Professional Experience: Graduate Student Assistant,   University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 2000-present: Fulfilled assistantship as Teaching Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator for the UT Gardens. Initiated the garden Volunteer Program; coordinated, scheduled, and managed 35 Volunteers who worked approximately 600 hours each year. Created the Thymely Volunteer News, a quarterly newsletter, as well as all other mailings and activities for the Volunteer Program. Daily responsibilities also involved maintaining the UT Gardens and Greenhouses. Acted as Children's Garden Guide. Programmed, designed, and instructed activities for all visiting children's groups. Thesis Field Work and Research,   University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 2002: Visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for 2 months in the summer of 2002 to examine and document their Children's Gardening program for my thesis "A Case Study of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Children's Gardening Program". Lab Assistant,   University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 2000: Collected all data for a Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology study on threatened native Helianthus sp. Assisted in general lab maintenance and experiments. Garden Center Assistant,   Greenbrier Nurseries, Roanoke, VA 1999-2000: Cared for the herbaceous plant center. Organized inventory and stock. Designed seasonal plant displays. Maintained winter greenery center, making fresh greenery arrangements. Handled customer sales for the herbaceous plants. Tissue Culture Lab Assistant,   James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 1998-1999: Prepared nutritive medias, isolated explants, and placed them on their medias. Monitored the cultures and cared for the plants grown by tissue culture. Maintained the lab and lab equipment. Education: Master's of Science, Ornamental Horticulture & Landscape Design (concentration in Public Horticulture) University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37938, December 2002. Bachelor's of Art, Anthropology, Minor Biology (concentration in Plant Sciences), James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, May 1999.