Staff Biographies
Administration
SHARON MYRIE, Vice President of Education Sharon Myrie oversees BBG's Education Department, which serves over 150,000 youth, adults, and community organizations annually. Prior to joining BBG, she was Associate Executive Director for Programs at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, where she developed and managed programs for children and adults. Ms. Myrie has also served as Executive Director of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, one of New York City's first mentoring programs for high school students of color. Ms. Myrie holds a J.D. from the George Washington University National Law Center and a B.A. in psychology from Ithaca College.
Continuing Education
KATHERINE (KAT) LEMCKE is the Director of Continuing Education. She holds an MS in Environmental Education and a BA in Psychology. Prior to joining BBG, Kat developed interpretive projects for the Wildlife Conservation Society, including bird guides and rainforest education centers, as well as a sustainable tourism plan for Gabon's National Parks.
RACHEL FERM is the Continuing Education Coordinator. She holds a B.A. from NYU, where she designed her own program of study. Prior to joining BBG, she was a children's book editor. Rachel has attended classes and lectures all over New York City, including BBG's own Horticulture Certificate program.
THERESA GONZALEZ, Program Assistant, holds a BFA in Scenic Design from NYU. In addition to supporting classes and developing ideas for adult curricula at BBG, Theresa is an education volunteer at the American Museum of Natural History. Her professional experience includes more than 10 years in Theater, Opera and Film/TV around NYC.
Interpretation
ROMI IGE is the Manager of Interpretation. She has a BS in Landscape Architecture and a 2 year certificate in Ornamental Horticulture both from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She was a Chanticleer Fellow in Public Garden Management and also completed the International Botanic Garden Management Diploma Course at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Romi has also worked in landscape design, retail nursery sales, and as a public garden horticulture intern.
Programs For Children And Families
MARILYN SMITH, Director of Children's Education at BBG, has worked in the field of Environmental Education for nearly 20 years. She worked as a naturalist in Ohio and directed a nature center in Connecticut before coming to BBG. Marilyn holds a B.S. in Biology and a M.S. in Botany.
Children's Garden And Discovery Programs
PATRICIA HULSE, Children's Garden and Family Programs Manager at BBG, has been exploring the wonders of science and nature with children and adults in NYC since 1999, previously at Brooklyn Children's Museum and The New York Botanical Garden. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education with a concentration in Science from Boston University. Her family of farmers out on Long Island can't believe she lives and works in a city, but spends most of her days outside with children in a garden.
ERIKA RHAEL is the Children's Garden Coordinator for BBG's Children's Garden Program. She holds a B.A. in History from Saint Francis College and a Master's degree in Environmental Education from NYU. She has been teaching young children for over a decade.
MONIKA HANNEMANN is BBG's Discovery Program Coordinator and Education Greenhouse Manager. She holds a B.A. in Botany and Environmental Studies from Oberlin College. She has taught and gardened with children in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and in New York with the Horticultural Society of New York.
NANCY BLISSETT is the Coordinator of the Garden Apprentice Program. She earned a B.A. in History & Anthropology. She has developed and taught informal plant science programs for elementary through high school students and teachers for the past four years. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Horticulture at BBG.
Programs For Teachers And School Groups
BARBARA KUSHNER KURLAND is the School Programs Manager in the Children's Education Department at BBG. She holds a B.A. from Vassar College and a M.A. from Lehman College, CUNY, both in Biology. She taught middle and high school science in the New York City public schools before coming to BBG where she has been teaching and learning about plants with children, youth, and adults since 1989.
REBECCA STERN is a Senior Instructor for BBG's School Workshops and coordinates the Summer Science Adventures Program. She holds a B.A. in English with a minor in Biology from Wellesley College, and is currently earning a Certificate in Horticulture at BBG. She worked in both formal and informal middle school science education in Boston and Philadelphia before coming to BBG.
BARRINGTON ROGERS, Senior Instructor for BBG's School Workshops, assists in the coordination and day to day activities of the Children Garden's Programs. He has a Diploma in Agriculture from J.S.A., a B.S. in Agronomy and an M.S. in Agricultural Education and Human Resources from Prairie View A. & M. University. He has been employed at BBG for over ten years, sharing his knowledge and experiences with the many children of different age groups that he works with.
