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board directory

PRESIDENT

Nita Jo Rountree

VICE PRESIDENTS

Hans Mandt

Ray Larson

Lisa Irwin

RECORDING SECRETARY

Lee C. Neff

CORRESPONDING/PUBLICITY SECRETARY

Joyce Hawkins

TREASURER

Ann LeVasseur

PAST PRESIDENT

Greg Graves

ADVISORY BOARD

Barbara Asmervig

Richard A. Brown

Anita Dunn

Valerie Easton

Richard W. Hartlage

Dan Hinkley

Duane Kelly

Jens Molbak

Maryann Pember

Pat Riehl

Richie Steffen

Wendy Wells

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dan Corson (2008-2010, First Term)
Dan works as an artist and his work straddles the disciplines of art, theatrical design, architecture and landscape architecture.  His large-scale public projects range from railway stations and busy public intersections to quiet interpretive buildings and meditation chambers.  Professionally he sits on the Seattle Arts Commission and is Co-chair of the office of Art and Cultural Affairs Public Art Committee for the City of Seattle. He has been a passionate gardener since his youth. His own garden won second place in the 2006 Arboretum/Seattle Flower and Garden Show competition.

Tam Crocker (2007-2009, First Term)
Tam returned to the Puget Sound area in 1993 from Yakima where she had been the manager of the Yakima Symphony and the office manager for Sundquist Fruit.  She built a retirement home in Olympia on 3 acres that she landscaped for one person to tend until they are 80, but she says the jury is still out on this concept.  Tam took the Master Gardener classes and attended horticulture classes at South Puget Sound for 2 years finding that gardening on this side of the mountains was different.  She is currently the lead gardener for Closed Loop Park where she began a program to trial Great Plant Picks plants.

Sue Dickson (2008-2010, First Term)
Sue arrived in Seattle about 20 years ago and after many years in the same job returned to school for a career change. She went through the Horticultural program at EDCC and for the last 3 years has had her own garden design business, The Artful Garden. Sue has a background in ceramic art and basketry but gardening allows her to indulge her passion for plants. This passion became a focus for her when she bought her home in the Rainier Valley 9 years ago.  2008 will be the second year that Sue has do-chaired the Annual Fall Plant Sale.

Lorene Edwards Forkner (2008-2010, Second Term)
A garden designer, writer, and speaker, Lorene co-founded and is now the sole owner of Fremont Gardens, a small specialty nursery in Seattle now in its ninth year. A two-time gold-medal winner at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, Lorene gardens in West Seattle.  She is currently one of the NHS representatives on the Pacific Horticulture board.

Greg Graves (2008-2010, Second Term)
Greg’s twenty-four year history with Burlington Northern Railroad is the only thing that held him back from being a full-time gardener from the get go. After completing the program in landscape design and ornamental horticulture at Edmonds, Greg became the head gardener at the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden. Greg’s passion for the educational program at NHS led him to joining the board as chair of the education committee, which he has chaired for four years in addition to being the NHS president for 2005 and 2006.

Colette Highberger (2008-2010, First Term)
Colette was raised in Ballard but moved to NYC in 1979 to pursue a career in dance which changed to fashion. She worked in mid-town Manhattan until she decided to return to Seattle in 1990. She worked in the theatre and for a small clothing boutique downtown. About 5 years ago she attended a garden open at Heronswood and she says it changed her life. She enrolled in the Horticulture program at EDCC obtaining a degree in landscape design. She now has her own design, install, maintenance business.

Lisa Irwin (2007-2009, First Term)
Lisa Irwin is a garden designer who specializes in using appropriate design, suitable plants, and organic gardening methods. Trained as an artist, her first career focused on hand-painted photography, subsidized by arts administration. She became a gardener because “Painting from the palette of the earth and experiencing how colors, textures, sounds, and scents change with the seasons gives me immense joy. I became a garden designer because I wanted to share that joy and the knowledge gained with others.”  Lisa fed her horticultural curiosity with numerous seminars, lectures, and classes in horticulture before beginning her design business. She continues to enjoy learning all things horticultural and has been a volunteer at our plant sale and NWF&GS booth. Lisa has one son, one husband, two dogs and two gardens (Seattle & Whidbey Island) that also keep her busy.  Lisa is currently co-chair of the fall plant sale and of the spring epemeral sale.

Ray Larson (2006-2008, First Term)
Ray Larson is a lifelong Seattle resident.  Although he earned bachelors degrees in economics and history (with a minor in art), his lifelong interest in gardening led him to the UW’s Center for Urban Horticulture while still an undergraduate.  He began working there full time shortly after graduation and eventually earned his Master of Science in Urban Horticulture in 2005.  While working on his masters he interned for a year at the Miller Botanical Garden.  He left CUH in mid-2006 after several years as Facilities Coordinator, accepting a new position as Head Gardener at Hill-Crest, the Madison Park home of UW President.  There he is overseeing the renovation of the nearly 1.5 acre garden.  Ray and his wife Acacia live and garden in northeast Seattle.

Hans Mandt (2007-2009, First Term)
Hans was born in Germany, grew up in southwestern Ohio where he graduated from Miami University with a degree in Physics.  During his forty year career as a Computer Scientist he had the dream job of teaching at his Alma Mater for five years. Having gardened most of his adult life, he decided to pursue gardening seriously as his next career. This brought him to NHS (two prior board terms), where he has served on the education committee and developed our enlightening book corner since joining the organization. In his current garden he is attempting to set new planting density records.

