directors, Public Outreach Director for the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the ISA’s Board of Directors, core member and co-author for the Tree Care for Wildlife program of the Western Chapter ISA, and co-author for the upcoming edition of the ISA Certified Arborist Study Guide. Corey is an ISA Certified Arborist and holds the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. She completed a Master’s in Environmental Studies, concentration in Environmental Biology, and B.A. in Earth Science, concentration in Environmental Science, both from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Jun Yang is a Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University, China. He received his Ph.D. (2004) in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California at Berkeley. His specific interests include urban ecology, urban forestry, and ecological remote sensing. He has published more than 100 scientific papers. He serves as an associate editor for Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, and serves on the editorial board of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Frontier in Sustainable Cities, Biodiversity, Landscape Architecture, and China Urban Forestry. He was a member of the Science and Research Committee of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) between 2010 and 2013.

Andrea Whitely is a garden consultant, designing and implementing new gardens, garden renovations, and garden maintenance in Perth, Australia.

Andrea is probably best known publicly for her work on 720 ABC radio with Sabrina Hahn as The Soil Sisters. Sabrina and Andrea hosted the very popular call-in program answering gardening questions for four years. They traveled together around Western Australia appearing live and were particularly popular in Western Australia sharing witty repartee as well as their love of all things garden related.

Andrea is a Regional Director with GardenComm International based in New York, USA. Since 2015 and prior to Covid-19 she traveled through the United States extensively attending the annual conferences and extending her trips to take in more gardens with friends.

Andrea has spoken publicly at Women of the Wheatbelt in Meriden, Gidgegannup Field Day, Kalamunda Community Garden, Australian Garden History events, Nannup Flower and Garden Festival, and at a variety of corporate events in Perth. For many years, as a member of the Horticulture Media Association, Andrea appeared as a speaker at The Perth Flower and Garden Festival.

Andrea has contributed to various gardening magazines including regular articles appearing in Hort Journal. The Australian Garden History Journal and HMA News as well as Our Gardens, Your Garden, Gardening Australia, and The Garden Guru papers. Her images have been published in The West Australian, and Australia’s Open Garden Scheme Guidebook, and many local newspapers around the state.

Andrea has traveled and visited gardens through Europe, Asia, the UK, The Pacific, The USA, and of course every state and territory in her homeland, Australia. She has even been to visit, Highgrove, the home of HRH Prince Charles.

Andrea is an award-winning blogger and is active on Social Media sites Facebook, Instagram Twitter, and Pinterest.

David Hewitt has been working with plants, animals, soils, and water
for more than twenty-five years, starting when he began working on
small farms in upstate New York.  He has served in a variety of roles
at a number of Philadelphia institutions, including the Wagner Free
Institute of Science, and as a lecturer at the University of
Pennsylvania and a research associate in the Department of Botany at
the Academy of Natural Sciences.  He was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in
Washington, DC, working in agricultural policy. David has an A.S. from
the Community College of Philadelphia, a B.A. in  biology from the
The University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the  Department of
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.

Max Paschall is the Native Plants Coordinator at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, managing the nursery and native plant sales. He is an ISA certified arborist, fourth-generation horticulturist, and founder of Shelterwood Forest Farm - an experimental land stewardship project exploring the intersection of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and climate resiliency. His work focuses on climate change adaptation, particularly through the practice of assisted migration.

Alan M. Jones is President of Manor View Farms in Monkton, Maryland. He was born in London, England, and immigrated to the United States in 1984.

Prior to attending Pershore College of Horticulture, Alan gained horticultural experience by working at The Royal Gardens, Windsor Castle, and the Savill Gardens, Valley Gardens, and Heather Garden in Windsor Great Park.

After graduating from Pershore College he joined Oakover Nurseries in Ashford, Kent, England, a seedling and propagation nursery.  He joined Princeton Nurseries in 1984 after immigrating to the U.S. He became a vice president of Princeton Nurseries before leaving in 1994 to join Manor View Farm, Monkton, Maryland.

Along with two partners, Alan purchased Manor View Farm in 2007. One year before the recession! Manor View Farm is a 100-acre nursery growing a wide range of B&B trees and shrubs, a propagation division selling potted shrub liners to other nurseries, as well as an extensive Landscape Distribution Center serving the landscape contractor industry in Baltimore, Washington D.C., and northern Virginia.

