Jeff Anderson is a graduate of New Mexico State University, where he earned a master’s degree in Horticulture. He is currently a Professor and the Cooperative Extension Agent in Horticulture for Doña Ana County, New Mexico, working with growers, landscapers, and homeowners on topics ranging from commercial pecan production to landscape and horticultural consultations.

His background includes growing a wide range of plants, including palms, oaks, native and desert-adapted species, tropical foliage, and seasonal crops. His work today focuses on practical, sustainable horticultural practices, with an emphasis on water conservation and plant selection suited to arid environments.

Dr. Bahder specializes in insect vector ecology, specifically in vector discovery of new and emerging pathogens that cause economic loss in agricultural and ornamental cropping systems as well as understanding the evolutionary relationships and molecular mechanisms that determine the ability of species to transmit pathogens. His current research interests include the epidemiology of phytoplasmas infecting palms as well as other common tropical ornamental plants and their associated diseases and insect pests and developing management strategies to reduce economic losses.

John Conroy is the founder, owner, and President of Fish Branch Tree Farm, Inc., a 325-acre operation in Southwest Florida established in 1988. With degrees in Education from Florida State University, he combines academic insight with decades of hands-on industry experience.

A respected leader in Florida’s green industry, John chaired the last two revisions of Florida’s Grades & Standards for Palms and is a frequent speaker on palm production and specification. He holds plant patents for Boardwalk® and Park Side® live oaks and has helped advance innovative growing practices.

John was named FNGLA’s 2019 Educator of the Year and was inducted into the FNGLA Hall of Fame in 2024. Passionate about sharing knowledge and advancing the green industry, he often jokes that his epitaph will read, “I still had a lot to do.”

Adam Dale, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of turfgrass and ornamental entomology. As the turf and ornamental entomologist, he is responsible for researching economically important pests of turfgrass and ornamental plants, and disseminating the results through management recommendations to extension faculty across the state. The ultimate goal of his lab is to generate more sustainable, ecologically based management strategies that benefit the environment as well as the turf and ornamental industries.

Braham Dhillon, Ph.D., is a molecular plant pathologist working on fungal pathogens of palms, other woody plants and crops of agricultural significance. His research (70%) and extension (30%) programs focus on leveraging pathogen biology for diagnostics and management of fungal pathogens and disease challenges faced by nurseries and stakeholders.

Andrew is the Chief Horticulturalist for John Mini Distinctive Landscapes, where he has overseen some of the most significant indoor landscapes in New York, including the Lowline Lab, Durst Urban Garden Room, and the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place. He holds a B.S./M/A. in International Relations with a specialization in Sustainability, and a Master of Horticulture from the Royal Horticultural Society, where he completed a dissertation titled “Maximizing Indoor Environmental Quality through the Application of Indoor Plants: A Multidisciplinary Review and Guide to Evidence-Based Practice.”

Andrew holds the professional designation of Practicing Professional Horticulturalist from the American Society of Horticultural Science, Certified Landscape Manager from the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, and is certified by BASF in Plant Science.

Lynn Griffith, tropical plant and soil expert, has served as a horticultural consultant for the past 42 years throughout Florida, the United States, and in 34 countries throughout the world.

Griffith specializes in turf, in ornamental disorders for both commercial nurseries and landscapes. Griffith owned A and L Southern Agricultural Laboratory for 28 years.

Griffith has written four books and hundreds of articles about diagnosing tropical plant problems.

Dr. M. Patrick Griffith has led Montgomery Botanical Center since 2005—developing the team, focusing resources, and setting priorities to meet the mission. Patrick has worked in leadership, living collections management, herbarium curation, rare plant survey, floristic inventory, laboratory research, and land management, and for botanic gardens, universities, government, and private interests. Patrick’s research is in plant systematics and plant conservation and is focused on living botanical collections. As Executive Director, Patrick works to define, strengthen, and promote an important contribution that Montgomery makes to this field— living collections-based conservation and research.