Judy Massong (2008-2010, Second Term)
From 1981-1983, Judy was a lobbyist for the Washington State Nurses Association, then the Washington State Trial Lawyer's Association.  Since 1984, she has been in the private practice of law, focusing on civil trial practice. Needless to say, this is a far cry from horticulture.  But she loves to garden and began experimenting in her yard, then became more serious and actually read stuff on the subject. When her friend asked me to help with the NHS's plant sale, I decided to dive in.  Not having as much practical experience in the field, no pun intended, she was assigned signage and parking responsibilities.  Judy says she had a great time working on the sale and really enjoyed the people.  Judy served a term as a member of board several years ago, but left when she became president of the Washington State Trial Lawyer’s Association.  We have been happy to have her back this last year to  and look forward to working with her in the upcoming years.

Gillian Mathews (2007-2009, First Term)
British-born Gillian followed her gardening sister to the United States, where she developed a passion for retail with the Made in Washington chain. Six years ago she established the retail chain Ravenna Gardens. She served on the NHS board for two prior terms with a particular passion for the educational program where she has arranged and is still arranging many fabulous tours.

Renee Montgelas (2006-2008, First Term)
After a 30-year career in planning, public policy and management in the public sector, Renée now wants to explore her many other interests.  At the top of her list are:  more travel, renovating her small but design-challenged Seattle garden, and broadening her horticultural knowledge.  Renée’s involvement with NHS began with volunteering at the 2003-05 plant sales.  Renee is currently working on the tours with Gillian.

Lee Neff (2007-2009, First Term)
Lee was an English Teacher for fifteen years, and chaired an English department, where she taught by helping students learn to edit their own work.  She also taught Journalism, and for ten years advised and edited student newspapers.  Lee has gardened since 1982, taking classes as often as possible, attending lectures, reading widely, and writing about gardening since 1996.  For over 5 years she has edited the Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin, where she had the privilege of meeting many individuals in the horticultural community.  Lee says they taught her something new every minute!  She is currently the NHS recording secretary.

Mary Palmer (2008-2010, First Term)
Mary worked previously as an Architectural Sales Rep and when she was downsized moved into Horticulture. She was bitten by the gardening bug when she first visited Heronswood in the early 90's. She turned this passion into a career by going to work for Bamboo Gardens of Washington and now currently works at Boxhill Farm Nursery in Duvall. Mary uses the down winter months to indulge her other passion which is travel.

Lois Pendleton (2007-2009, First Term)
Lois’ interest in gardening started with nurturing nasturtium seeds as a child in her family’s backyard. With each circuitous turn in her professional career, the focus on gardening and creating beauty with plants has intensified. Her 10-year tenure at Sunset magazine, the work she did on the interactive gardening CD-Rom at Microsoft, and—the pinnacle of it all—her role as producer of the Northwest Flower & Garden Show for two years, fed the passion that continues to expand. Lois loves her seasonal work at Fremont Gardens with Lorene Edwards Forkner, and hopes to grow her own small landscape design enterprise.

Rizaniño Reyes (2008-2010, First Term)
Riz’s interest in plants and gardens began as a young boy growing up in a family fruit plantation in his native Philippines. Immigrating to the US in 1989, he was exposed to a new environment that unveiled an overwhelming diversity of plants he was compelled to learn about and grow on his own. This led him to displays at the NW Flower and Garden Show, a BS degree in Public Horticulture from the University of Washington, and travels in China where he teamed up with renowned plant explorer, Dan Hinkley. Currently working part time as the Soest Perennial Gardener at the UW Botanic Gardens, he plans to continue his various horticultural projects and work for a few years before returning to school to pursue a master’s degree abroad. Riz gardens and runs a small operation, RHR Horticulture, in Shoreline.

Daniel Sparler (2007-2009, First Term)
Even a cursory glance at Daniel’s exuberant jumble of a garden in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood reveals his passion for plants and obsession with collecting cultivars from many climes. Although he has no formal training in horticulture he brings a linguist’s love to the study of botanical nomenclature. After working nearly a decade as a journalist for the Seattle P-I, Daniel has been serving as a full-time high-school teacher (Humanities and Spanish) for the past 17 years. Currently he is about midway through his goal of visiting the world’s major botanical gardens.

Nancy Strahle (2007-2009, Second Term)
Nancy currently tends both sides of her brain by managing her CPA practice and creating beadwork art and projects for the classes she teaches.  Having grown up in Hawaii and lived in the Northwest for the past 20 years, she has both a tropical and temperate understanding of gardening.  Her current home gardens are happily evolving and ever hopeful of receiving more of her split attentions.  To the Board of NHS, Nancy brings many years of experience in founding, managing, and consulting for not-for-profit organizations.

Wendy Welch (2008-2010, First Term)
Wendy has been designing, installing and maintaining gardens in this area for over 10 years. She specializes in container gardening, creating display containers for Swansons Nursery, speaking regularly on the subject and teaching it at EDCC. Her commitment to envionmental stewardship is reflected in her designs as well as in her teaching. In 2004 her display garden 'Rambler Revisited' received a gold medal at the NWFGS.  2008 will be the third year that Wendy has been involved in the design of the NHS exhibit at the NWFGS.

Lois Willman (2006-2008, First Term)
Lois is retired from a varied career with the State of California.  Her passion is to teach people how to grow their own food and the continuation of sustainable small, family farms.  Aside from being a Master Gardener, she is a mentor and instructor for the county GRUB ­ Grow You Own Bounty program, which provides food-growing opportunities to low income families by building raised garden beds and then teaching them how to grow their own vegetables.  She is also Treasurer for the South Sound Seed Stewards which encourages community independence and self-reliance by producing and sharing locally adapted, open pollinated seeds.  She is currently the NHS Membership Committee chair.

© 2004 Northwest Horticultural Society.  This site last updated Wednesday December 05, 2007.