The Western Nursery and Landscape Association, which presents the National Green Centre, has created an advisory board. The advisory board consists of:
• Dr. Michael Dirr of Plant Introductions: Dr. Michael Dirr’s lectures, seminars, garden study tours, and plant introduction programs have contributed enormously to greater horticultural awareness. Today he travels widely to lecture, teach, and form new opinions of plants. In 2007, Michael Dirr together with Mark Griffith and Jeff Beasley established Plant Introductions.
• Jonathan Pedersen of Bailey Nurseries: “As the marketing, brand and new business development manager for Bailey Nurseries, my goal is help our partners succeed in the ever-changing market place and to demystify horticulture for the consumer. A native of New Zealand that now resides in Minnesota, Jonathan earned bachelor degrees in agricultural economics and marketing from Canterbury University.”
• Dr. Michael Dosmann of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University: Dr. Michael Dosmann is curator of Living Collections at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, North America’s oldest public arboretum. A staunch advocate for living plant collections, he also conducts research, pub¬lishes, and lectures frequently on issues related to curating botanic gardens. One of his fundamental goals is to improve the standards of gardens across the globe, thereby safeguarding the plants for generations to come. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Horticulture from Purdue University, a Master of Science in Horticulture and Physiology from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in Horticulture and Ecology from Cornell University.
• John Stanley of John Stanley Associates: John Stanley, from Australia, is a coach, consultant, author, speaker and trainer. He has been described as the ‘Retail Guru’ and he has also been described as the leading horticultural consultant in the world today. His cutting edge insight, gained from working in over 25 countries each year, his infectious enthusiasm and clear explanation of practical applications and his ability to identify retail trends as they are incubating, inspires and motivates his audience to rush out and implement his concepts to take advantage of the trends he sees germinating.
• Jacob Blue of Applied Ecological Services: Jacob Blue is a senior landscape architect and Wisconsin branch manager for Applied Ecological Services. As a senior landscape architect, he provides design direction and oversight as well as expertise for large and small scale design and restoration projects. Because of his understanding of native plants and his design strengths, Blue is keenly interested in the use of native species in restoration and non-restoration designs and the habitat as well as aesthetic implications of their use. Blue was a member of the Vegetation Technical Subcommittee for the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) report in 2009, a landscape assessment tool that will become part of the USGBC LEED program, and currently serves on the Technical Core Committee of SITES. He is a national leader defining and practicing ecological landscape architectural design or Ecotecture.
• Maria Zampini of Lake County New Plants LLC: Maria Zampini is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture. She is president of Lake County New Plants LLC which does sales, marketing and licensing of LCN Selections new plant introductions. She is a nationally known lecturer on new plants and plant patents and trademarks amongst other topics. She is also a freelance writer.
The 2011 National Green Centre will be held Jan. 9-10 at AMERICA’S CENTER in St. Louis. For a schedule and to register, visit the National Green Centre website.