Manor View is licensed to propagate introductions from Proven Winners, PlantHaven, Plant Nouveau, Concept Plants/Plant Tipp, and others.

Manor View Farm is located in the historic and scenic My Lady’s Manor in northern Baltimore County, Maryland.

Today’s Show is a special edition highlighting the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s (PHS) Philadelphia Flower Show. We have two special guests Sam Lemheney and Tim Iffel.

Sam Lemheney is the Chief of Shows and Events at PHS and directs the strategy, planning, and execution of all events including the annual Philadelphia Flower Show where over 250,000 visitors from around the world experience the work completed by him, his team, and PHS every year. Sam is a judge for flower shows in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, and has judged the floats at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. He is also an active member of the International Festivals and Events Association.
Sam received his B.S. in Plant Science from the University of Delaware and has had a lifelong passion for horticulture. He began his career at The Walt Disney Company in the Land Horticulture Science Program and eventually rose to the position of Area Manager of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Our second guest is Tim Ifill who is the Associate Director of Trees at PHS, supporting communities around the region that are working together to share the incredible benefits of trees. He leads a team that works with an incredible group of volunteers, community organizations, and government agencies to establish and maintain healthy tree canopies in Philadelphia-area neighborhoods.

Tim received a B.A. in linguistics from Haverford College. Prior to joining PHS, Tim served as Executive Director of Philly Fellows, a program he co-founded that built capacity for Philadelphia anti-poverty organizations and started young people on careers in public service. He started his career with the U.S. Forest Service, where he was lucky enough to serve in the National Forest, which is home to the world’s oldest living tree.

Neelam Patil, M.Ed., MFA, is a Climate Literacy and Science Teacher in the Berkeley public school system.  She was awarded TIME Innovative Teacher of the Year 2022 by TIME Magazine based on her work teaching children they can do something about climate change. Ms. Patil spearheaded the planting of the first Miyawaki schoolyard forests in North America in Berkeley, California.  While teaching her students about deforestation, they wanted to do something immediate and impactful. They demanded, ‘Let’s plant trees!’, and the rest is history. 

Ms. Patil has been an educator since 2000. Her work specializes in empowering children to face the most pressing challenges of our time through climate resilience, mindfulness, plant based culinary education, and youth urban forestry. She is a certified SKY Breath instructor and recently founded a non-profit, Green Pocket Forests, whose mission is to green urban spaces using the Miyawaki method.

Jason Lubar has been employed at Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania as the Associate Director of Urban Forestry for over twenty years. His career has focused on educating a wide audience about trees and natural resources. He teaches professional-level arboricultural courses, presents at international conferences, and supports Morris Arboretum’s educational mission by providing a wide range of tree-related consulting services to a diversity of clients including design firms, arborists, townships and municipalities, schools, and corporations.

Jason is the President of the ISA PennDel Chapter and is a Board-Certified Master Arborist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, and a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists and holds the ASCA Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualification. He also is on the Executive Board and is treasurer of Pennsylvania’s Urban and Community Forestry Council.

Konstanze Fabian is an ISA Certified Arborist and ASCA Consulting Arborist. She holds a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Temple University and graduated with a master's degree in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Konstanze has over twenty years of experience in the Green Industry. Native to Germany, she began her career as an urban forester working with the trees in Berlin. After moving to the U.S. Konstanze worked as an assistant greenhouse manager, and then as an estate horticulturist. Before moving to Denver in 2018 to manage the Colorado operations for Bartlett Tree Experts, she spent four years with Bartlett as a plant health care specialist and arborist representative in the greater Philadelphia area. 

Alex Smith is the owner of Division Street Landscaping, which is entirely staffed by ex-offenders. Alex started his journey while he was incarcerated. While serving a 30-year prison sentence for carjacking, assault, and handgun violations he was part of a group of guys who petitioned the warden for permission to start a horticulture program in prison. He became a Master Gardener behind bars and that program has now spread to other facilities in the state of Maryland. Now home, after serving 15 years of his 30-year sentence, he has created Urban Roots Apprenticeship a training program at the Baltimore Tree Trust where he served as the Director of Operations for five years. He has also created Division Street Academy under his own company with the goal of training guys in landscaping and entrepreneurship specifically in the landscaping industry. He also consults Workforce Development programs across the country that cater to the green job industry. He believes that there is a special kind of healing that takes place when the citizens of a community that once destroyed the community play a vital role in beautifying and maintaining those same places.