Mt. Cuba Center | Meet Our Instructors

Thomas Mestre

Thomas A Mestre works as Grounds Maintence in Mt. Cuba. Passionate about native restorations, including Native Fauna and Flora. Experienced in Landscaping, Hardscaping, construction and Gardening.

Élan Alford, PhD

Élan Alford, Ph.D, is the plant conservation scientist at Mt. Cuba Center. She coordinates volunteer research, including rare plant monitoring. Prior to joining Mt. Cuba, Élan worked in environmental consulting and has volunteered as Rare Plant Chair for the California Native Plant Society Santa Clara Valley Chapter.

Nancy Bell

Nancy Bell is the Education and Garden Coach Coordinator at Gateway Garden Center in Hockessin. She has Certificates of Merit in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from Longwood Gardens.

Daryl Beyers

Daryl Beyers is author of The New Gardener’s Handbook: Everything you need to know to grow a beautiful and bountiful garden, available from Timber Press. As gardening certificate program coordinator at the New York Botanical Garden, he helps guide the program’s curriculum, teaches the popular Fundamentals of Gardening course, and courses in garden design. With over thirty years of professional landscaping experience, specializing in residential garden design and development Daryl has created and cared for numerous client gardens across the country. His next book. The New Garden Designer, will be published in Spring 2026.

Michael Blacketer, PhD

Michael Blacketer, PhD is an educator at Mt. Cuba. His education includes a bachelor's degree in Community and Environmental Planning, a master's in Ecological Landscape Design, and a doctorate in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management. Also a Delaware Master Gardener, Michael’s interests are rooted in the exploration of human-environment interactions across spatial, temporal, biological, and social scales; he enjoys discussing these phenomena with others through mutual interests in organic gardening, restoration ecology, outdoor recreation, and scientific research.

Leah Blanton

Leah Blanton is a planting designer and horticulturist, using her artistic eye and plant knowledge to create functional urban landscapes for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, where she designs a diverse range of public horticulture projects in Philadelphia. She co-owns an ecological garden design company and earned her certificate of Sustainable Garden Design from the New York Botanical Garden.

Kesha Braunskill

Kesha Braunskill is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and founder of the nonprofit organization, Delaware Bat Rehabilitation and Conservation (DBRC). Kesha has a professional background in wildlife, ecology and urban forestry. DBRC’s mission is to rehabilitate injured and orphaned bats in Delaware. Every year the organization fields over 100 calls from the public and rescues and rehabilitates dozens of bats around the state providing them with veterinary care with the goal to release then back to the wild. Jointly with rehabilitation, DBRC aims to increase public awareness around the importance of conservation and stewardship of our natural lands which is key to healthy habitats for wildlife. DBRC is committed to connecting with the public through community engagement and education programing

Emma Brittain

Emma Brittain is a studio artist and planning committee member for Black Birders Week. Her art often involves social commentary with animal or plant symbolism. She hopes to spread wonder and hope through her work.

Leah Brooks

Leah Brooks is the Marketing Coordinator at Mt. Cuba Center. She has dual bachelor's degrees from the University of Delaware in Environmental Science and Wildlife Ecology. She is a Delaware Master Naturalist and Vice Chair of the Delaware Invasive Species Council. She's an avid contributor to the Delaware Native Plant Identification and Exchange group on Facebook. Her passion is sharing the joy of nature and native gardening with others.

Sam Bucciarelli

Sam Bucciarelli is a tour guide and environmental educator with a passion for ecology, especially as it pertains to fungi and the role they play in helping our ecosystems thrive. She grew up in the NJ Pinelands but brought her passion for all things wild to Philadelphia in 2017 and has been sharing that passion with others ever since. She is the current president of the Philadelphia Mycology Club and an outspoken advocate for community science.

Andrew Conboy

Andrew Conboy is an ISA-certified arborist, urban forester, and native plant advocate. He holds a MA in Biology from Lehigh University, and a BS in Environmental Science from Chestnut Hill College. He founded an ecological restoration non-profit in his community to improve local natural lands and to engage the public in restoration work. On social media, he creates videos about trees and native plants in hopes to help people take better care of their environment. Andrew enjoys eliminating turf lawns and loves native oak trees.

George Coombs

George Coombs, director of horticulture at Mt. Cuba, leads a team of horticulturists, arborists, and grounds maintenance technicians who cultivate and improve formal and naturalistic gardens and play a pivotal role in the implementation of Mt. Cuba’s long-range master plan. He holds a degree in Plant Science from the University of Delaware with a focus in landscape horticulture.

Alexandra Correia

Alex is a Senior Horticulturist at Longwood Gardens, where she manages the Ornamental Kitchen Garden. She holds a B.A. in Sustainability Studies, and is a graduate of the Professional Horticulture Program at Longwood Gardens, for which she is also now an instructor. Alex is passionate about teaching others how diverse edible gardens can be sources of beauty and ecological richness.

