Board, Friends of the Arboretum
The Arboretum Associates became the Friends of the Arboretum by a vote of the membership at the annual meeting on September 9, 2012. The Friends' bylaws have been revised to reflect the name change. (The old by-laws can be found here.) The name Arboretum Associates is retained as an alternate name for technical reasons, but will not be used often.
The Board Officers:
Julia Cowell, President
Tom Karwin, Vice President
Jessica Fiske Bailey, Secretary
Julia Muennich Cowell, President, term ending 2014.
Julia and her husband moved to Santa Cruz from Chicago in June, 2010. Gardening there was quite the challenge with a 100 degree range in temperature over a year. The Cowells learned to appreciate the structure of dormant plants in winter, thrilled with the first plants of spring, enjoyed many prairie natives all summer and admired the brilliant colors of the Midwestern autumn. She is the executive editor of The Journal of School Nursing, the research journal of the National Association of School Nurses. Her volunteer services have included chairing the Board of Directors of the Visiting Nurse Association Foundation of Chicago, a $50 million foundation dedicated to community health services, to volunteering at the Morton Arboretum in Chicago. While her professional life has been in nursing practice and nursing education and research, her love of gardening comes from childhood. Growing up in Southwestern Ohio, her father was an avid gardener and some of the happiest days of her youth were mowing a 30 acre field of bluegrass. She participated in the volunteer training at the UCSC Arboretum in 2010 and has been weeding in the California Native Garden. She has chaired or the Arboretum Events Committee and participates in the Meet & Greet on week-ends. She has a BSN from the University of Cincinnati, a MSN in public health nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a PhD in public policy analysis from UIC. She reports that while an amateur in gardening, she has organizational skills that can contribute to the arboretum.
Thomas Karwin, Vice President, term ending 2014.
Tom made documentary and instructional films at UCLA from 1960–65, then moved to UCSC, where he managed academic support services, coordinated university-school partnerships and other projects, and wrote many grant proposals. After retiring in 1991, Tom was recalled several times for special projects at UCSC.
At UCLA, Tom received a B.A. in Theater Arts/Television and an M.A. in Theater Arts/Film, and was advanced to candidacy for a PhD in Education/Curriculum & Instruction.
In retirement, Tom developed grant proposals for educational and non-profit agencies, and served for three years on the federal Taxpayer Advisory Panel. Currently, he is co-coordinator of a $5.75 million project to advance digital literacy and broadband adoption in Monterey County.
Tom is an avid gardener, a UC Master Gardener and a garden writer: the Monterey Herald has been publishing his weekly garden column for the past ten years.
Jessica Fiske Bailey, Secretary, term ending 2014.
Jessica Fiske Bailey is the Assistant Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at UCSC. In that role she manages business operations of a $6 million division with more than 185 staff working on international education, summer session, academic advising, admissions, financial aid, and educational outreach. Prior to joining UCSC, Jessica was the Executive Director of the Foundation of the State Bar, Manager of the Secretariat of the California Judicial Council, Development Officer with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, and consultant with courts and nonprofits in California on strategic planning, governance, and business operations.
Jessica graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science and a Master's in Public Administration from U.S.C.
After visiting the Arboretum and meeting its board and staff Jessica was hooked and instantly became involved in increasing, fundraising, membership, and the linkages between the University and Arboretum.
Andrea Hesse, term ending 2014.
Andrea is the Director of Client Relationship Management (information technology) at UCSC. In that role she manages staff and projects to ensure that faculty research- and teaching-related IT needs are met. Her experience includes serving as the Director/Curator of the Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery at UCSC, Outdoor Education Director of the Boulder Creek YMCA, and Executive Director of the Delta School.
She has a B.A. in Art History from UCSC and a Masters in Public Administration from San Jose State University.
She has a connection with the Arboretum stemming back to when her now teenage daughter went on school field trips there and more recently as an enthusiastic supporter of the plant sales and Hummingbird Days events.
Anastasia Torres-Gil, term ending 2014.
Anastasia is a retired attorney, artist, and businesswoman in Santa Cruz. She has been a Senior Attorney with the California Rural Legal Assistance and Assistant District Attorney for Santa Cruz. She left the legal field in 2009 to focus on recruiting foster and adoptive parents for the county. Anastasia has extensive community relations and fundraising experience, serving as Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League (Central Pacific Region), Board Chair of the Santa Cruz Women's Crisis Support-Defensa de Mujeres, and Co-Chair of the local Hadassah chapter.
