Chuck Ingels is the Environmental Horticulture Advisor and Judy McClure is the Master Gardener Program Coordinator; both are with University of California Cooperative Extension’s Capitol Corridor and are based in Sacramento County.

Julie Monson, a native Californian, grew up in Southern California. After retiring from a career in university administration, Julie and her husband moved to West Marin where she became an enthusiastic student in the Master Gardener program sponsored by Marin County and University of California Extension, indulging her life-long interest in landscaping and gardening.

Julie is the author of Gardening on California’s Coast, a compilation of articles that first appeared in the Marin Independent Journal; copies available at www.maplesandmoss.com.

Courtney Goetz is a past display garden creator and the current social media manager for the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival. www.gardenshow.com.

Kelly McManus Chauvin is an ecologist and science communicator based in San Francisco. She holds a PhD in Earth System Science from Stanford University.

Melissa Keyser is a naturalist, urban homesteader, and garden designer. Growing up in the Santa Cruz Mountains without electricity, she cultivated a love for the natural world at an early age. She is passionate about living in harmony with the earth, DIY projects, and strives to raise as much food as possible in her tiny backyard. Currently living in Sacramento, Melissa writes about connecting with nature and living in harmony with the seasons at www.melissakeyser.com.

Barbara Eisenstein is a native plant gardener, horticulturist, and writer. Her recent book, Wild Suburbia – Learning to Garden with Native Plants, guides new and experienced gardeners on a journey toward sustainable, habitat gardening. Barbara is research associate at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, horticulture chair for the San Gabriel Mountains Chapter of CNPS, and founder and organizer of Friends of South Pasadena Nature Park. Her home garden has been featured on the Theodore Payne Garden Tour. www.weedingwildsuburbia.com

P. Annie Kirk runs a landscape and outdoor living design and styling business affectionately named for a lesson she learned in kindergarten. The Red Bird Restorative Gardens mantra—thriving outside and healing inside—is rooted in the rich landscape of nursery country in Aurora, Oregon. In addition to helping people find sanctuary right outside their door, Annie is currently tending to her latest garden—motherhood. www.RedBirdRestorativeGardens.com.

Lorraine Thomas has been with the Fisher House program for nine years, first as the assistant manager of the Puget Sound House and more recently as the Development Director for the non-profit that supports the House. She is grateful there are people who can design and cultivate outdoor spaces given that she was, sadly, born without a green thumb. Thomas lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter. She is currently writing her first novel.