My formal training in horticulture began at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture in Niagara Falls, Canada, where I earned a Niagara Parks Diploma (NPD) through a combination of academic courses and a highly regarded practical curriculum. The three-year, full-time and year-round program is one-of-a-kind. The hands-on experience I gained as a student working for the Niagara Parks Commission in the Botanical Gardens provided me with a solid background in horticulture and experience managing ornamental displays and outdoor spaces.
The School offers a unique alternative to post-secondary education. My academic courses built on the knowledge I gained by maintaining the plant collections, gardens and landscape features in some of the most visited and iconic gardens in the world. Third-year students lead student crews as they perform work and projects within the Botanical Gardens to develop important leadership skills, and I was an experienced manager when I graduated.
One of the requirements to earn my diploma from the School of Horticulture was to complete a 12-week internship during my third year. I chose the internship program at the Arnold Arboretum, where I learned that I could weave my passion for history (I have an Honours B.A. in history from the University of Toronto) with a career in horticulture. I was invited to return to the Arboretum as the Apprentice to the Living Collections the following year, was hired full-time as a Skilled Gardener the year after that, a year later was promoted to Horticultural Technician, and, finally, was promoted to Arborist and held that position for 5 years.
It was exciting and an honor to work at The Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University’s scientific collection of woody plants and living museum. The Arboretum is also a 280-acre public park within the city of Boston, and one of the jewels in the Emerald Necklace: a 7-mile-long network of parks, including the Boston Common, designed by Frederic Law Olmsted in 1878.
I opened the door when opportunity knocked and found myself on the east end of Long Island, managing horticulture operations on multiple properties encompassing over 1,200 acres and miles of coastline. When people would ask what I do for work, I would tell them I was the luckiest horticulturist on Long Island (and I was!). It was an exciting opportunity to become involved in projects I never dreamed I would be doing.
I made a welcome return to Massachusetts to work for a non-profit for which I had volunteered years before. The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees) is the nation’s first and Massachusetts’ largest preservation and conservation nonprofit and I was a steward of beautiful landscapes and landmarks of historic and cultural value.
As an Operations Manager I managed stewardship, conservation, capital projects and general operations on 44 Trustees properties throughout the Berkshires, Pioneer Valley and Central Massachusetts, working hand-in-hand with the West Region Director to bring focus to priorities.
Before starting FLORUM and this current chapter of my life, I was General Manager and then Director of the Trustees’ Northwest Portfolio and managed all stewardship, engagement, and enterprise activities on over twenty properties from Williamstown to Athol.




