In the 12th episode of the Growing in the Green Industry Podcast, hosts Miles Kuperus III, system architect at Include Software, Neal Glatt, managing partner of GrowTheBench and Luke Melograno, production coordinator at Mariani Landscape, along with NALP’s Jenn Myers, senior director of workforce development, talked to several faculty representatives from a few of the student chapters.
The guest educators included Whitney Phillips, an instructor at the University of Mount Olive, Liz Riley, the department head for horticulture technology at Alamance Community College, Daniel Greenwell, horticultural program director at Piedmont Technical College and Skyler Westergard, an instructor at Brigham Young University – Idaho.
Philips has bachelor’s degrees in horticulture science and plant and soil science, followed by a master’s degree in horticulture science. She has worked as an assistant woody curator at the Chicago Botanic Garden and a high school horticulture teacher in North Carolina.
Riley holds a doctorate, master’s, and Bachelor of Science degree in horticulture science. She has experience in nursery and greenhouse plant production and teaching. Greenwell earned a bachelor’s degree in landscape and nursery horticulture and a master’s degree in horticulture science. He is passionate about building relationships with his students and helping them cultivate successful careers in the green industry.
Westergard has a bachelor’s degree in horticulture, emphasizing in landscape design and construction as well as a master’s in landscape architecture. He worked as a branch manager for LandCare before becoming an instructor at BYU in 2016.
In this podcast, the guests discussed how they got into teaching, what classes they plan to teach this year, the demographics of their current students and the dynamics between them. They also covered what methods can help recruit younger generations to the industry.
Listen to the full podcast below.
