2025 Session Presenters
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Wendy Brister is the Director of Sales & Marketing, River Valley Landscapes Inc., in Wrightsville, PA. She holds a B.S. in landscape architecture from Temple University and has worked in the green industry for over 25 years (from landscape design build to wholesale nursery operations). As the former conference coordinator for the Native Plants in the Landscape Conference (Millersville, Pennsylvania) and an avid gardener herself, Wendy has an appreciation for native plants and gardening to support pollinator biodiversity. Wendy spends her free time in York PA, gardening on 3.75 acres - trialing, growing, and pushing the limits (sometimes killing) within her expansive gardens.
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Stephanie Burnett is a Professor of Horticulture in the School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine. Her research focuses on irrigation management in greenhouses and cut flower production. She teaches greenhouse managementk introduction to horticulture, and herbaceous landscape plants to the horticulture and sustainable agriculture students at UMaine.
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Nora Catlin is Director of the Cornell University Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center (LIHREC) and serves as the region’s Floriculture and Greenhouse Specialist. She supports greenhouse growers through applied research, educational programs, and technical resources.
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Dr. Raymond Cloyd has an extension (70%) and research (30%) appointment in the Department of Entomology at Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS). Raymond received his MS and PhD from the Department of Entomology at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), and was employed as a professor at the University of Illinois (Urbana, IL) in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences for six years prior to his employment at Kansas State University. His research and extension program involves plant protection/pest management in greenhouses, nurseries, landscapes, turfgrass, conservatories, interiorscapes, Christmas trees, vegetables, fruits, cannabis, hemp, and pollinators. Raymond is the extension specialist in horticultural entomology for the state of Kansas with a major clientele that includes homeowners, master gardeners, and professional and commercial operators. Raymond has published over 100 scientific refereed publications, over 900 trade journals, and over 60 extension publications on topics related to pest management/plant protection. In addition, he has authored or co-authored numerous books including Greenhouse Pest Management, Pests and Diseases of Herbaceous Perennials, IPM for Gardeners, Plant Protection: Managing Greenhouse Insect and Mite Pests, Compendium of Rose Diseases and Pests, Compendium of Bedding Plant Diseases and Pests, and Western Flower Thrips: Insect Pest of Greenhouse Production Systems. Raymond has also written book chapters, manuals, PICT or picture-pocket guides, and extension-related publications. Raymond is a frequent speaker at state, national, and international conferences and seminars; and has received numerous awards and honors during his over 25 year academic career. Raymond’s professional specialty areas are plant protection, biological control, plant-insect interactions, insect ecology, pesticides, integrating pesticides with biological control agents, and sanitation.
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Stephanie Cruz, is a PhD student in Horticulture at the University of Arkansas with Dr. Ryan Dickson, where she researches the production of long-cane blackberry plants in soilless systems. Her work combines production research with economic analysis to help growers understand the costs and market opportunities for adopting this system. She previously worked as a researcher for several vertical farming companies, focusing on optimizing environmental controls to increase yields and quality of fruiting vegetables and herbs, as well as developing new products.
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Margery Daughtrey is a Senior Extension Associate with the Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology of Cornell University. She has conducted a research and extension program on the management of diseases of ornamental plants since 1978, at Cornell’s Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead, NY. She educates growers on management of greenhouse and nursery crop diseases, runs a diagnostic laboratory and investigates controls for boxwood blight, impatiens downy mildew, and other terrible diseases. Daughtrey holds a B.S. degree in Biology from the College of William and Mary, an M.S. in Plant Pathology from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. She is coauthor of 4 books, including Diseases of Herbaceous Perennials and the Compendium of Bedding Plant Diseases and Pests and is a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society.
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Frans-Peter Dechering is a seasoned manager and serial entrepreneur. He worked in many international companies in the agrifood business as well as employee, employer and interim manager. Was an investor in several (bio)tech start-up companies and is experienced from bankruptcy to successful exits. A marketing and finance background and always bridging the gap between technology and the daily operational (greenhouse) business and boardroom. Was an active sportsman on Dutch national level and is now a passionate kids mountainbike trainer-coach.