BECKY LABOY is the Teacher Education Coordinator at BBG. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in Education, both from Alliant International University. Becky has taught in public schools for 6 years and holds teaching licenses in New Jersey and California. She now enjoys providing professional development to teachers in New York City.
Project Green Reach
SARA EPSTEIN is the Coordinator of Project Green Reach. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and a Certificate in Horticulture from BBG. Sara not only enjoys teaching about plants but growing, cooking and eating them, too.
STEPHANIE LYON is the Senior Instructor for Project Green Reach. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Ithaca College and an M.A. in Elementary and Special Education from NYU. She has taught in summer camps, public and Montessori schools. In addition to her interest in teaching, Steff is an avid classical singer and songwriter.
Brooklyn Academy Of Science And Environment
ELYSSA ARNONE, BASE Program Manager, holds a B.S. in Plant Biology from Ohio University. She has worked with middle and high school students in both formal and informal educational settings for the past ten years.
KIM VAN MOURIK, Science Education Coordinator at BBG, holds a M.S. degree in Environmental Science from Antioch New England Graduate School. She runs the Science Research Program for Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (BASE) and mentors GAP (Garden Apprenticeship Program) high school interns in BBG's Science Department.
IRENE SHEN, BASE Partnership Director, works for BBG and Prospect Park Alliance bridging the partnerships between BASE and both institutions. Her background is in high school science education, environmental justice, sustainable urban agriculture, and community based organizing. She holds a B.A. in Biology from Columbia University and a M.S.W. from the Hunter College School of Social Work and she likes to laugh.
Greenbridge
ROBIN SIMMEN is the Director of Brooklyn GreenBridge. She has a MA in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Design and a BA from Cornell University. She has worked as an environmental planner, landscape designer, senior book editor, and photographer.
SUSAN FIELDS is the GreenBridge Program Manager. She has worked for many years with community gardens throughout NYC. She has a MSW and a BA in Psychology, a certificate in Gardening from the New York Botanical Garden and is currently studying horticultural therapy.
LIS THOMAS is the GreenBridge Outreach Assistant. A graduate of Barnard College, she has studied Botany at NYBG and is currently pursuing a BBG certificate in Horticulture. She is an active gardener and a passionate amateur mycologist.
KARLA OSORIO-PÉREZ is the Manager of the Brooklyn Compost Project of Brooklyn GreenBridge. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador, she worked in Agroforestry on compost awareness as an Environmental Educator. She also worked as a Research Manager studying ant species at the University of Puerto Rico.
LUKE HALLIGAN is the Compost Instructor of the Brooklyn Compost Project of Brooklyn GreenBridge. He is also a certified BBG Master Composter and VP/Education Chair at the Floyd Bennett Garden Association.
YACOUBA DIAKITE is the Brooklyn GreenBridge/Brooklyn Compost Project Office Assistant. He has worked as an Operations Assistant at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, as a Research Analyst with United Grain Growers in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and as an Agrometerologist with the Agrhymet Center, Ministry of Rural Development, in Mauritania. He holds a Masters in Agricultural Economics from University Laval in Quebec, Canada.
Instructors
LINDA AMEROSO is an extension entomologist for the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
MARY JO ANZEL studied at the School of Visual Arts and is a life member of the Art Students League. She uses an impressionist approach in her paintings. Her floral watercolors are represented by several greeting card companies and East Coast galleries.
RICHARD BARCIA has studied Hatha Yoga, Basic Yoga, and Intermediate Training at Integral Yoga Institute, where he also teaches. He has taught in yoga centers, gyms, and corporate settings, and served as director of "Yoga to Help Heal."
KAREN BELL holds an MFA in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design and has taught and lectured at the New School, International Center of Photography, and FIT. Her work has been exhibited and collected throughout the U.S., including by the Brooklyn Museum.
NAT BLETTER is a Ph.D. candidate in ethnobotany at CUNY. He specializes in medicinal plants, quantitative ethnobotany, and stimulant plants. Nat teaches indoors and out around New York City. He coauthored Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao.
ENID BRAUN paints urban imagery and plein air pastel landscapes. She is a coordinating artist in New York City for the Tile Project, a public art project at 22 international sites. She received a BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Pratt Institute.