Nicole DeLizzio

Nicole DeLizzio is the Arborist at Mt. Cuba Center. She holds a BS in Agriculture and Natural Resources with a minor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Delaware. Nicole is an ISA certified arborist. In addition to co-teaching the Ecological Arboriculture course with the rest of the arboriculture team, she can be found sharing her combined passion for trees and art in pyrography, or the art of woodburning. One of Nicole’s favorite ecological gardening concepts is to allow trees to decay in place, when it is safe to do so, to be utilized by wildlife.

Lucy Dinsmore

Lucy Dinsmore is a horticulturist and certified arborist who loves learning and teaching about all things growing. She worked in public gardens for ten years, at the Morris Arboretum and Chanticleer Gardens, and now runs Plant Lady Lucy, a garden design and consulting business in Kennett Square. Her first job as a young tween was at a garden center, and she later earned her master’s degree in horticulture from the University of Minnesota.

Josh Dunham

Josh Dunham is a Sr. Horticulturist for the Middle Naturalistic Gardens at Mt. Cuba Center, a section that encompasses the Dogwood Path and Meadow Garden. He holds a BS in Horticulture from Temple University and is a graduate of the Professional Gardener Program at Longwood Gardens. Josh loves to talk with guests and answer any questions they have about meadows and native plants.

Kathy Elliot

Kathy Elliot works as an Educator at Mt. Cuba Center. She has bachelor’s degrees in Plant Science and English from the University of Delaware and earned a Certificate of Merit in Landscape Design from Longwood Gardens. She worked for fifteen years at a family-owned, plant-focused garden center in south-central Pennsylvania, where she multi-tasked between landscape design and garden center management.

David Greaves

David Greaves is a biologist at the EPA, wildlife photographer, and founder of Nature Under Your Nose (NUYN) brand. His love for nature and the outdoors was discovered while growing up in the Washington, D.C. area. He uses his photography and his NUYN brand to encourage people of all ages, colors, and backgrounds to explore and enjoy the nature they can find all around them.

Chloe Hawkins

Chloe Hawkins (BA, Oberlin College 2003; MLA, University of Virginia 2010) is a visual artist and the Founder and Director of Cohort, a landscape architecture practice committed to deepening the intertwined relationships between people, plants and place. A Lecturer at UVA’s School of Architecture, she teaches graduate courses in technical design skills, plants, and landscape maintenance as a creative design tool. Formerly with NBWLA, Chloe was the lead designer of Mt. Cuba’s Glade Garden and co-led the master plan and first phase of implementation. She’s thrilled to return and engage the gardens as a living classroom.

Eileen Hazard

Eileen Hazard runs Under the Maple, a garden education and consulting business, in West Chester, PA. Eileen earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, with a focus on environmental engineering, from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in Water Resources from the University of Vermont. She has supplemented her degrees with plant-focused biology classes at West Chester University and a PA Master Naturalist certification.

Mark Highland

Mark Highland received an MS from the Longwood Graduate Program, focusing on compost and potting soil. He is the founder and president of The Organic Mechanic Soil Company, LLC, a local supplier of organic, peat free soils. Mark is the author of Practical Organic Gardening: The No-Nonsense Guide to Growing Naturally.

Duncan Himmelman, PhD

Duncan Himmelman, PhD, is the former Education Manager at Mt. Cuba Center. He earned his doctorate in Ornamental Horticulture at Cornell University, taught college for 24 years, and has contributed to a number of horticultural publications. Duncan managed a 20-acre estate in Greenwich, CT and has designed landscapes for both private and public clients in New York City, Toronto, and Chicago.

Sam Hoadley

Sam Hoadley is the Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center where he evaluates native plant species, old and new cultivars, and hybrids in the Trial Garden. Prior to working at Mt. Cuba, he was the lead horticulturist for Longwood Gardens’ Hillside Garden. He earned his degree in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture from the University of Vermont.

Chris Hoess

Chris Hoess teaches biology and biochemistry at Delaware Technical Community College and is Chair of the Friends of the State Line Serpentine Barrens. His interests include ferns, trilliums, plant phylogenetics, and the management and restoration of serpentine ecosystems.

Mason Hornsby

Mason Hornsby is a horticulturist working in Mt. Cuba's formal gardens. With 10 years of outdoor experience and 5 in horticulture, Mason has always had a keen connection to the outdoors. Spending the last 3 years exclusively working with native plants in public gardens, Mason has done everything to add natives to the garden from invasive removal to making beautiful containers. Mason is eager to share his passion and knowledge to help students find the magic moments in the garden from insects to the plants swaying in the breeze.

