Abby is the Annual Trial Garden Manager at Michigan State University. She is responsible for designing and caring for the annual displays in the Horticulture Gardens. She earned her Horticulture degree from Michigan State University.

Alec Kowalewski, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University. For over 20 years Alec has taught a wide range of courses and conducted research on sustainable landscape management.

Alex’s passion for cultivation began on a 400-acre vegetable and tomato farm in Ontario. Today, he owns Lucky Sun Farm, where he trials a diverse range of flowers, trees, herbs, and vegetables. Dedicated to organic practices, Alex uses his display and demonstration gardens to help customers visualize their own landscapes. He is a frequent community speaker, teaching others how to grow sustainable food and ornamental plants.

Amalia Dominguez is R&D manager and grower at Costa Farms in Miami. She began her career in Argentina, where she was born and raised. She is currently an annual grower and is conducting breeding and production trials in her area. Propagating seed material or URC to finish growing in containers or trial beds, she joins AAS as a judge for in ground trials at the Miami site, which is ideal for evaluating heat tolerance, disease tolerance and pest susceptibility.

Amy Gonzalez earned a B.S. in Genetics and Plant Biology at the University of California Berkeley. She joined Syngenta in 2007 as an Assistant Plant Scientist in Vegetables with a focus on Peppers. In 2012, Amy moved to Flowers and worked as a Trial Coordinator for both Marketing and Breeding for several years. Responsibilities included coordinating not only breeding trials, but CAST plant material as well as external trials. She now is the Vegetalis Product Manager for the Americas.

A University of Delaware alumnus, Andrew holds a B.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences and Agriculture and Natural Resources, with a minor in Landscape Horticulture and Design. His background includes experience as a UDBG intern and urban forestry research under Dr. Tara Trammell. Andrew manages the maintenance and curation of the UDBG living collection and plant nursery. He also leads the summer internship program, providing the hands-on training necessary for careers in the green industry.

Bill Errickson is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent in Monmouth County with a focus on nursery, turfgrass, and agricultural innovation. He has worked in various aspects of the agricultural sector for the past 15 years, including operating his own diversified farm in coastal Maine and growing bare-root nursery stock for Fedco Trees. He has led courses focused on sustainable agriculture and soil fertility for commercial growers, homeowners, and college students throughout New Jersey and New England. Bill is currently completing a Doctoral degree in Plant Biology from Rutgers University and holds a M.S. in Soil Science from the University of New Hampshire, as well as a B.S. in Biology from Stockton University.

Camille Newsom is the Research Coordinator at UT Gardens Jackson, part of the West TN AgResearch and Education Center. Camille is passionate about horticulture and connecting people with plants through public gardens. She enjoys growing a wide variety of annuals, perennials, and vegetables at UT Gardens.

Caroline Blanchard received a BS in Plant and Soil Systems from Louisiana State University and an MS in Horticulture at Auburn University. She returned to the LSU AgCenter in 2025 as the Ornamental Trials Coordinator for the Hammond Research Station. She is responsible for curating the plant collection and coordinating the ornamental trials at the Hammond Research Station.

Dr. Chad Miller is an assistant professor of landscape and ornamental horticulture in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. He teaches two plant identification courses at CSU. He is the director of the annual and perennial trial gardens, along with the perennial demonstration garden at CSU. He holds a research and service/extension appointment. For these programs, his focus is on evaluation and species improvement to work towards increasing sustainable, environmentally conscious plant selections that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also are more adapted (e.g., heat, drought, pest tolerances) for efficient and responsible production practices for the Colorado Horticulture Green Industry and the broader horticulture industry.

Dr. Christine Coker has worked in edible horticulture for over 24 years. After earning a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Auburn University in 2001, she began her career in research and Extension in Urban Horticulture at Mississippi State University’s Coastal Research and Extension Center. As Research Leader of the Beaumont Horticultural Unit, Christine conducted variety trials of vegetables, cut flowers, and other crops. She is the Station Coordinator of the Hammond Research Station and State Extension Vegetable Specialist.

Cindy Roberts graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, where she studied Plant Breeding and Floriculture, and worked in the Penn State Flower Trial Gardens. After graduation, she managed a 50-acre greenhouse in eastern Pennsylvania. Cindy was the Managing Partner responsible for Planning, Production, and Purchasing of hard goods and plant materials. In 2024, Cindy was hired by Ernst Benary of North America as the Area Sales Manager for the Northeast USA and Canada.