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Ryan Dickson is an Associate Professor of Greenhouse and Protected Horticulture at the University of Arkansas. His research program focuses on root zone management of hydroponic and container crops and berry production in soilless culture. He is also a contributing member of the Root Alliance (rootalliance.org).
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Dave Dowling owned a cut flower farm in Montgomery County, MD for 20 years. With field, high tunnel, and greenhouse production, Farmhouse Flowers & Plants produced cut flowers year-round. Most of the flowers raised were sold at farmers markets, including two year-round markets in the Washington, DC area. Flowers were also sold direct to retail florists and Whole Foods Markets. Working with two other farms, a marketing coop, Capital Flower Growers, LLC, was formed in 2013. Early in 2014, Dave closed his cut flower business and began working for Ednie Flower Bulb, which became a division of Fred C Gloeckner & Co. in 2016. Gloeckner was acquired by Ball Seed in late 2020. Dave now works behind the scenes with the Ball Seed Cut Flower Department. Dave has an online class produced by The Gardeners Workshop that teaches cut flower growers about Perennial, Bulb, and Woody cut flower crops. Dave served as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers from 2002 through 2004 and served as Conference chair for the 2005 Lancaster Conference. Dave served as President from 2006 to 2009, and again from 2016 to 2018. He was the ASCFG Industry Liaison from 2014-2015. In 2009 the ASCFG named their scholarship the Dave Dowling Scholarship. Dave received the ASCFG Outstanding Service Award in 2018 in recognition of his many years of service to the organization.
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Paul Fisher is a Professor and Floriculture Extension Specialist at the Environmental Horticulture Dept., University of Florida, Gainesville Florida.
Over 35 years experience in applied research and farm advising for the commercial greenhouse and controlled environment industry, including
Master of Applied Science from Lincoln University, New Zealand Ph.D. in Horticulture from Michigan State University, U.S. |
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John Gedraitis is the owner of Van Berkum Nursery, a wholesale perennial farm located in Deerfield, NH. With more than 20 years of horticultural experience and a forestry background, John honed his skills under the mentorship of Peter and Leslie Van Berkum and took over the nursery in 2021. Van Berkum specializes in high-quality, thoughtfully grown containerized perennials, emphasizing seed-grown natives, unique garden plants, and rugged groundcovers. Serving independent garden centers, horticultural institutions, and landscape professionals throughout New England, John and his team are committed to providing well-cultivated plants that enhance outdoor spaces and promote sustainable gardening practices. When John is not at the nursery, you can find him traipsing through New England’s forests or adventuring with his lovely wife and two daughters, who call the nursery home.
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Nelda Hernandez earned her M.Sc. in Horticulture from Auburn University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida with Dr. Paul Fisher. Her research focuses on assessing training needs within the horticultural workforce. As part of this work, she developed the ‘Professional Irrigator’ training series, which combines online modules with hands-on activities to cover key irrigation topics. The training aims to standardize professional development in irrigation practices to promote high-quality plant production and efficient water use. In addition, Nelda is investigating irrigation automation in seedling propagation to establish objective parameters for irrigation decisions.
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Dr. Dominique Holtappels is assistant professor at Cornell University - Cornell AgriTech - focusing on plant diseases in controlled environment agriculture. In his research, he focuses on viral and microbial ecology in controlled environments, what drives the development of disease in these specialized production facilities, and how we can effectively manage disease development using the plant microbiome. Besides his research, Dr. Holtappels is committed to making virology and viral ecology accessible and relevant to students, growers, and industry professionals.
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Brian Jackson is a Professor of Horticulture and Director of the Horticultural Substrates Laboratory at NC State University. Brian has studied and researched soilless substrates for horticultural crop production systems since 2003 with an emphasis on designing and characterizing engineered wood and bark materials. In addition to being a leading global expert in the engineering and use of wood substrate materials, Brian is also heavily involved in national and global substrate initiatives, advocacy groups, substrate manufacturer consultations, and multi-disciplinary scientific collaborations.