ASHER BROWNE studied Japanese gardening in Kyoto, Japan for eight years. A certified arborist, he focuses on bringing out the inherent beauty of trees and shrubs using Japanese pruning techniques combined with Western arboriculture methods. He owns and operates a garden planning and installation firm, Asher Browne Gardens.
NAN CAREY has a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her classes and workshops introduce the pleasure of sketchbook journaling to budding artists of all ages. Her work is exhibited and collected in the metropolitan area and beyond.
KARLA CHANDLER is BBG's curator of the Helen Mattin Warm Temperate Pavilion.
KWOK KAY CHOEY learned Chinese brush painting from master artist and teacher Chen Wen-hsi. He moved to New York in 1962 and has exhibited his works throughout the U.S. He has practiced and taught Chinese brush painting and tai chi chuan for more than 20 years.
SARITA DAFTARY is the director of the East New York Farms! Project, where gardeners, youth, local vendors, and farmers come together to manage the largest youth-run farmers' market in the U.S. Sarita has been with the project since 2003.
ROSE EDINGER is an award-winning floral designer with over 20 years' experience. She specializes in thematic design work and has decorated events in the New York region and beyond.
SUSAN FIELDS is the Program Manager of GreenBridge. She has worked for many years with community gardens in NYC and studies the healing effects of contact with nature in urban areas. She has a MSW, a BA in Psychology, and a Certificate in Gardening from NYBG.
BRIAN FUNK is BBG's curator of the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden.
DANIEL GIBBONS holds MAs from the University of Michigan and Villa Schifanoia in Florence, Italy and is a member of the Brooklyn Watercolor Society. He conducts workshops in New York and the Caribbean and exhibits throughout the New York City area and the Virgin Islands.
JOE GIUNTA has led bird walks for the Nature Conservancy and the South Fork Natural History Society and taught a beginning birding course for Summer Fest. He has birded extensively in the U.S., Panama, Belize, Venezuela, and Costa Rica.
LUKE HALLIGAN is the Compost Instructor of the Brooklyn Compost Project for GreenBridge. He's an active gardener at the Floyd Bennett Field Community Garden and holds a BBG Master Composter certificate.
ROBERT HEROLD is a national director of the American Wine Society, whose motto is "wine appreciation through education." He is ranked among its top 50 award-winning home winemakers. In addition to teaching, he is a consultant on establishing vineyards in Connecticut or New York.
WENDY HOLLENDER holds a BFA in textile design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration from NYBG, where she is an instructor and coordinator. Wendy founded WH Art & Design, which uses her botanical artwork for museums and conservation groups.
PAUL KEIM, who holds a BFA from Pratt Institute, is a full-time printer and colorist and an avid birdwatcher/naturalist. He belongs to the Brooklyn Watercolor Society and the Brooklyn Bird Club, where he has served as president.
NANCY KITCHEN, a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers, created floral displays for two presidential inaugurations and three Tournaments of Roses. She is coauthor of six Encyclo-Flora professional industry books and has taught/exhibited American-style floral design in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong.
JUDITH KUNHARDT holds a degree in art history from the City College of New York. She is a member of the Brooklyn Watercolor Society and has exhibited throughout the New York City area.
CAYLEB LONG is a gardener aide at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He earned a BBG Certificate in Horticulture and is sole proprietor of Urban Garden Works, a design/installation business operating in the metropolitan area since 2002.
ULI LORIMER is BBG's curator of the Native Flora Garden. He has a lifelong interest in native plants and holds an honors degree from the University of Delaware in landscape horticulture.
ALBERT MASSIMI holds an MA from Columbia and studied art at SUCB, the University of Siena (Italy), and LIU, in addition to learning brush and ink painting while in the Peace Corps in Korea. He belongs to GNSI, ASBA, and the Brooklyn Watercolor Society, and has exhibited in the metropolitan area.
MICHAEL MAURO is BBG's curator of the Plant Family Collection. He holds an AS degree in engineering from CUNY and a BBG Certificate in Horticulture. He has more than 20 years of experience working at BBG, Old Westbury Gardens, and private gardens in the New York City area.
JOAN MCDONALD runs a private garden design business, Gardens by Joan, and is a graduate of the BBG Certificate in Horticulture program.