Connie Dam-Byl is the Flower Seed Manager for William Dam Seeds in Dundas, Ontario Canada. She graduated from Sheridan College for Fashion Design and Production and later became accredited as a Floral Design Judge with the Garden Clubs of Ontario. Connie oversees the flower trials and designs the display beds for William Dam Seeds. She devotes a lot of her time speaking to garden clubs and horticulture societies about new seed varieties each season. Connie has been a Cool Season Judge for All-America Selections since 2011. She is currently a judge for the Ornamental Seed trial.

Dana Freeman is the Horticulture Program Coordinator for Nebraska Extension in Douglas-Sarpy Counties. She leads the largest group of Extension Master Gardeners in the state and loves working with an awesome group of volunteers. Dana enjoys identifying plant and pest problems for the public and answering their wide variety of lawn and gardening questions. She is also passionate about gardening with children and engaging the next generation of environmental stewards. Dana began assisting Scott Evans and John Porter with AAS Ornamental & Edible trials in 2018 and became the Edible judge in 2024.

Denise has been with Smith Gardens since 2009 as Trials and Planning Manager.  In this role she is responsible for choosing genetics and coordinating production planning across four greenhouse facilities on the Pacific Coast. She manages the planning of over 4,700 line items and 32 brands. With her great knowledge of genetics and eye for what works for the consumer, Denise has been selected to sit on multiple Grower Councils for big-box retailers. She is an AAS Herbaceous Perennial judge since 2016.

Denise Schreiber was the Greenhouse Manager and horticulturist for Allegheny County Parks for twenty seven years. She supervised growing of approximately 300,000 plants in different greenhouse locations for the county parks system. Those greenhouses produced the majority of the plants for over 12,000 acres of parkland. Denise designed the flower beds that embellished the landscape.

Dennis Ferlito is currently the Facility Manager for Bejo Seeds, Inc in Geneva NY. He manages a 309 acre vegetable research and product development farm that conducts trials for breeding, market development, dealer training and promotion. He is involved in trial planning, implementation, growing and conducting trial evaluations for Breeders, Product and Market development. He has also worked closely with researchers at Cornell University. Growing vegetables has been a lifelong passion for Dennis. In 2014 Dennis became an AAS Vegetable Judge. He is currently a judge for the Edible Trial.

Doug Cole is the President of D.S. Cole Growers and Chairman of New Hampshire Land and Community Investment Program. He is a member of America in Bloom and Past President of OFA. D.S. Cole is the first North American grower to be certified under Dutch standards to be a sustainable grower. In 2014 Doug joined the All-America Selections Council of Judges as an Ornamental Vegetative Judge.

Ella graduated in 2023 with a degree in Environmental Science from the University of Minnesota – Morris. She worked for the Conservation Corps during the summer of 2023 out of Duluth, MN. She began her career in horticulture shortly after that term as the horticulture researcher at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, MN. Her responsibilities are centered around conducting and evaluating trials for annuals, perennials, shrubs, and vegetables. The WCROC’s horticulture facilities consist of two greenhouses, a four-acre public display garden, three deer exclosures on site, and a high tunnel.

Emily Moore is the Director of Horticultural Research at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris, MN. Emily coordinates and manages plant trials for annuals, perennials, roses, shrubs, veggies, and herbs at the WCROC. Emily first got the trial bug from a special project during an internship at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens while she was an undergraduate student at University of Wisconsin-River Falls. After receiving her B.S. in horticulture, she went on to the University of Minnesota to complete her M.S. in Applied Plant Science with a Plant Breeding and Genetics focus.

Biography coming soon!

Growing up in Tulsa, Heather Michaelson-Hale was raised with an appreciation for flowers and plants. Now that she is the Horticulturist for the Tulsa Parks and Recreation Department, that appreciation is spreading to the citizens of Tulsa. She is responsible for the design and maintenance of the display gardens within 20 municipal parks. On a mission to promote the importance of green spaces, she is focused on improving Tulsa parks by creating public gardens that are more sustainable and add enrichment to the community. Heather joins AAS as an Hebaceous Perennial judge.

Jake Haynes is the Horticulture Agent at the NCSU Catawba County Cooperative Extension. With a Master’s in Plant Biology from NC State University (2019) and a lifelong love of gardening, Jake brings a strong foundation in classical botany, taxonomy, and plant identification. Jake is dedicated to making plant science and horticulture accessible and helping Catawba County residents thrive in all their horticultural endeavors.

