Clare Al-Witri is a professional gardener. Clare has gardened on both the East and West Coasts in public gardens including Wave Hill and Heronswood. She currently works at the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley where she cares for the Australasian and California collections.

Ronald Castagnetti creates and tends gardens and floral designs in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. He received the 2016 Pitschel Prize for an essay about his becoming a professional gardener.  Contact Ron at  roncastagnetti@comcast.net.

HEATHER EVANS is an architecture graduate, permaculture enthusiast, and gardener. She spent time in Australia and New Zealand working on organic and permaculture farms in order to move her skills towards sustainable landscape design. Heather is currently living in Verona, Italy with her fiancé where she teaches English and hopes to get involved with Slow Food garden education and permaculture design.

DARCY DANIELS is a Portland-based landscape designer and owner of Bloomtown Gardens. For more than 15 years, Darcy has been designing multi-layered residential landscapes filled with colorful and textured plants that delight the senses year round. She is passionate about plants and committed to helping homeowners connect with their outdoor living spaces. In 2016 Darcy launched eGardenGo, an inspirational, fun, and easy-to-use website for gardeners. www.bloomtown.net

Sandy’s career has included owning local consultancies, managing regional practices, serving as a director in local government, and a practice principal in an international consulting firm. Her passions being design of public spaces and gardens and local community building endeavors. Her work had been recognized with awards from ASLA, APA, APWA, YWCA, AIA, Sonoran Institute, Garden Writers of America and others. In 2018 Sandy retired from owning and managing firms, but continues to mentor emerging designers and practices as principal to the Fischer Bouma Partnership, Landscape Architects, Bainbridge Island, WA. Sandy serves as adjunct faculty to the University of Washington College of Built Environment, Landscape Architecture Program.  Volunteer positions include Vice President of Michigan State University Landscape Architecture Alumni Board, Professionals Councils at UW, and Grounds Committee at The Bloedel Reserve. Other interests and creative pursuits include art, garden and home remodeling, travel, writing, and assisting two 30 something sons with creative entrepreneurial pursuits. Sandy co-authored  The Authentic Garden published by Monticello Press.

Cordelia Donnelly is a teacher, artist, designer, writer, and community activist whose gardening education has been facilitated by Pacific Horticulture. She communicates about the power of beauty to awaken, to inspire, and to help shift the gardening paradigm forward. A love of nature and of problem solving motivate her vision. A love of learning connects her to the world.

Tom Rau  is CFO of Urban Water Group, Inc. He is a licensed Landscape Architect specializing in watershed-wise design of residential, commercial and public projects. His work has been published in The Journal of Green Building and Sunset magazine. Tom is an instructor in the UCLA Extension Horticulture and Gardening Program, and a past co-chair of Surfrider Foundation’s West LA/Malibu Chapter Ocean Friendly Gardens Program. www.urbanwatergroup.com.

Mary Dodder McCorkle is the former head of Cuesta College Journalism Department. Genevieve Holloway is a plant educator and designer. Their article on Leaning Pine Arboretum on the campus of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo brought its possible destruction to public attention. Cal Poly planners have now reconsidered and the Arboretum will continue to grow.

Nancy Norris  has been designing and installing garden railways since 1997. Model railroad gardening combines her vocation as a horticulturist and plant science instructor with her hobby of modeling radio-controlled airplanes. She is a regular columnist and horticultural editor for Garden Railways magazine. Nancy’s book, Miniature Garden Guidebook, shows readers how to build their own outdoor railway garden.