Honorees Bios

Hall of Fame: David Ellis

Hall of Fame is the highest honor GardenComm can bestow on a member whose life and career has materially affected and advanced the mission and values of GardenComm.

David Ellis joined the American Horticultural Society as assistant editor in 1994 and has been editor of AHS's bimonthly membership magazine, The American Gardener since 1998. During that time, he has directed publication of nearly 200 issues of the magazine. He plans to retire in December 2024. Over the course of his career with the AHS, he has also overseen the Society's garden book publishing program and helped manage its website, social media, and outreach programs, often serving as the AHS’s spokesperson. David has also been a tour host for AHS Travel Study programs, and will be leading a trip to the Cape region of South Africa in 2025. At the AHS, David coordinated publication of more than 20 gardening books, serving as a contributing editor for The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques and project director for Homegrown Harvest. He was also a contributor to the AHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and the AHS Encyclopedia of Perennials. In addition to writing dozens of articles published in The American Gardener, David contributed a chapter to Starting from Seed: The Natural Gardener’s Guide to Propagating Plants and served as consulting science editor for An Artist’s Garden by William Booth. He has been a guest on several radio programs and frequently served as a panelist with other garden communicators and journalists at national events. An active member of Garden Communicators International since 1998, David was named a Fellow in 2008 and has served on numerous committees, including the award, green medal, ethics, and sustainability committees. Most importantly, he was willing to sing karaoke at GardenComm conferences from 2005 to 2019.

Fellows: Andrea Whitely and Charlie Nardozzi

Fellow recognizes a member in good standing who has demonstrated exceptionally high degrees of skill, professional ethics, and dedication to GardenComm’s mission and values. Two Fellows may be named each year.

Andrea Whitely

Andrea Whitely is a well-known Perth-based garden consultant. As well as designing and installing new gardens, she completes garden renovations and takes care of a suite of gardens in her maintenance program, sourcing and delivering plants from all over Western Australia for her clients. Andrea has been a GardenComm member since 2015 and a regional director since 2017. She worked on the rebranding of Garden Writers Association to become Garden Communicators International. She has attended every face-to-face GardenComm conference since 2015 and the virtual ones during the pandemic. She is also a member of the Horticulture Media Association of Australia and was a member of the Western Australia branch committee of the Australian Garden History Society. She’s an award-winning garden blogger, has been a guest on garden radio shows and podcasts, and has contributed words and photography to many industry-based magazines, websites, and books.

Charlie Nardozzi

Charlie Nardozzi is a regional Emmy-award winning, nationally recognized garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. He has worked for more than 30 years bringing expert gardening information to home gardeners through radio, television, talks, tours, on-line, and the printed page. Charlie delights in making gardening information simple, easy, fun, and accessible to everyone. He has 3 radio shows in New England and a Gardening TV segment on the CBS affiliate station in Vermont. He's authored 7 garden books, and contributed gardening articles and blogs to magazines and websites, including National Gardening, Organic Gardening, Proven Winners and American Horticulturist. He's the head of the editorial board for the American Horticulturist magazine, is a consultant for many companies including Gardeners Supply and Velcro USA, and leads international garden tours. Charlie has served as a regional director at GardenComm and has worked on the awards committee.

The Emergent Communicator Award: Gretchen McNaughton

The Emergent Communicator Award recognizes a member under the age of 40 who has demonstrated exceptionally high degrees of skill, professional ethics, and dedication to GardenComm's mission and values.

Gretchen McNaughton empowers home gardeners in their pursuit of creating the garden of their dreams. After graduating with a degree in Journalism & Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, she began her career working in the travel and tourism industry in Alaska. In 2021, a new opportunity found her returning to her home state and joining the team at Bailey Nurseries, the horticulture company behind consumer brands Endless Summer® Hydrangeas, First Editions® Shrubs & Trees, and Easy Elegance® Roses. Her journey began with managing social media and consumer content creation and has evolved to her current role as Communications & Content Strategist, where she now leads the team responsible for these efforts. Her work on strategizing new and innovative ways to ignite home gardeners’ passion for plants has opened her eyes to the wonders of the plant world and taken her around the United States.

Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award: Dr. Natalie Bumgarner

Dr Natalie Bumgarner is an associate professor in the Plant Science Department and is the residential and consumer horticulture Extension Specialist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also serves as the statewide coordinator of the Tennessee Extension Master Gardener program. These two linked areas of responsibility enable her to lead outreach and applied research efforts to support non-commercial horticulture throughout the state in collaboration with allied specialists, county Extension staff, and volunteers. Her educational training includes a B.S. in horticulture from West Virginia University with an emphasis in greenhouse floriculture, followed by an M.S. from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University, where her research focused on small-scale organic vegetable production systems, season extension, and crop nutritional quality. Before coming to UT in 2014, Natalie completed a postdoc at OSU focused on vegetable grafting and international nutrition. She also worked in industry as a horticulturist and researcher in the commercial greenhouse vegetable production.

The Wilfred J. Jung Distinguished Service Medal: Ball Horticultural®

The Wilfred J. Jung Distinguished Service Medal honors a GardenComm allied trade member that, as a company, has promoted gardening, helped expand the profession of garden communications, and supported the overall objectives of GardenComm and its membership.

Ball Horticultural is a leader in all facets of horticulture. Its global family of breeders, research and development teams, suppliers, and distribution companies has a strong presence on six continents in 20 countries. Launched by George J. Ball in 1905 as a wholesale cut flower operation, the company has grown to color the world and transform garden dreams into reality. Now in its fourth generation of family ownership, every member of the Ball team takes part in finding solutions for the industry – always striving to be the first choice for service. The Ball plant-breeding companies make history in the world of gardening. Among these are award-winning flowers, vegetables, perennials, roses, and shrubs recognized for their performance and consumer appeal. The latest products to fit the needs of today’s gardening lifestyle include flowers to fit small or indoor spaces, top-rated vegetables and herbs, low-maintenance succulents, and other plants with a purpose. It is Ball Horticultural Company’s mission to be the world leader in the research, breeding, production and marketing of ornamental crops. Each member of Ball is tasked with creating excitement in the world of flowers.

Sustainability Leader Impact Award: Warren Gorowitz

The Sustainability Leader Impact Award recognizes a sustainability business leader who is making a global impact through their programs and sustainable initiatives, within corporations and organizations.

Warren Gorowitz serves as Director of Sustainability and Social Impact at Hunter Industries. He is responsible for providing global leadership and strategic guidance in the organization’s sustainability and social impact initiatives. Warren oversees the company’s Climate Action Plan, the annual sustainability report, and their employee volunteer and giving programs which includes Hunter’s Community Grants committee. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California and received an Executive Master of Sustainability Leadership from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. He has been an instructor in the UCLA Extension Sustainability Certificate Program and a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University in the School of Sustainability.