Jana graduated from Clemson University in 2021 with a B.S. in Environmental Science. She began her career in horticulture shortly thereafter as the Research and Development Assistant Grower for Costa Farms in Trenton, SC. She continues in her role as the R&D Assistant Grower, and her responsibilities are centered around conducting and evaluating confidential trials for perennial plants.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in Geology and a Technical Certificate in Geographic Information Systems from Roane State Community College. She has worked in various horticulture positions for 15 years in Tennessee and South Carolina including plant production, retail sales, urban horticulture, and as a garden consultant designing and maintaining private gardens. She is a Horticulturist and Collections Manager at UT managing the production and maintenance of the living plant collections and responsible for resarch trial production, plant labeling, garden mapping, and maintaining plant databases.

Jenny Kuhn has spent the majority of her career at C. Raker & Sons in seed related areas. She has been involved as a seed operator, seed purchasing, marketing, sales, database management and program development. Jenny has worked in trials by evaluating and making varietal selections for Raker. Currently, she is a product specialist with an emphasis on seed propagated annuals. Items are included in their programs based on her observations of trials, work with breeding companies and customer feedback. Jenny has been a Bedding Plant and Flower Judge for All-America Selections since 2010. She is currently a judge for the Ornamental Seed Trial.

Jesse Dahl is Senior Horticulturist at The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky where he is responsible for planning, planting, designing and supervsing a crew of full-time, seasonal workers and volunteers on 20 acres of horticulture display gardens. He earned his B.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences from the University of Idaho. He has worked as a groundskeeper at The University of Idaho Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Horticulturist at The Morton Arboretum, and Arboretum Horticulturist and now Senior Horticulturist at The Arboretum State Botanical Garden of Kentucky. Jesse joins AAS as an Ornamental Seed Judge.

Jessie Liebenguth has a BS in Horticulture from Iowa State University. Her experience includes working with annuals and evaluating trial materials at Reiman Gardens in Ames, Iowa. She has worked extensively trialing roses at Reiman Gardens, the botanic garden of Iowa State University. Their aim is to educate the public on new and exciting developments in the world of plant genetics by including new plants in their landscape design. Jessie has been a judge for All-America Selections since 2012. She is judge for the Ornamental Seed, Perennial and Edible trials.

Jesus Benitez is the Grower at the Gardens at Ball and supervises cultural trials for Ball Horticultural in West Chicago, Illinois. Jesus’s interest in agriculture was influenced by his small hometown of Aibonito, Puerto Rico, otherwise known as the City of Flowers, where plants are a big deal and a part of everyday life. Being raised in such an environment led Jesus to earn his BS degree in Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences from the University of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. It is here where his attention to detail and competitiveness took off, whether it was growing the largest pumpkin in a friendly competition or getting first prize for his research paper on sustainable farming in small / low-income communities. As the Grower for the Gardens at Ball, Jesus is responsible for sowing and growing many trials including the AAS trials judged on the Ball Horticultural Grounds. He enjoys the many challenges that are presented to him and loves dealing with the many oddities the horticultural industry provides.

Dr. John Ruter teaches classes in plant identification and environmental issues in horticulture and serves as Director of the University of Georgia Trial Gardens. He completed his Ph.D. in Horticultural Science at the University of Florida in 1989. His research and extension activities are focused on nursery crop production and plant breeding and selection for the southeastern United States. Dr. Ruter has published over 400 scientific and popular articles and has received various academic awards and honors. In 2014, Dr. Ruter became a Flower Judge for All-America Selections. He is currently an Ornamental Seed Judge.

Joy grew up working in her family’s greenhouse and nursery business in central Maine where she developed a love for growing plants. She received a degree in Plant Sciences from Cornell University with a concentration in Plant Pathology and Plant Genetics and Breeding. In 2015, Joy joined the research department at Johnny’s Selected Seeds and has worked as part of the Squash and Pumpkin breeding team, as a vegetable Product Technician and most recently as the Product Technician for flowers. Joy joins AAS as an Herbaceous Perennial Judge and an Ornamental Seed Judge.

