2017 Speakers

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Tom Smarr
Director of Horticulture
Twenty-First Century Parks, Louisville

Tom is a seasoned professional with two decades of experience in horticulture, botanic gardens, conservation, and organic landscaping. He holds a master’s degree in urban horticulture from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. He has worked for established institutions such as the University of Washington Botanic Gardens in Seattle, WA and the New England Wild Flower Society’s botanical garden “Garden in the Woods” in Framingham, MA. But Tom’s most notable work has been leading horticulture management at new urban designed parks starting with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston, MA built on top of the infamous “Big Dig” and the High Line in New York City. He has recently joined 21st Century Parks in Louisville, KY to work on design and management for gardens and natural areas. He is committed to the preservation of our cultural landscapes through sensible design, horticulture practices, and public education.
 
Tom will give 2 presentations:
 
 “Parklands of Floyds Fork: A Park of Endless Possibilities”
Great cities have great parks. As cities grow, citizens of the 21st century deserve great public parks in or near their neighborhoods, providing accessible recreation, contemplation, and an enhanced quality of life. Founded in 2004, 21st Century Parks is a private nonprofit corporation created to bring fresh vision to the development and preservation of new public parklands. They built and operate Parklands of Floyds Fork, in Louisville, KY; one of the nation’s largest new metropolitan parks projects answering the need for green parks in quickly growing city. 
 
“The Future of Urban Parks: The Challenges of Managing Modern Urban Parks”
It is predicted that our urban spaces will expand over the next several decades with greater population densities. How do we preserve greenspaces while providing opportunities for rest and play within urban development pressures? How do we manage the unique challenges of types of extraordinary spaces with substantial public use? 
Tom will speak about innovative ways to provide healthy and engaging new greenspaces through the discussion of several cutting edge places that have been built with a perspective towards modern public use. Places like the RFK Greenway in Boston, the High Line in New York City, and the newest project, Parklands at Floyds Fork to answer the ways we are developing and managing the challenges to provide desirable greenspaces.


Chris Carlson
Associate Professor
Horticulture Technology & Biological Sciences
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

Chris is one of the top speakers at conferences around the country. He taught arboriculture in North Dakota back in the 80’s and moved to Ohio in the early 90’s to continue teaching at Kent State. Chris has been teaching for over 36 years and currently teaches seven courses on the KSU Salem Campus including urban forestry and arboriculture, which is one of three concentration areas within the university’s horticulture program. Chris recently received the Award of Merit from the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). The once in a lifetime honor is given for outstanding and meritorious service in advancing the principles, ideals, and practices of professional tree care and arboriculture and contributing materially to the promotion of the ISA.


Aaron Boggs
Director of Grounds Maintenance
University of Louisville
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Aaron Boggs has a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from Eastern Kentucky University and is an ISA Certified Arborist. After college, he managed athletic fields and grounds for the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and the University of Louisville for over twelve years. Aaron then served as General Manager of Homefield Advantage Turf Care, a full-service lawn, landscape and athletic field contracting firm for three years before returning to the University of Louisville in 2008 to manage the grounds, solid waste and recycling. In 2012 he was promoted to the Assistant Director of Maintenance and Renovations for the University where he oversees all buildings and grounds maintenance.

Julie Beale
Researcher and Diagnostician, Plant Pathology
University of Kentucky

Julie is an agricultural research specialist and plant disease diagnostician in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Kentucky.
 

Russ Turpin
Senior Environmental Specialist
EcoGro. Lexington

For the past 10 years, Russ has been involved with water-related environmental improvement projects through consultation, design, construction and continued management. He develops landscape plans and manages native plant selection, procurement, installation, monitoring and plant care. As a licensed Commercial Pesticide Operator and Applicator, he prescribes and implements various weed control methods on stewardship sites. In the office, he assists with project proposals and cost estimates, documentation and permit reporting, as well as producing presentations for technical/professional conferences and community events. As a graduate from the Kentucky Professional Environmental Education Certification program, Russ conducts EcoGro’s educational programs and stakeholder participation events. With a personal commitment to local water quality and community initiatives, he volunteers with local groups offering technical assistance and labor for riparian plantings, rain gardens, watershed outreach programs and invasive species removal.


Adam Baker
Graduate Student, Department of Entomology
University of Kentucky

Adam got his bachelor of science degree in Entomology from University of Kentucky and is currently a graduate student under the direction of Dr. Daniel Potter in the Horticulture Entomology Lab working on pollinator conservation.


Lee Townsend
Extension Professor of Entomology
University of Kentucky

Lee provides educationalprograms for extension personnel, farmers, agribusiness, and industry. Much of this information is made available through the Kentucky Pest News. He coordinates and conducts Pesticide Applicator Training programs for private and commercial applicators. He participates in and contributes to Kentucky's Multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Crop Pest Management Program by providing training materials, conducting on-the-job training for field scouts and interpreting information collected by the program. He conduct demonstrations and applied research trials that provide both quantitative and qualitative information regarding pest management techniques as appropriate.