2023 Speakers
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Dr. Bill Fountain
UK Professor of Arboriculture Extension Professor of Arboculture and Landscape Management Dr. Bill Fountain is a graduate of Mississippi State University (BS - Horticulture) and Louisiana State University (MS & PhD - Horticulture) and has been at the University of Kentucky since 1979 where he has an extension - teaching appointment with emphasis in Arboriculture and Landscape Management. Bill has been on the ISA Board of Directors since 2000. He has served on numerous ISA committees and was selected as a True Professionals Winner in 2010. Bill is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist and an ISA Certified Tree Risk Assessor. He has taken two sabbatical leaves in Southeast Asia and travels there frequently to provide training for the ISA Arborist certification program and Best Management Practices. These efforts have been instrumental in leading these countries into the ISA Arborist Certification program and becoming ISA Associate Organizations. Andrea Mueller Inside Out Landscape Design Andrea Wilson Mueller, CPLD is owner and designer at Inside Out Landscape Design, LLC in Frankfort and was raised in the horticulture industry. This is where she first realized her love of nature and went on to study, apprentice, and work in architecture, interior design, and landscape design. She is Kentucky’s first and only APLD certified landscape designer and 5 time APLD international award winner. Her focus is primarily native plants in the landscape and creative hardscape details. Andrea's Rewilding Presentation: Get Wild: Connect People with Nature, Add Ecological Benefit, + Reduce Maintenance As professionals in the green industry, we have the ability and duty to positively affect the environment. Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation, where nature can take care of itself while also meeting human needs. Rewilding can benefit people, wildlife, environment, economy, and reduce maintenance. These intriguing spaces can be achieved through a variety of practical and achievable approaches on a variety of scales. Matt Dixon UK College of Engineering, Senior Meteorologist Since 2012 Matt Dixon has been a Senior Meteorologist at the University of Kentucky Ag Weather Center. Working within the Cooperative Extension Service, the main goal of the Ag Weather Center is to minimize weather and climate-related surprises for Kentucky residents, with emphasis on the agriculture sector and production/management-related decision-making. Before working at UK, Matt obtained his bachelor’s degree in atmospheric sciences from Purdue University and a master’s degree in geosciences with concentration in applied meteorology from Mississippi State University. |
Dr. Jonathan Larson
UK Department of Entomology Jonathan L. Larson is originally from Indiana and graduated from Purdue University, with received his Ph.D. from UK. His area of expertise is in the ecotoxicology of insecticides and what their impacts are on beneficial invertebrates. He helps Kentuckians to understand anything with six or more legs that may be attacking their plants or trying to get into their house. His goal is to help promote beneficial insects but also control pests in environmentally and economically sustainable ways. Sergeant Jason Morris Kentucky State Police Sgt. Morris, the Public Affairs Officer for the Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, received the KSP Lifesaving Medal in 2022. Morris is currently assigned to the West Region and covers the Western Counties of the state for Public Affairs. Morris has been a police officer for 20 years with 16 years in the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement. Morris is North American Safety Certified, Hazardous Material Certified and is a Drug Recognition Expert. He is a Field Training Officer for when new cadets graduate and transition to the field. Morris also provides training assistance to companies with Federal and State Regulations. Dr. William Strunk WKU Department of Plant Science Dr. Strunk is an Assistant Professor at Western Kentucky University (WKU) in the Department of Agriculture and Food Science. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Tennessee and Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas, and is skilled in Turf Management, Agriculture, Research, Teaching, and Higher Education with a focus on Plant Sciences. Dan Stever Lexington Lawn and Landscape Dan Stever has been in the green industry for over 20 years, and has worked across the US in many different climates. His undergraduate degree in horticulture is from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and he received his Masters at the University of Florida researching phytoremediation. He has been in Kentucky since 2008, and in 2012 wrote the book, "Meet me in the garden" about his Kentucky garden. Dan currently works at Lexington Lawn and Landscape, and he is the chair of the Lexington tree board. Julie Beale UK Plant Pathology Researcher and Diagnostician Julie has been Diagnostician and Supervisor of the Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (PDDL) on the main campus of the University of Kentucky for the past 25 years. She is a native of North Carolina and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then completed a Master of Sciences in Plant Pathology from the University of Minnesota. In addition to her clinic responsibilities, Julie assists in teaching general plant pathology and plant diagnostics at UK, and provides plant disease updates and diagnostic training to a wide variety of audiences, including professionals in the landscape and turf industries. She has lectured on problem diagnosis at local and statewide trainings, as well as national and international meetings. |