Additionally, Anastasia has several businesses, including as a legal translator (she is fluent in Spanish) and designer of couture fashions for and greeting cards with dogs (for which she has been featured in magazines and TV shows).
She is an avid gardener and conservationist who only recently became aware of the Arboretum!
Keith Wandry, term ending 2014.
Keith is a highly skilled project manager and QA/continuous improvement professional in the information technology field. He has extensive customer service and public relations experience, with a focus on solving complex problems, building technical solutions, and increasing productivity and cost savings.
Keith is a frequent visitor to the Arboretum, in part because of his interest (and education) in photography. Most recently he has been at the Arboretum participating in an intensive 10-week program resulting in his being certified as a California Naturalist.
Sherry Wasserman, term ending 2014.
Sherry has over fifteen (15) years experience leading and managing community health centers. In these roles she has been successful in raising money for several capital campaigns, managing a large staff, working with a board of directors, organizing events, conducting strategic planning efforts, and creating newsletters and fund appeals.
Sherry graduated with an education major and has taken courses in graphic design and business administration.
She is a long-standing weekly volunteer weeder in the Arboretum California Native Garden, enjoying working in the dirt as the people in the Arboretum volunteer community.
Appointed by the Board after the elections:
Christine Jennifer
"I love spending time exploring the extraordinary gardens at the Arboretum, wandering amongst the people and the plants. Nature reminds me to look for, and appreciate the beauty found in all living things,” says Christine Jennifer. “The Arboretum is an important sanctuary, a beautiful gift."
Christine’s professional background is in journalism, fundraising, business development and garden design. Prior to volunteering at the Arboretum, she served on the board of Women’s Crisis Support – Defensa de Mujeres and continues to volunteer with the American Red Cross in public affairs for disaster relief. She aspires to serve as an advocate for those in need, and places a high priority on the protection and honoring of life. She is excited about the Arboretum’s proactive and innovative efforts to protect and conserve the native plants in our region.
A self-described plant nerd and wanna-be bird nerd, Christine is happiest in a garden, and imagines that someday, when her children are grown perhaps, adventuring into bird watching. Though for now she’s making do with Todd Newberry’s book – The Ardent Birder. For fun and sleep inducement she is also reading a nameless book on botanical Latin. However, despite many years spent designing gardens and cultivating a working knowledge of plant-speak, she still can’t pronounce the Latin plant names correctly. When time allows, she likes helping out at the Arb’s weekly Tuesday morning weeding party in the California Native Garden. There she is learning some proper plant pronunciation from fellow weeders as well as how to better differentiate a weed from a lesser-known native.
Ex-officio:
Mike Gerhold, Past President
Brett Hall, Director of the Arboretum
Herbie Lee, UCSC Vice Provost of Academic Affairs
Special thanks to members of the 2011-2012 Board of Directors:
Mike Gerhold, President
Tom Karwin, Vice President
Paula Cole, Secretary, ex officio
Jessica Bailey
Julia Cowell
Vicki Garside
Bruce Lyon (founding member of the Science Advisory Council)
Matt Ritter (founding member of the Science Advisory Council)
Lynn Roberts
Lincoln Taiz (founding member of the Science Advisory Council)
Michael Vasey (founding member and Chair of the Science Advisory Council)
Affliated with the Board is the Arboretum Science Council (formerly the Arboretum Science Advisory Council.)
The members of the Arboretum Science Council are:
Dr. Michael Vasey, Chair, Arboretum Sci. Council, San Francisco State Univ.
Dr. Lincoln Taiz, UC Santa Cruz
Mike Gerhold, UC Santa Cruz, Friends of the Arboretum
Dr. Linda Anderson, UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Jarmilla Pittermann, UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Todd Newberry, UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Bruce Lyon, UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Matt Ritter,Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Stephen McCabe, UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Jean Langenheim, UC Santa Cruz Arboretum
Dr. Michael Loik, UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Kat Anderson, UC Davis
Brett Hall, UC Santa Cruz Arboretum
Kimberly O’Donnell, Secretary, PhD. Program, UCSC