Growing up on a mixed farm, Joyce went through the 4-H Gardening program before becoming a certified organic market gardener. Joyce has worked at Veseys Seed since 2006, working as an assistant for the AAS trials for most of those years. At Veseys, she works on the trials team, as well as in seed packaging and the retail store, where she handles sales and answers growers’ questions.

Karen Daubmann is the Director of Garden and Programs for Massachusetts Horticultural Society, starting this post in March 2022. Prior to MHS, Karen served in a variety of roles at The New York Botanical Garden for 15 years, culminating in her role as Vice President for Exhibitions and Audience Engagement. She served as Director of Horticulture at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA for 5 years, and as lead horticulturist at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI. Karen’s coursework in Landscape Architecture and Ornamental Horticulture at the University of Rhode Island as well as Public Garden Administration from University of Delaware combined with her internships and early work experience – Walt Disney World, Callaway Gardens, East Farm Experimental Station present a broad view of horticulture emphasizing visitor engagement in understanding the plant world.

Kate Grundle has an associate degree in Horticulture and over 10yrs in the industry as a private landscaper, greenhouse worker, and arborist. She was a seasonal employee at the botanical gardens for three years and is thrilled to be the full time trial gardener starting in 2024.

Kayla received her BS in Biology from Appalachian State University in 2014. Kayla joined Metrolina Greenhouses R&D Department in 2017 specializing in data collection. She currently manages trial coordination of both current and experimental varieties and organization of all collected data.

In May 2015, Pure Line Seeds started their first field trials geared specifically towards fresh market vegetables. This was done not only to allow PLS employees a chance to look at the vegetable varieties they carry but also to let customers see the products. The 2016 Showcase trials included 140 10 x 10 ft. plots with 19 different vegetables and over 120 different varieties. Kirsten Rosen is the manager of these field trials and an AAS Edible – Vegetable Judge.

Kristi Challender graduated from Lansing Community College in 2006 with an Associate’s degree in Landscape Architecture. In 2001 she was hired at Raker’s in Litchfield, MI and has been involved with their trials since that time. She supervises the moisture management/feeding and pest/disease control during the summer. Kristi sows, transplants and cares for the AAS Trials where she oversees the crop from start to finish. Kristi is an AAS judge for the Cool Season Bedding Plant Trial and the Ornamental Vegetative Trial.

Kristine Lang is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Consumer Horticulture at South Dakota State University. She has worked in private-sector, university, and non-profit organizations related to horticulture throughout her career. At SDSU, Kristine is leading the development and distribution of environmentally sound best management practices for ornamental landscapes and vegetable crop production on small farms. She provides support to Master Gardeners, consumers, McCrory Gardens, and specialty crop farmers within South Dakota.

Landon received his BS in Horticulture from Murray State University and his MS in Plant and Soil Science From University of Kentucky. Landon previously worked as a Horticulturist and Senior Horticulturist and Cantigny Park in Wheaton Illinois, where he designed and maintained 5-10 acres of perennial and annual gardens as well as many container displays. He briefly worked at a private landscape design company as a perennial garden designer before joining Ball Horticultural Company in September 2023 as the Display Gardens Horticulturist.

Mark has vast experience in the commercial sector of the agricultural industry as a former employee of Tanimura and Antle. He has shown dedicated service to Sakata Seed America as Farming Operations Coordinator. Mark has grown the AAS trials in Salinas since 2008. He joined the AAS as a Judge for the 2015 AAS Edible Trial.

Mark Konlock holds bachleors degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison as well as in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls.  He was a consulting engineer for 3.5 years before realizing engineering was not his passion so he returned to college to study horticulture. He served briefly as an Extension agent in Walworth County, Wisconsin; worked at a wholesale greenhouse; evaluated seed germination tests; labored on a fruit research farm; and created a yard waste recycling program in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, before taking his current position as Director of Horticulture at Green Bay Botanical Garden (GBBG) in 2005.  During his tenure, the garden has expanded by 7 acres and increased the plant collection by 1,571 taxa and almost 26,000 plants.  In recent years, the garden has expanded into horticultural science by becoming part of the northern Earth-Kind observational rose trial program and evaluated annual seed and vegetative crops for Ball Horticulture.  Mark has judged the Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association awards and writes one of the Hot Plant features for Wisconsin Gardening magazine.

