2024 Board of Directors
Executive Committee
2024 President - C.L. Fornari
C.L. is a creative gardening expert (aka plant geek) who transitioned from artist to garden communicator in 1995. She is the author of eight books including her latest, Sand and Soil ~ Creating Beautiful Gardens on Cape Cod and the Islands, published by David R. Godine Inc.
2024 Vice President - Sean McManus
Sean is one-half of Spoken Garden. He is a Co-Owner/Creator, an inventor (of the Little Dibby/Dibby XL garden tools), co-author of "The First-time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers, speaker, bulb-enthusiast, and a YouTube Garden Educator. He is a graduate of Washington State University with BS and MS in Environmental Horticulture and has mixed years of experience in applied research (thesis and USDA) and both landscape and project management.
2024 Past President - Maria Zampini
I’m a 4th generation nurseryman and proud of it! After graduating from Penn State with a BS in Horticulture, I ran the family’s 1000 acre wholesale nursery, destination attraction garden center and new plant research and development division.Directors
2024 Director at Large - Denise Schreiber
Denise Schreiber is a graduate of Community College of Allegheny College and Carlow University, she was the greenhouse manager and horticulturist for Allegheny County Parks in Pittsburgh before retiring, which covers over 12,000 acres of park land.
2024 Director at Large - Kathy Jentz
Kathy Jentz is editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine, based in Washington, DC, and hosts the popular GardenDC Podcast. A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable. Her philosophy is inspiration over perspiration..
2024 Director - Phyllis Gricus
Phyllis Gricus is a landscape designer, horticulturist, and unapologetic treehugger. She owns the award-winning Landscape Design Studio, LLC in Pittsburgh, PA, and is committed to spending time in nature and designing landscapes that benefit the environment.
2024 Director - Valerie Smith
Valerie Smith is a content strategist with Sod Solutions who writes and manages content on the Sod Solutions website for homeowners and manages a blog, newsletter and YouTube channel called Sod University. Her focus is on SEO, analytics, UX, and website content writing. Valerie has a master’s degree in professional communication and a bachelor’s degree in English publication studies from Clemson University.
2024 Director - Shelley Cramm
Shelley S. Cramm loves to see the ancient words of Scripture come alive in today’s gardens. She has published My Father is the Gardener, Devotions in Botany and Gardening of the Bible and God’s Word for Gardeners Bible, writes the Devotions Blog at, gardenindelight.com, and speaks enthusiastically about plants of the Bible and the connection of garden to table to God and daily life.
2024 Director - Erica Brown Grivas
Award-winning lifestyle journalist Erica Browne Grivas explores design, nature, and wellness, seeking to help both humans and the planet be happier and healthier. Her writing is featured in Birds and Blooms, the American Gardener, and the Seattle Times, among others. She has been writing - and gardening - for over 30 years.