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Charles Krasnow, PhD. University of Connecticut Extension, Storrs, CT. Charles Krasnow received his BSc at University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012 and his PhD at Michigan State University in plant pathology in 2016. He worked for Syngenta Co. with disease control for flowers and ornamentals, and completed a postdoc at the Volcani Institute working on identification and control of Alternaria. He is currently extension specialist for greenhouse and ornamentals at the University of Connecticut. As an extension specialist, Dr. Krasnow works to support to the floriculture industry. He received the Greenhouse Product News 40 under 40 award in 2018 and has had 9 articles published in refereed scientific journals since 2019.
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Dr. Roberto Lopez is an associate professor and controlled environment/floriculture extension specialist with a research, teaching, and extension appointment in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University. His research focuses on propagation and production of young and finish plants (floriculture, leafy green, and culinary herb crops) in greenhouses, growth rooms/containers, warehouse-based plant factories, and vertical farms. The primary objective of his research is to determine how light (quantity, quality, and duration), substrate and air temperature, and carbon dioxide in controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) production influences crop timing, rooting, yield, quality, flavor, nutrition, and subsequent performance.
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Neil Mattson is Professor and greenhouse extension specialist in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. Neil is the director of Cornell’s Controlled Environment Agriculture program and his research is focused on optimizing performance and resource use efficiency of vegetables, small fruits, and floriculture crops. Particular research interests include strategies to reduce energy use in CEA lighting through LED adoption and intelligent light controls, sustainable fertilization practices, and development of new CEA crops.
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Anna Meyerhoff es la educadora bilingüe de seguridad agrícola con NYCAMH/NEC. Entrena a trabajadores agrícolas sobre pesticidas, tractores y otros temas de seguridad, y ofrece clases de primeros auxilios y RCP en los ranchos. También hace pruebas de ajuste de respiradores y ayuda a los granjeros a elegir el equipo de protección personal (PPE, por sus siglas en inglés) apropiado. {Anna is the bilingual farm safety educator with NYCAMH/NEC. She delivers trainings on pesticides, tractors, and other safety topics, and teaches first aid and CPR classes at farms. She also conducts respirator fit testing and helps farms choose appropriate personal protective equipment. }
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W. Garrett Owen, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University: Dr. Owen holds a PhD in Horticulture. His responsibilities are in sustainable greenhouse and nursery systems with an appointment of 50% Extension, 30% Research, and 20% Teaching. His major program initiatives include floriculture and nursery crop propagation and production, plant nutrition and growth regulation, nutritional monitoring, crop diagnostics, sustainability, and grower education. He is also a leader and contributor of two national online Extension initiatives – e-GRO (Electronic Grower Resources Online; www.e-gro.org) and Fert, Dirt, and Squirt (Nutritional Monitoring of Greenhouse Crops; https://fertdirtsquirt.org).
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Erin Pirro grew up on her family’s sheep farm, where she learned early that profitability matters just as much as passion. That environment helped create Erin’s unique blend of economic insight and hands-on experience—from shearing sheep to streamlining POS systems. Erin is known for making complex financial concepts accessible, actionable, and even a little fun. When she’s not presenting, she’s likely wrangling spreadsheets or wool, sometimes both.
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Anissa Poleatewich is a plant pathologist with 18+ years of experience in crop protection and crop enhancement R&D. She specializes in the use of bioproducts for sustainable crop production. Dr. Poleatewich received an MS and PhD in Plant Pathology from Penn State University. Prior to joining Mycorrhizal Applications in September 2023, Dr. Poleatewich worked as an Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of New Hampshire. At UNH she developed a research program to evaluate the effects of amending peat with wood fiber substrates on root disease severity and efficacy of biopesticides. She also led projects to evaluate novel biostimulants and tested the efficacy of chitosan for suppression of foliar diseases on horticultural crops. Dr. Poleatewich also worked as a Research Scientist at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre where she conducted research on biorational products in greenhouse crops. At Mycorrhizal Applications, Dr. Poleatewich coordinates research projects to develop new products and support biofungicide and biostimulant product lines and provides technical support to customers and sales.