Anthony Gross currently manages the NatureScape Programs for Broward County. He holds a BS in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M and a MS in Environmental Horticulture from UF. He previously worked for UF/IFAS Extension Broward County as an Educational Training Specialist II. He has been working to support the urban tree canopy and regularly included native palms in his tree giveaways.

Clay Hendricksen, an Indian River County, FL native, has 23 years of experience in the nursery industry and studied Business Management at Indian River Community College. His agricultural career began in 2003 apprenticing with a family-owned citrus and wholesale field-grown nursery, where he discovered his passion for the industry. In 2005, Clay became Production Manager and Sales lead for Bella Vista Nursery, growing and marketing field-grown trees and palms for 18 years while tripling farm output. He now serves as Production Manager for two sister operations: Sebastian River Farms, a 600-acre container and field-grown nursery in Vero Beach, and Perkins Nursery, a premium container saw palmetto grower in LaBelle.

Gary Kennemer is an applied palm and soil-biology researcher with field experience dating back to 1994 in palm nutrition, disease diagnostics, and large-scale nursery production systems. He holds certifications in AI-assisted soil DNA microbial analysis (BCA), Florida Best Management Practices, and licensed fertilizer and pesticide application across multiple U.S. states. His work integrates soil microbiology, palm physiology, and nutrient-delivery strategy to improve long-term plant health and environmental sustainability. Kennemer has authored independent research publications on palm disease mechanisms and fertilization methodologies and is involved in ongoing research, consulting, and product development related to palm health and soil systems.

Dr. Mica McMillan is the Assistant Professor of Palm Horticulture at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. She has worked as a researcher in the agriculture, turfgrass and media industries focused on developing chemistries to improve plant and soil health. Dr. McMillan’s research will primarily focus on palm and ornamental plants from seed to establishment under a variety of environmental and edaphic conditions.

Mark Mini grew up in and around the indoor landscape industry and today serves as the President at John Mini Distinctive Landscapes. Prior to this role, he was the team’s Vice President of Operations for 8 years after completing his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Columbia University.

John Mini Distinctive Landscapes is a purpose driven company, fueled by a passionate team. Our purpose is to make places beautiful by bringing nature to the places people live, work and play. We do this through the design, construction, and maintenance of urban landscapes and holiday decor. Our team is what defines us. We are a team of over 200 people who work hard and collaborate relentlessly. We’ve made over 17,000 places beautiful and earned over 220 awards for our work.

Professor Robinson has led research and educational programs in hemp, wine grapes, hops, and sustainable desert landscaping through the Desert Bio-scape program. He helped develop major initiatives including the 30-year Desert Green conference, Environmentally Friendly Pest Control, Integrated Pest Management training, Correctional Horticulture, Palms and Cacti education, the Nevada Naturalist Program, and Basic Skills for Commercial Horticulture Maintenance.

With Professor Jeff Anderson, he recently delivered palm training across four Hawaiian islands, covering selection, cultivation, fertilization, misdiagnosed issues, native palm conservation, and best management practices. The team also taught a course on date palm production, emphasizing hybrid systems that use palms for food, shade, and structural support for companion crops.

Grant L. Stephenson is a Texas Certified Nurseryman with over 30 years of experience and is nationally recognized for his expertise in cold-hardy palms. He is the founder of Horticultural Consultants, Inc., and the patent holder and inventor of the Oasis Palm & Tree Anchoring System, which is used in major commercial and municipal palm installations across the country. Grant has consulted for botanical gardens, zoos, theme parks, municipalities, and resort developments nationwide.

Mark Weathington is Director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, where he works to connect people with plants. His public horticulture career also includes leadership roles at Norfolk Botanical Garden and the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

He travels widely in search of new plants to diversify American landscapes and lectures internationally to advance the Arboretum’s vision of “Planning and Planting a Better World.” His explorations have taken him across Asia, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, and throughout the U.S.

Mark is the author of Gardening in the South: The Complete Homeowner’s Guide, writes for the Raleigh News & Observer,