The People
Board of Directors
The following North Carolina residents were elected to serve on the 2012 board of directors for the Friends of Plant Conservation.
President: Paul Hosier, PhD
a professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he has taught and held administrative positions for 36 years. Paul received his B.S. in Biology (Plant emphasis) from New Paltz State University in New York, his M.S. degree in Botany from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and his Ph.D. in Botany from Duke University. His research areas include coastal plant ecology, off-road vehicle use on the coast and coastal geologic processes affecting coastal vegetation. He teaches courses in ecology, coastal management and barrier island ecology. He has held several administrative positions at UNCW, including Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Associate Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and most recently, Provost and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Vice President: Katherine K. Schlosser Communication committee
Education & Programs committee
a masters degree in liberal studies led to a career in human relations and communication. Following retirement, she focused on her passion--plants-- devoting many years to volunteer service in her community and beyond. An author and lecturer, she has served on local and national boards for plant related organizations, and as chair of the National Herb Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D. C. She is the founder of GreenBridges, a national conservation project for individuals, public gardens, and restoration sites. She has lectured across the country on a variety of plant topics, and was selected to receive the Foster Award for Excellence in Herbal Literature for her book, The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking With Herbs (LSU Press, 2007).
She is editor for the Friends of Plant Conservation and NC Native Plant Society newsletters, writes a column on native plants for her local newspaper, and is a regular contributor to other publications.
She serves on the board for the NC Native Plant Society, Friends of Sauratown Mountains, and is the founder and chair of the Triad Chapter of the NC Native Plant Society. She was appointed in November 2010 to the NC Plant Conservation Board to represent the citizens of North Carolina. She also serves as the liaison between the N.C. Plant Conservation Board and Friends of Plant Conservation.
Secretary: Camille Collins
received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Central Florida where she worked on multiple herpetological research projects, most notable was her work with endangered marine sea turtle species. After graduation, she obtained an internship with Seminole County, Florida which opened her eyes to the world of land management, the conservation of endangered plant species, and the constant battle with invasive plant and animal species. In fact, she decided to pursue her M.S. at the University of Central Florida working on impacts of the feral pig (Sus scrofa) as a disturbance agent and seed disperser in Central Florida’s wetlands. Presently, she works at North Carolina State University as a research assistant for the Center of Integrated Pest Management on the Global Pest and Disease Database in cooperation with the USDA.
Treasurer: Kurt Schlimme
Resource Development committee
graduated from Univ.of Michigan with a B.S. in Environmental Policy and from Duke University in 2006 with a Master’s of Environmental Management. His master’s work at Duke University involved leading a study focusing on the effectiveness of sheep grazing in the restoration of the native coastal grassland ecosystem on the Massachusett’s island of Nantucket. Prior to attending Duke, He worked in various positions, including serving as a Deputy Shellfish Constable with the Town of Wellfleet on Cape Cod, working with USGS on a California spotted owl research project in Yosemite National Park, and serving for a year with AmeriCorps Cape Cod, an environmental service program dedicated to the conservation, protection, and restoration of Cape Cod’s natural environment. Kurt currently serves as the Director of Stewardship for the Eno River Association in Durham.
Policy & Governance: Mark Rose
operated a certified orchid nursery from 1965 until 2007. He developed an orchid breeding program in 1969 and has produced thousands of successful hybrids. He serves as a speaker and consultant on orchid culture and hybridization, native wildflowers, having made more than 600 presentations to orchid societies, garden clubs and professional organizations across the U.S. and Canada. He has written articles for various journals over the years. He served as a founding member, past Treasurer, and currently serves as President of the Native Orchid Conference, Inc., a national non-profit organization with meetings held across the U.S. and Canada. During his professional career, he has been recognized with many honors including awards from the American Orchid Society and Royal Horticulture Society, Eastern Orchid Congress, and was the recipient of the Holland Trophy (an international competition sponsored by the Dutch Embassy) in the 1993 inaugural competition and in 1995, 1996 and 1998. He is an active member of several professional organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Native Plant Society. In 2006, he was appointed by the Governor to the N.C. Plant Conservation Board representing North Carolina's citizen conservation organizations and was elected it's Chairperson in July 2010.
Resource Development: Mike Kunz
born and raised in Littleton, Colorado. He obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Environmental, Populations and Organismic Biology. His research focused on plant ecology and invasive plants in the Rocky Mountains, short grass prairie and the desert grasslands of Arizona. Before moving to North Carolina, he taught high school science in Denver, Colorado. Here in North Carolina, he has held the position of Conservation Ecologist since 2005 and works on the in situ and ex situ conservation of rare plants in the Southeastern United States, land management and protection, outreach and education.
Education & Programs: Andy Wood
B.S. degree in Wildlife and Fishery Science from Texas A&M University in 1981. He is currently the Education Director for Audubon North Carolina, a post he began in October 2000. Prior to his post with Audubon, he served for 13 years as the Education Curator for the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. In addition, Andy is a member of the Non-game Wildlife Advisory Committee for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. He is also a founding Steering Committee member for the N.C. Birding Trail-an initiative designed to enhance and develop bird-related tourism to help support sustainable tourism opportunities in North Carolina, with a focus on economically distressed communities. In addition to his education work Andy is the principle investigator for the propagation and study of two rare freshwater snails, both endemic to southeastern North Carolina. From 1987 to the present, Andy has reported his observations in nature as a weekly radio commentator on Wilmington’s public radio station WHQR, and a compilation of this work has recently been published in Andy’s first book: Backyard Carolina: Two Decades of Public Radio Commentary. Andy and his wife, Sandy, live in Hampstead, N.C. with their two sons, Robin and Carson.
