Henrik Sjöman

Henrik Sjöman is the senior researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the scientific curator at Gothenburg Botanical Garden. Henrik’s work is mainly focused on developing knowledge of site-adapted plant use for urban environments. He explores how the capacity of different trees will vary in context to their urban environment and deliver ecosystem services. As a researcher, Henrik “finds plants of tomorrow” by combining traditional plant hunting methods of less common species with research and evaluation and creating a diversified approach to a resilient urban forest.

Henrik Sjöman will be presenting ‘Dendro Futura’ – The Trees of Urban Tomorrows

Kim Shearer

Kim Shearer is the Curator of Collections and Manager of the Haerther Charitable Trust New Plant Development Program at The Morton Arboretum. In her role as curator, Kim works with staff across the institution to develop and maintain geographic and taxonomic collections relevant to a world experiencing climate change. As the Manager of New Plant Development, Kim works with breeders and nursery industry leaders to evaluate advanced selections and introduce new Chicagoland Grows® trees and shrubs to market. 

Kim Shearer will be presenting  Working Together to Safeguard Trees for Our Future 

Mike Gibson

Renowned Topiary Artist Mike ‘Gibby-Siz’ Gibson beautifies any space with his unique, whimsical style of topiary. He has been featured on HGTV’s show Clipped, and recently helped restore Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden during his artist-in-residency. Learning from his father at a young age, Gibson has over 20 years of experience beautifying spaces. He is currently the artist-in-residence at The Ernest A. Finney Cultural Art Center in Columbia, SC, where he focuses on educating the community on the benefits of topiary through demonstrations and workshops.  

Mike Gibson will be presenting Clipping for Peace: Examining Two Artists’ Approach to Topiary 

Kathy Salisbury

Kathy’s connection to plants and gardening seems to be genetic; both her parents and both sets of grandparents enjoyed gardening, and she was right out there with them from the time she was little. She learned the excitement of being in nature growing up in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey.

An award-winning educator, from zoos to parks to botanical gardens and from high school and college classrooms all over the region, Kathy has spent her career connecting people to the plants around them. Kathy is the Director of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University where she is also an adjunct professor in the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Department. She received her master’s degree in Public Horticulture Administration from the University of Delaware. 

Kathy Salisbury will be presenting as part of Gardener’s Voices-Silver Linings and Lemonade: An Arboretum Post Natural Disaster 

Toshi Yano

Toshi Yano is a Managing Director at the Perfect Earth Project, where he oversees projects and programs dedicated to creating healthy green spaces for everyone. He serves as the Landscape & Garden Advisor at Wethersfield Estate & Gardens. He is a member of the Design Council at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and an educator at the New York Botanical Garden. He is the co-founder of BIPOC Hort, an advocacy group for people of color working in designed landscapes, and a Director At Large at the American Public Gardens Association, where he chairs the IDEA Committee. He received his degree in Ornamental Horticulture from The City University of New York. He’s grateful to his grandmothers for the deeply etched memories of dappled light, dirt under foot, and the dizzying perfume of Rosaceae in the air.  

Toshi Yano will be presenting as part of From Formality to Freedom: One Gardener’s Path toward a More Perfect Practice.

Lara Roman

Dr. Lara Roman is a Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service. Her research centers on the temporal dynamics of urban forests, including tree mortality and growth, canopy cover change, historical legacies, species composition change, citizen science monitoring, and the factors constraining or enabling tree planting in diverse urban neighborhoods. Her contributions to urban forestry practice were recognized with an Early-Career Scientist Award from the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). She has led or coauthored over 50 publications, including a recent urban tree monitoring field guide that set the standard for longitudinal data collection of city trees. She received a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Lara Roman will be presenting Landscape Legacies in Philly’s Urban Forest.