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Rosa Raudales is an Associate Professor of Horticulture and Greenhouse Extension Specialist at the University of Connecticut. Rosa has a background in plant pathology and horticulture. In her lab, the team conducts research and outreach in practical issues related to water recirculation, use of low-quality water for irrigation of crops, and water treatment design with a focus on chemical and microbial parameters that impact crop quality and yields in controlled environment agriculture. The Raudales Lab also work on developing educational opportunities for the Spanish-speaking workforce.
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Krystal Snyder is the Interim Director of the Penn State Flower Trials and a Horticulture Extension Educator with Penn State Extension. She holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science from Penn State and specializes in greenhouse floriculture, plant nutrition, and hydroponic systems. Krystal works closely with growers to improve production practices and leads variety evaluations for hundreds of annuals and perennials each season
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Jane Sorensen is passionate about pollinator habitat enhancement and loves any opportunity to spread the word. She is a full-time farmer and co-owner of River Berry Farm, an organic fruit and vegetable farm in Fairfax, Vermont, where she grows and sells native plants for pollinators on farm and through her on-line nursery, Northeast Pollinator Plants. Jane has recently retired from UVM where she taught one course, Landscape Design for Pollinators, and is a retired landscape architect with 14 years experience.
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Wendy Troncone, Marketing Director at Adams Fairacre Farms, brings over 20 years of corporate and agency marketing experience, fueled by a passion for technology. At Adams, a 106-year-old Hudson Valley retailer with five retail locations featuring grocery, greenhouses, garden centers, nurseries, and houseplants, Wendy spearheads marketing, promotions, and strategy. Leading eight direct reports and external agencies, she champions a community-focused brand that supports local farmers and employs over 1,800 team members. Wendy transformed Adams’ marketing, shifting from 15% to 75% digital, boosting social media followers by 302%, email subscribers by 52%, and e-commerce sales by 75%. Outside work, Wendy enjoys Orange Theory workouts, coffee, and Prince’s music, not necessarily in that order.
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Peter van Berkum, along with his wife Leslie, started Van Berkum Nursery in 1986. It is a wholesale perennial nursery specializing in natives (with particular attention to local ecotype), shade perennials and wicked ruggeds, plants that perform well and last a long time in New England landscapes. Peter has a degree in Plant Science at the University of New Hampshire, and spent a year studying horticulture in the Netherlands, as well as working at several other nurseries and garden centers before starting VBN. He is a past president of the NH Plant Growers Association, as well as a founding member of the NH Horticulture Endowment. He has lectured in local and national Symposia. He and Leslie were recipients of the Massachusetts Horticulture Societies Silver Medal, and Peter was the Perennial Plant Associations Grower of the Year in 2013. They sold VBN in 2021, and Peter still works part time as a consultant to the nursery as well as working on crop planning and anything else that is helpful. His extra time is spent vegetable gardening and studying the local flora whenever possible.
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Camilo Villouta is an Assistant Professor of Controlled Environment Agriculture at the University of Rhode Island. His research focuses on plant physiology and root function in hydroponic systems, with the goal of improving production practices, resource use, and crop resilience in indoor farming.
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Suzanne Wainwright-Evans is a horticultural entomologist specializing in integrated pest management. With over 30 years of experience in the Green Industry, she focuses primarily on biological control and the proper use of pesticides. Suzanne holds degrees in Entomology and Environmental Horticulture from the University of Florida. She is the owner of Bug Lady Consulting, now in business for 25 years.
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Dr. Samantha Willden is an Assistant Professor at Cornell AgriTech in the Department of Entomology with a split appointment in research and extension. Her work is focused on controlled environment insect ecology that spans simple tunnels to high-technology greenhouses. Current projects in the Willden lab include biopesticide optimization in CEA tomato, thrips identification and management in high tunnels, and evaluating the compatibility of LED lights with IPM. The goal of her program is to serve stakeholders by providing scientifically grounded and cost-effective solutions for insect management in CEA.