Membership: Dale Batchelor
after a 20-year career in communications and adult education, Dale drew from a lifelong love of gardening and her rural Eastern North Carolina heritage to begin a second career in the green industry. She is the founder of Gardener by Nature LLC, a company offering garden design and consultation services emphasizing native plants and organic culture. Her display garden, co-created and tended with her husband, John L. Thomas, is a native plant habitat recognized by the North Carolina Native Plant Society and a certified National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat.
Dale’s desire to learn more about plants native to the Southeastern U. S. led to her enrollment (ongoing) in the North Carolina Botanical Garden Native Plant Certification program. Her native plant studies have been greatly enhanced by the opportunity to learn from Robert and Julia Mackintosh as a Friend of the Reid Garden.
Dale advocates for native plants and wildlife gardening as a member of the Native Plant Society’s Speakers Bureau, as a Habitat Steward for the National Wildlife Federation, and as a writer focusing on native plants for Triangle Gardener Magazine.
Education & Programs: Jean Woods
Serve as Education Chair for the North Carolina Native Plant Society.
Served 2 terms on the Board of the Catawba Lands Conservancy where I was Chair of the Stewardship Committee. As Chair, we monitored and looked after ~7,000 acres of conserved and owned property. Along with a group of volunteers we walked each property every year, making sure that the conservation values of the property were still intact and taking appropriate action when any problems were encountered. We also reviewed all pending conservation easements and acquisitions for possible stewardship problems.
Served on the Stewardship Advisory Council for Mecklenburg County. We served as citizen advisers for the Stewardship Services of Parks and Rec.
Worked for DuPont for 24 years as a software project manager. After leaving DuPont I had my own business for 15 years supporting small businesses with their computer needs.
I am a Master Composter and teach composting classes. I lead native plant walks for CLC and other organizations. I am on the speaker's list for NCNPS, giving talks on native plants and wise gardening practices.
I have a BA in Mathematics and a Masters of Pastoral Studies.
At Large: Bob Shepherd
Bob Shepherd was born and reared in Ashe County, N.C. He graduated from NCSU and received a masters degree (Economics) from Kansas State University. He served as a Lieutenant in the Army Reserve. Following five years with the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., he began a career in regional planning and development, retiring in 2002. Since retiring, he has served as Interim Manager of Maggie Valley, Columbus and Tryon. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the HomeTrust Bank since 1987, where he chairs the Audit Committee.
His church and civic service has included chairmanship of numerous boards and committees. He has also served as Asheville District Lay Leader of the UMC, member of the Reorganization Task Force of the WNC Conference of the UMC, and officer of Meals on Wheels and the American Red Cross.
His current service includes: chairman of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Givens Estates United Methodist Retirement Community, the Annual Fund of RiverLink and Co-Lay Leader of Acton UMC as well as Director of the UMC General Board of Global Ministries.
His public service has been recognized by the following awards: Circle of Excellence by the Leadership Asheville Forum, Outstanding Rural Leader by the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, the Federal Co-Chairman's Award by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Benchmark Award by the Land-of-Sky Regional Council, and the Critical Link Award by RiverLink.
At Large: C. Bruce Williams, PhD
President 2008-2011
Bruce completed a Doctorate in Agronomy from Auburn University. He is active in horticultural consulting, turfgrass culture and other forms of agriculture. He served two terms as the Associate Editor of HortTechnology Journal and has authored dozens of scientific articles, technical columns, and garden brochures. He is a Certified Professional Horticulturist, Certified Plant Professional, a N.C. Licensed Pesticide Consultant, and a Certified N.C. Landscape Contractor Instructor. He has produced and hosted the long running weekly “DownEast Gardner” television show and a garden column for over 18 years in local newspapers and magazines. In 2007, he developed his own garden television production-Grow Your Own with Dr. Bruce that currently airs on multiple stations. From 2006-2008, he was awarded the Presidential Silver Volunteer Service Award for his agricultural service to developing countries. He lives with his wife, Marsha in Wilmington and enjoys time with his family.
At Large: Janet Bracey Gray
an Endangered Species Botanist for Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall Military Installations in the Sandhills region and has worked with endangered species since the early 1980’s. She conducts and facilitates research and land management projects with the longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem and has authored and co-authored papers pertaining to the life history of rare plants. In addition, she actively manages the Invasive Plant Program for the reservations and is past Chair for the North Carolina Sandhills Weed Management Area. Janet has a B.S. degree in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin Madison and her M.S. degree in Botany from North Carolina State University.
NC Plant Conservation Program Staff
Rob Evans - Plant Ecologist
Email Address: Rob.Evans@ncagr.gov
Phone: (919) 733-3610 ext. 249
Fax: (919) 733-1041
Lesley A. Starke - Research Specialist
Email Address: Lesley.Starke@ncagr.gov
Phone: (919) 733-3610 ext. 250
Fax: (919) 733-1041
Nancy Stewart - Information Processing Technician
Email Address: Nancy.Stewart@ncagr.gov
Phone: (919) 733-3610 ext. 248
Fax: (919) 733-1041
With appreciation
Tom Harville served as Membership Chair for the first two years of the organization, establishing membership policies and creating the Preserve Steward volunteer program. He retired from the position in Nov. 2010, and we are grateful that he will continue on the Preserve Stewards committee.
Marsh Smith served on the board for its first two years as Resource Development chair. His assistance with legal questions has been in valuable, and he continues to offer to serve th eorganization on call.
David Blevins served for two years as Vice President. during that time he designed a membership postcard and created our logo.