Ex-Officio Members

Standing Ex-Officio Members:

Pending – (Texas Department of Agriculture representative)
Pat Berry – (Texas State Florists’ Association representative)
Amit Dhingra (TAMU, Department of Horticultural Sciences)
Amy Graham – (Texas Nursery and Landscape Association representative)
Jim Ellison – (retired, Ellison’s Greenhouses, Inc.

Former rotating members with Ex-Officio status:

Ken Altman – (Altman Plants and Center for Applied Horticultural Research)
Jan Couch – (Syngenta, Inc. representative) –
Bill Foster (BioWorks)
Lela Kelly – (Dosatron International, Inc.)
Dan Lineberger (TAMU, Department of Horticultural Sciences)
Justin Marotta – (Possum Run Greenhouses)
Martha Trubey – (Berger Peat Moss)
Wanda Weder – (Highland Supply Corporation)

pending

Lindsay Baerwald

Texas Department of Agriculture

Experienced Event Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the public sector. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Event Planning, Adult Education, Staff Development, and Educational Leadership. Strong operations professional with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) focused in Music Education from Ouachita Baptist University. Currently serving as Marketing Coordinator at Texas Department of Agriculture.

Pat Berry

Texas State Florists’ Association

Owner of Vickery Wholesale Greenhouse, in business since 1952, with locations in Dallas and Austin. Graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, with a BA in Philosophy. Born and raised in Dallas, TX and currently a resident of Round Rock, TX. Past President of the Texas State Florists Association and former Growers Council member of SAF. Answered ad in the newspaper in 1978 and hired at Vickery. Was gifted 49% ownership of Vickery in 1982. Bought out original owner/founder to become sole owner in 1987.

Amit Dhingra

Texas A&M University
Department of Horticultural Sciences

Amit Dhingra is the Head of the Department of Horticultural Sciences, Professor of Genomics and Biotechnology, and Senior Scientist at the Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University.

The Dhingra research program investigates important biological processes in specialty crops relevant to the current and future needs of agriculture. The knowledge gained is translated to crop improvement through various approaches. He has trained 17 graduate students and several post-doctoral scientists, and over a hundred undergraduate students, and in 2017, he was awarded the Council on Undergraduate Research National Biology Mentor award. He has published more than 85 high impact peer-reviewed journal articles. He serves on the editorial board of five internationally reputed plant science journals. He has been awarded three US and three international patents on regulating ripening in fruits to reduce post-harvest wastage. Dr. Dhingra’s research has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, BBC, The Times of London, and several other news outlets.

Amit founded Phytelligence Inc., an agriculture biotechnology spin-off out of his lab in 2011. He has recently started his second start-up, Qualterra Inc. (www.qualterraag.com), an agricultural technology company that is creating innovations for agriculture and sustainability. He is also involved with Moolec Science (https://moolecscience.com/), a plant-based, alternative protein production company that was recently listed on Nasdaq, and Ryp Labs (https://www.ryplabs.com/), a post-harvest technology start-up, in the capacity of their Chief Science Officer.

Additional information about Dr. Dhingra’s professional activities can be obtained at
Research website – https://genomics.wsu.edu/category/news/ and
https://hortsciences.tamu.edu/people/faculty-2/amit-dhingra/
LinkedIN – https://linkedin.com/in/amitdhingraphd

Jan Couch

Syngenta, Inc.

Graduate of Texas A&M University in Horticulture. Graduated Summa cum Laude Winner of student paper based on research project “Rapid Graft Propagation of American Hybrid Grapes” at ASHS Southern Region Conference. Began work as an agricultural sales rep for Stauffer Chemical Company. In the field of Horticulture have worked with Smither’s Oasis, Scotts, Uniroyal/Chemtura. Work with Syngenta customers as Ornamental Sales Specialist for 8 states. Extensive experience advising greenhouse and nursery growers on the use of plant growth regulators and crop protection products in the South. Past State Chair of the Education Committee of The Texas Nursery and Landscape Assn and current Education Committee member, former TNLA regional officer and board member, Steering Committee member for Southwest Growers Conference. Member and committee chair person with the Native Plant Society of Texas Boerne Chapter, mentor with Maples for Boerne project and active in Cibolo Nature Center. Hobbies—Wildlife and vegetable gardening, cooking, pets.

Jim Ellison

Retired, Ellison’s Greenhouses, Inc.

Mr. Jim Ellison served as President of Ellison’s Greenhouses, Inc. for a number of years until his retirement. He received a BS in Agri-Business at New Mexico State University. He is President of the Brenham Country Club, life member of Texas State Florist Association and involved with Rotary International and Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Jim’s Texas A&M University activities include TAMU College of Ag. Development Council, TAMU Research Foundation Council and Capital Campaign.

Amy Graham

Texas Nursery and Landscape Association

President, Texas Nursery and Landscape Association.

Lela Kelly

Dosatron International, Inc.

Lela Kelly has owned a greenhouse operation in Long Island, New York for over 11 years. Lela devotes much of her time to the horticultural industry by serving on boards such as FIRST (Floriculture Industry Research Scholarship Trust) and OFA (Ohio Florists’ Association). Lela’s business responsibilities include traveling the US doing trade shows and Dosatron maintenance seminars for growers. Lela and her husband, Eddy Kelly own Dosatron International, Inc. located in Clearwater, FL. Lela was an Advisory Committee Rotating Member from 2004 until 2012.

Wanda Weder

Highland Supply Corporation

Owner, Highland Supply Corporation. Highland Supply Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer of floral packaging solutions. Founded in 1937, HSC has been an innovative force in floral packaging for nearly seven decades. Our founder, Erwin Weder, introduced decorative foil to florists in the early years – demonstrating that decorated potted plants sold more quickly and for a higher price than plain items. That watershed moment was the beginning of a legacy filled with innovation: Beauty Corsage Bags, Plastifoil® florists foil, Clearphane® film, Speed Covers®, Speed Sheets®, SizzlePak® shred and many more. Today, that spirit of innovation continues with Monza* & Tessera* plant wrapping sheets and rolls, Gossamer Cloth® and Flora Fuente® flexible vases. Developing packaging solutions to enhance and upgrade your potted plants and flowers is what Highland Supply does best. We’ve been helping our customers succeed since 1937.

Martha Trubey

Berger Peat Moss

Enjoy working with Berger, St. Modeste, Quebec, Canada, since 1997 as a Technical Sales Representative in North Central Texas. Advise commercial greenhouse growers in solving cultural problems while assisting with media, tissue, water and fertilizer analysis. Serve as Member of TNLA Education Committee since 2010. Serve as a Sales Judge for Ag. Business class at Texas A&M University since 1989, and enjoy working as Horticulture Advisory Committee member as Skyline Eco-Tech Cluster, Dallas, TX, since 2008. HOBBIES: cycling, gardening, reading, hiking and playing the piano. EDUCATION: B.S. in Horticultural Science, Minor in Business, December 1985, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.