The 2015 Horitculture Conference speakers are listed in the order that they are presenting.

Andrew Bunting

Professional Title:

Curator at Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College

Biographical Sketch:

Andrew Bunting is the Curator at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College where he has worked for the last 25 years. He also owns a design/build garden company, Fine Garden Creations which is in its 21st year. Andrew was also the Curator at the Chanticleer Foundation in Wayne, PA. His home garden, Belvidere, has been featured in This Old House Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. He has served as President of the Magnolia Society International and The Delaware Center for Horticulture: has chaired Horticulture at the Philadelphia Flower Show and the North American Plant Collections Consortium which is a national collections scheme through the American Public Gardens Association. He has written over 100 articles for the American Gardener, Fine Gardening Magazine, Horticulture, Public Garden and Arnoldia. He is a passionate gardener and avid birder and traveler.

Mike Goatley Jr.

Professional Title:

Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist
Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences of Virginia Tech

Biographical Sketch:

Michael Goatley, Jr. received his BS and MS degrees from the University of Kentucky and a PhD from Virginia Tech. He served on the faculty of the Plant and Soil Sciences Department of Mississippi State for 15 years before returning to Virginia Tech in 2004 where he currently serves as Virginia’s Extension Turfgrass Specialist.   Goatley’s responsibilities are statewide development and implementation of educational outreach programs for all areas of turfgrass management. His extension and research programs focus on applied strategies in environmental stewardship in turfgrass management through cultivar evaluation, improved establishment and maintenance methods, and urban nutrient management. Goatley has co-authored four books on sports turf management and served as President of the national Sports Turf Managers Association in 2012 and 2013.

Joe Boggs

Professional Title:

Assistant Professor, Ohio State University Extension and the OSU Department of Entomology; Commercial Horticulture Educator, OSU Extension, Hamilton County

Biographical Sketch:

Mr. Boggs holds a B.S. in Biology/Chemistry and M.S. in Entomology. He has managed high-profile landscaping (Pennsylvania Governor's Residence and the PA Capital Complex) and a 500 acre tree farm in central PA. He has worked for more than twenty years with Ohio State University Extension, focusing on landscape plant problem diagnostics and management. Boggs has published numerous articles in trade and professional journals and averages more than seventy teaching presentations per year.

Dr. Nicole Ward Gauthier

Professional Title:

Extension Specialist for Fruit Crops, Ornamentals and Forestry

Biographical Sketch:

Dr. Nicole Ward joined the Department of Plant Pathology at UK this August as an Extension Specialist for fruit crops, ornamentals, and forestry. In addition to earning a B.S. in Horticulture Science and a PhD in Plant Pathology at Louisiana State University, Nicole owned and operated a landscape contracting business for 12 years. Nicole looks forward to working with county Extension agents, growers, and other stakeholders around the state.

Dr. Daniel Potter

Professional Title:

Professor of Entomology at the University of Kentucky

Biographical Sketch:

Dr. Potter is an international authority on insect pests of turf and landscapes. He has been an invited keynote speaker at many international conferences and has taught educational programs for Green Industry practitioners all over the world. His national awards for teaching, research, and service include the 2010 U.S. Golf Association Green Section Award, the Professional Land Care Network’s Leadership Award, and the American Nursery and Landscape Association’s Distinguished Career Achievement Award. His hobbies include fishing, fly tying, and travel.

Tom Kimmerer

Professional Title:

Chief Scientist at Venerable Trees, Inc.

Biographical Sketch:

Tom Kimmerer, PhD, is a tree physiologist and forest scientist. He is Chief Scientist at Venerable Trees, Inc., a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the conservation of ancient trees in the Bluegrass. Tom earned his PhD in Forestry and Botany (Plant Physiology and Biochemistry) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his B.S. in Forest Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. In addition to his research on the physiology of trees, he has taught plant physiology, forestry and urban forestry in Kentucky, New York, Indonesia and Malaysia, including 18 years on the faculty of the University of Kentucky. Tom is the author of the forthcoming book Venerable Trees: Ancient Trees in an Agricultural and Urban Landscape, and has begun work on his second book, The Lives of Trees.

Clare Sipple

Professional Title:

Manager at Lower Howard's Creek Nature and Heritage Preserve

Biographical Sketch:

I am the seventh generation of my family to live in Clark County, so you could say that my roots are deeply planted in Kentucky. I spent my early years farming, but after 20 years at this career, went to the University of Kentucky as a very non-traditional student to pursue a higher education. I have a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from U.K., as well as a B.A. in Anthropology, also from UK. I owned a landscape design/build firm from 1994 until 2002, when I became the manager at the Lower Howard's Creek Nature and Heritage Preserve in southwest Clark County. As a natural areas manager, my time is divided between eradicating exotic invasive plants, maintaining trails and cultural resources, and educating visitors about the diversity of the native species that flourish in the Palisades area of the Kentucky River. I am married to Harry G. Enoch and we live in Forest Grove on Lower Howard's Creek.