Mary Lewis is a breeder with Syngenta Flowers at their Gilroy, CA location. Graduating from UGA in 2021 with her PhD in Horticulture and Ornamental plant breeding, she joined Syngenta and took over the breeding for a variety of seed and vegetative crops. In 2024 she accepted GPN’s 40 under 40 award, though was stressing the entire time that she’d miss the selection window for her zinnia crop (she made it. It was fine).

Megan Proska is the Director of Horticulture at the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Society in Dallas, Texas. Megan started out with a love for plants at an early age and started volunteering at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas when she was 12. Throughout the years she continued her love for horticulture and went on to receive a B.S. double major in Horticulture and Entomology at Texas A&M University. After graduating she was awarded a fellowship to work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, working in the temperate zone of the nursery for their glasshouse collections. Once back in the States Megan became a certified arborist and worked for a small tree nursery in Fort Worth. Looking to get back into public gardening she started her career at The Dallas Arboretum in 2014 as a supervisor of the Lay Family garden and advancing her career to take on the children’s garden, the trials program, and the main garden. The trials team at the Arboretum take data on over 7000 entries each year and are at the forefront of looking for the best plants to take on the hot Texas climate.

Melissa joined the Mast Young Plants team in 2022 after completing her MS in plant breeding, genetics and biotechnology from Michigan State University. Melissa is currently the innovating manager, conducting trials for various breeders and internally for MYP and NMG. She joins AAS as a judge for the container trials in both ornamental seed and ornamental non-seed.

Biography coming soon!

Graduating with a bachelors in wildlands conservation from Brigham Young University, Nancy has an incredible passion for growing in the greenhouse or in her own home. Nancy has worked 8 years directly with consumers in a high end independent garden center before coming to Olson’s Greenhouse.

Naomi joined West Coast Seeds in 2008, and is currently the Purchasing Coordinator, researching, selecting, and sourcing new varieties. Naomi has conducted trials for West Coast Seeds and is excited to add the AAS Trials to her responsibilities. She is also an avid gardener and enjoys growing many varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers in her own garden and greenhouse. Naomi joins AAS as a judge for the Ornamental Seed In-Ground, Ornamental Seed Container, Ornamental Non-Seed In-Ground and Ornamental Non-Seed Container trials.

Natasha has worked at PanAmerican Seed since 2021 as the Product Development Trials Manager. She has been a plant person since childhood, helping her grandma in the garden. Today, Natasha focuses on evaluating various vegetable trials to introduce new and unique products.

Noe has been a grower for more the 30 years on full Production and Breeding Trial Stations. Responsible for coordinating production planning and finish growing in greenhouse hoophouses and shade areas with a great knowledge of genetics and eye for what works for the consumer.

Owen Vanstone is an owner of Vanstone Nurseries, a 50 acre nursery operation located in Manitoba.  The company produces a wide range of hardy perennials, shrubs and roses as well as a growing line of herbs, vegetables, and annuals.  Owen has also been an extension horticulture instructor at some regional colleges and has served in an advisory capacity at these institutions. He is also a member of several organizations. Vanstone Nurseries has been involved in trialing and testing new varieties for a number of years. Owen joined the AAS Council of Judges in 2016 as a Herbaceous Perennial Judge.

Pam Bennett is an Associate Professor for Ohio State University Extension and is the State Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator as well as Horticulture Educator and Director in Clark County Ohio. She has a BS in Landscape Horticulture and an MS in Human and Community Resource Development from Ohio State University. Pam specializes in herbaceous ornamental plant trials and evaluates more than 200 varieties of annuals and perennials yearly. She presents programs on annuals and perennials as well as other landscape topics. In 2010, Pam won a national award from the National Association of Agriculture Agents. She has been a Bedding Plant, Flower, and Cool Season Judge for All-America Selections since 2012. Starting in 2015 Pam became an Ornamental Seed Trial judge and she is a Herbaceous Perennial Trial judge.

Patty Buskirk is the managing partner for both Seeds by Design and Terra Organics located in Maxwell, California, where since 1994, she has overseen all the day-to-day administration, research, development, marketing and production activities. She attended CSU Chico as an Agronomy and Ag Business major. Immediately after college she worked at Northrup King in Gilroy, CA and then at NPI/Western Hybrid Seed in northern California. After being employed in the seed industry for over 30 years, she considers herself a “dinosaur” in the seed industry. She loves the everyday challenges and ever-changing world of seed production, research and trialing. In 2013 Patty was appointed as a Vegetable Judge for All-America Selections, and added the Ornamental Seed Trial in 2017.