LEDA MEREDITH is a professional gardener and ethnobotanist with expertise in growing herbs and tender plants both indoors and out. She consults for residential, commercial, and institutional gardens on rooftops, patios, and other urban settings.
ROBB MOSS is owner of FloraCulture and has taught floral design courses at Parsons School of Design, the New School, the New York Horticultural Society, and his own Floral Design Center of New York.
KARLA OSORIO-PÉREZ is manager of the Brooklyn Compost Project for GreenBridge. She holds a BA in biology from the University of Puerto Rico.
LORETTA POOLE is a member of the Brooklyn Watercolor Society and holds an MA in art education from Brooklyn College. She has taught and exhibited her work throughout New York.
MARGARITA POULSON has designed unique botanical jewelry for seven years. She is a horticulture and facilities associate at BBG and a graduate of the BBG Certificate in Horticulture program.
MARTINA PUCHTA is a certified kripalu yoga teacher. She has practiced yoga for 13 years, and her teaching style reflects her eclectic training. Martina teaches outdoor yoga and qi gong for the Appalachian Mountain Club and is BBG's Coordinator of Continuing Education.
JOAN E. PRIOR is a prize-winning floral designer whose arrangements have adorned weddings from Manhattan lofts to Southampton mansions. Joan is also an accredited flower show judge and author.
CHRISTOPHER RODDICK is an ISA-certified arborist at BBG. He is also coauthor of the BBG handbook The Tree Care Primer, a BBG All-Region Guide.
ADELE L. ROSSETTI is a professor of art at Pratt Institute and a member of the BBG Florilegium Society. A lecturer, scientific illustrator, and artist, she received the American Society of Botanical Artists' Excellence Award in 2001. She has a BS in scientific illustration and an MFA in painting and drawing.
JIM RUSSELL has gardened and maintained landscapes at the Prospect Park Zoo and at Battery Park, in Manhattan. He holds a BBG Certificate in Horticulture.
NANCY SEATON is BBG's curator of the Lily Pool Terrace and Magnolia Collection and has worked and taught at BBG for over ten years. She is working on her MA in landscape studies at the Bard Graduate Center; her thesis is Modern Landscapes: The Role of Twentieth Century Science in Design.
MYRENA SINT JAGO-SHERROD has seven Certifications from the Integral Yoga Institute to teach beginning through advanced Hatha Yoga. Her certification includes prenatal, postpartum, meditation, and restorative yoga. Myrena has also studied Kripalu Yoga.
ELLEN SPECTOR PRATT, 2006 Editor of Flowers & Herbs magazine, is an expert in dried flowers and the author of nine books on flowers and herbs, including Lavender: How to Grow & Use the Fragrant Herb. As proprietor of Meadow Lark Flower & Herb Farm, Ellen learned how to dry more than 500 kinds of flowers.
ELISABETH THOMAS is the Outreach Assistant for GreenBridge. She has a BA from Barnard College and is studying for a BBG Certificate in Horticulture.
PHIL TIETZ works in landscape installation at Chelsea Garden Center in Manhattan. As the former assistant director of Green Guerillas, a New York City greening organization, he has dealt with every phase of roof garden installation and removal.
IAN TONNESSEN is the owner of Flowers by Ian Tonnessen and has been working in the floral design industry for over 20 years.
MICHAEL W. TWITTY is a food historian, heirloom gardener, and community scholar focusing on the food and folk traditions of enslaved West and Central Africans and their descendants in the American South. He authored Fighting Old Nep: The Foodways of Enslaved Afro-Marylanders, and is working on a companion volume.
GEORGE VALLO has operated Portafiori Floral Design Studio since 1991. His clients include Dame Edna Everage, Joan Rivers, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Hugo Boss. He was the exclusive florist for Macy's 2004 Spring Bridal Show.
ANNE WALSH is a member of the Guild for Natural Science Illustrators and holds degrees in art education and art history. She has taught in public and private schools, at the Custer Institute, and at Mohonk Mountain House.
LINDA YANG is the author of The City Gardener's Handbook and Plants for Problem Places. Trained as an architect, she started classes at BBG and ultimately became a gardening columnist for the New York Times and a contributor to more than 20 publications.