AmericanHort Introduces Women in Horticulture Program

AmericanHort has announced a new Women in Horticulture program that will begin with a series of monthly online interviews with accomplished women in the industry. There also will be a Women in Horticulture educational networking event at Cultivate and plans for future programming.

“As we end March, National Women’s History month, a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements of American women, we are excited to share new ways to learn from women in our industry, to educate and inspire each other on ways to manage professional and personal challenges as one works to advance their career and life,” stated Mary Beth Cowardin, vice president of marketing & member engagement at AmericanHort. “We are pleased to offer a way for all industry members to come together and foster peer-to-peer sharing and support of one another. We hope this new programming will be beneficial to those who participate. There seems like no better time for such a program as now when we are in a period of practicing social, or physical, distancing.”

The monthly webinar series will kick off April 16 at 2:15 PM, EST with a webinar interview with Susie Raker-Zimmerman, vice president of Raker Roberta’s Young Plants in Litchfield, Michigan, and current chairwoman of the AmericanHort board of directors.

Additional webinars are planned as follows:

• May 6, 2 PM EST – Kathy Fediw, Interior Plantscape consultant, author, trainer, and speaker and 2020 Interior Plantscape Hall of Fame honoree.
• June 3, 2 PM EST – Jennifer Moss, owner and director of sales and marketing at Moss Greenhouses in Jerome, Idaho

An in-person educational networking event will take place at Cultivate’20 on July 13 at noon. This networking workshop will begin with Leslie Halleck, of Halleck Horticultural, providing a high-energy inspirational talk to guide you in bringing your own personal strengths and inner superpowers to the surface.

After opening remarks, Halleck will facilitate a panel discussion with the following accomplished women in the green industry who will share lessons they’ve learned as they’ve navigated their career path.

Panelists include:

• Lisa Fiore – Lisa is founder and CEO of LandscapeHub, a B2B online marketplace she created and launched in July 2017.
• Lela Kelly – Lela is vice president and co-owner of Dosatron International Inc. Based in Clearwater, Florida.
• Rebecca Lusk – Rebecca Lusk is the retail director and key account sales manager for Dümmen Orange with responsibilities for business planning & development.
• Kelly Staats – Kelly Staats is the sales and marketing manager for Raker Roberta’s Young Plants headquartered in Litchfield, Michigan.

The $40 per person ticket price includes lunch, and a portion of all tickets purchased will go to support an HRI horticulture scholarship.

To learn more about AmericanHort’s Women in Horticulture programs and to sign up for the webinars, go to AmericanHort/Women.

To register for the Women in Horticulture event at Cultivate’20, go to AmericanHort.org/Cultivate. If you have additional questions, please call AmericanHort at 614-487-1117.