David Fross: California Garden Development Director
Dave began the installation of the California Garden in 1990 and continues to coordinate its growth and evolution. He teaches in the Horticulture and Crop Science Department, instructing students in habitat restoration and California native plants. In his spare time, Dave enjoys gardening, reading, and traveling.

 

Katherine Soule: Public Relations
Katherine joined the arboretum in May of 2005. She has an MS in Agriculture and a BA in English, both from Cal Poly. When she is not hiking, Katherine enjoys cooking and quilting.

 

Mickey Mangan: Californian Garden
Mickey joined the arboretum staff in April of 2008 and is a junior in the Landscape Architecture Department. He enjoys discovering edible plants that he can cook with. Mickey plans to focus on water conservation; specifically, he plans to incorporate water mitigating features in all of his landscape projects.

 

Isaac Nosan: Entry, Formal, Palm & Aloe Gardens
Isaac joined the arboretum staff in September of 2008 and is a junior in the Biological Sciences Department. Having always been fond of the color green, he is drawn to working with plants, which he finds relaxing and peaceful. Isaac plans to move to Israel.

 

Cynthia Kono: Mediterranean Garden
Cynthia joined the arboretum staff in February of 2009 and is a sophomore in Environmental Horticultural Science with a concentration in Landscape Design. She loves getting to know people (so you should come by and visit here) and coming to the garden after a rainy period only to find all sorts of new plants in bloom. In addition to learning about the implementation of right plants into a design, she hopes to learn more about irrigation and lighting.

 

Shay Blackburn: California Garden
Shay joined the arboretum staff in February of 2008 and is a junior in Environmental Horticultural Science. Her interests include horticultural education, field botany, and public gardens. She enjoys skiing in winter, hiking in summer, and walking in the rain.

 

Andrew Klittich: South African Garden
Andrew joined the arboretum staff in March of 2010 and is a sophomore in Environmental Horticultural Science. Andrew enjoys the outdoors and helping maintain landscapes. He wants to be a PCA when he graduates or take over his family's nursery back home. He has grown up around plants and enjoys caring for them so that others may also enjoy them.

 

Evan Rathje: Australian Garden
Evan joined the arboretum staff in March of 2010 and is a senior in Environmental Horticultural Science with a minor in plant protection sciences. He enjoys the outdoors and riding his motorcycle. Evan hopes to someday own a landscaping company using sustainable practices.