Paul Stratton is an experienced horticulturist with a demonstrated history of working in the recreational facilities and services industry. Skilled in customer service, Microsoft Word, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint, retail, sales, landscape design, soil composition, pesticide application, hardscaping, project prioritization, and crew training. Strong operations professional with an Associate of Science (A.S.) focused in Botany/Plant Biology from NorthWest Arkansas Community College.

Rebecca is the Product Manager of West Coast Seed Company in Canada. Her role encompasses managing the vegetable, herb, and flower seed assortment, inventory and seed quality, and overseeing the field and greenhouse variety trials. She has been growing AAS varieties since she started a small farm in Washington state in 1999. Her transition to work in the seed industry began in 2010 with positions in product development and commercial grower sales, which included many years of organizing and evaluating research trials. The search for new varieties is at the core of her work and introducing growers to new favorites is the best part.

Since 1986, Richard Hawke has been the Plant Evaluation Manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The Plant Evaluation Program is one of the largest and most diverse in the nation and received the Award for Program Excellence from the American Public Garden Association in 2008.

Rod received his BS in marketing from Indiana Univeristy and completed his greenhouse trade study at DuPage Horticulture School in West Chicago, IL. He managed the potted and cut chrysanthemum range in Louisville, KY before joining Pan American Plant Company to manage and relocate Super Seedlings from IL to Parrish, FL. He owned and operated a wholesale greenhouse for finished annuals in Florida, was president of Grimes Horticulture, and is now at Lake Metroparks Farmpark.

Rodger Tschanz is a University of Guelph plant agriculture technician for the Bovey Greenhouse and manages the trial garden at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute. He received his MS degree from the University of Guelph. Rodger started as an All-America Selections Judge in 2005 and is now an Ornamental Seed, Ornamental Vegetative and Perennial Trial Judge.

Ryan has been growing with the horticulture and floral industry since 1986. His experience ranges from floral shop ownership, floral deisgner, grower, production manager and worked hands on in about every part of the business. Before coming back to his childhood hometown, Ryan was the head grower and production manager at Weidner’s Gardens in California. Trying out new varieties is something he’s worked with in several positions throughout the years. Ryan’s specialty is vegetative annuals and loves designing containers. Ryan served on the San Diego Flower and Plant Association Board of Directors for 4 years.

Scooter Langley earned a B.S. in Horticulture in 2006 from Sam Houston State University. Scooter currently works for Lee College Huntsville, TX as the Lead Horticulture Instructor. As an instructor, he provide instruction to students for various labor and/or technical skills through classroom instruction, demonstration and practical exercises. His facility consist of 3 greenhouses, 2 state of the art aquaponics systems and 2 acres of Nursery Area. He oversees the cultivation and maintenance of plants and crops such as annual flowers and veggies, perennials, and aquatic plants. He was award the Therapeutic Garden of the year in 2017 by the National Garden Bureau.

Scott Langlois is the facility manager and research associate at the Mississippi State University South Miss Branch Experiment Station (SMBES) in Poplarville. Scott earned a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Miss State University and has worked at this location since 2004 after 17 years working at both Texas Instruments in Dallas and Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi. Scott is an avid gardener and oversees the trial gardens at the SMBES.

Steve Bellavia is a senior product technician at Johnny’s Selected seeds.  He began his career with Johnny’s in 1993 as a call center representative and moved into the commercial sales department the following year. In 1997 Steve transitioned into the research department, where he has since conducted field work on nearly every vegetable crop offered by Johnny’s.  He is particularly passionate about peppers and Asian vegetables. Because a full week of field work on the job doesn’t satisfy all of Steve’s growing and cooking passions, he also takes pride in maintaining a large home garden to grow food for eating year-round.  Steve’s many years of mentorship from former Johnny’s AAS Judge Rob Johnston’s combined with his tenure in the vegetable trialing program makes him the natural choice to become the official vegetable Judge of the company.

Tim Alderton has a BS in Horticultural Science from The Pennsylvania State University. He has been a horticulturist at the JC Raulston Arboretum since 2006,  assisting in the planting and maintenance of the trail gardens. Growing up, Tim helped in his family’s greenhouse in western Pennsylvania, growing and selling annuals. Tim maintains the gardens at the JC Raulston Arboretum and has an extensive knowledge of both woody and herbaceous plants from around the world.