Elyse Jurgen

Elyse Jurgen, owner of Waxwing EcoWorks Co., rebuilds ecological literacy and biodiversity through hands-on ecological gardening experiences for all ages. She is Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, Ecological/Permaculture Certified Designer, Mt. Cuba Ecological Gardening Certified, and holds a master’s degree in environmental education. Elyse uses a participatory approach with landowners, during the design/install/steward process, to maximize the potential in enhancing human well-being and supporting dwindling wildlife populations.

Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley is the head arborist at Mt. Cuba. He has been working with trees since 1980, and joined Mt Cuba Center in 1986. Scot is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist®.

Olivia Kirkpatrick

Olivia Kirkpatrick is a designer at GreenWeaver Landscapes, a design-build company providing ecological landscape design, construction, and gardening to southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware. Olivia worked in public gardens for several years before returning to landscape design with a renewed interest in landscape management and sustainability. They are particularly interested in artistic planting design, taking cues from native plant communities and environments. They hold a degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Delaware.

Jay Kratz

Jay Kratz is on the outdoor horticulture team at Longwood Gardens, where he helps maintain Peirce’s Park. Jay holds a certificate in ecological gardening from Mt Cuba and is currently working toward a second certificate at the Barnes Arboretum.

Lindsey Laban

Lindsey Laban is the Conservation Propagator at Mt. Cuba Center where she propagates plants for Mt. Cuba's gardens, natural lands, and conservation partners. She enjoys figuring out how to propagate rare and unusual plants and is fascinated by the different ways plants germinate in nature. Prior to working at Mt. Cuba, Lindsey was the lead horticulturist at Stoneleigh: A natural garden in Villanova, where she oversaw the greenhouse and nursery operations. When not tending to her plants, Lindsey enjoys bird watching and hiking through the woods.

Ellen Lake, PhD

Ellen Lake, PhD, is the Director of Conservation and Research at Mt. Cuba Center. She taught environmental education and was the Education Director at the Brandywine and Red Clay Valley Associations. Ellen has a master’s degree in Entomology and Ph.D. in Entomology and Wildlife Ecology from the University of Delaware, where she researched biological control of mile-a-minute weed and how to integrate weed management techniques to restore plant communities. Ellen has extensive experience researching insect-plant interactions, including work for the USDA in the Greater Everglades ecosystem.

Maria Phillips

Maria Phillips is an artist and art therapist from Philadelphia, PA with a background in woodworking and printmaking. After a hiking trip to Glen Onoko Falls, she began wood-burning wildflowers and ferns. Using nature as the canvas, she hopes to encourage others to reflect on their relationship with the environment.

Robert Raguso, PhD

Robert Raguso, PhD, is a professor of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University. His research interests run the spectrum of insect-plant interactions mediated by chemistry, especially the role of fragrance in pollination ecology and animal behavior. He has promoted his research by organizing symposia, short courses, and workshops world-wide.

Laura Reilly

Laura Reilly is the trial garden assistant at Mt. Cuba where she evaluates native plants for horticultural and ecological value. She earned Longwood Gardens' Certificate of Merit I and II and has spent several weeks at symposia at Great Dixter, an iconic British garden where respect for the natural environment goes hand in hand with gardening excellence.

James Rockwell

James Rockwell is the Greenhouse and Nursery Production Manager at Mt. Cuba Center, where he oversees plant production in our conservation research greenhouse. Prior to his tenure here, James earned two bachelor’s degrees from Virginia Tech and was a TRIAD Fellow at Longwood Gardens.

Margaret Saylor

Margaret Saylor is the editor/designer of ASBA’s The Botanical Artist journal. She earned a Certificate in Botanical art and Illustration, with distinction, from the NYBG.

Trevor Schulte

Trevor Schulte is a Horticulturist at the Morris Arboretum and Gardens. He has his BS in Environmental Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. He completed internships at Mt Cuba Center and Chanticleer. He loves to explore unique plant communities like the pine barrens in New Jersey.

Sara Setzer

Sara Setzer is a fiber artist who specializes in the art of felt work. Inspired by nature, she creates eco-dyed and printed scarves, wraps, and collars using natural materials and leaves.

Melissa Starkey, PhD

Melissa Starkey earned her PhD in biology from Northwestern University and an MSc in plant biodiversity and taxonomy from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and University of Edinburgh in Scotland. As part of her studies, she completed a certificate in field botany in Colombia. Melissa is also the Marketing and Communications Manager at Mt. Cuba Center.

Ian Stewart, PhD

Ian Stewart, PhD, was raised in Newcastle, England and received a doctorate in ornithology from the University of Leicester. He has conducted research on tree swallows and bluebirds and how local land management activities are affecting bird numbers and diversity throughout the year. Ian is currently an Ornithologist at the Delaware Nature Society. Ian is currently studying the effects of non-native plants on birds.

William Trescott

William Trescott is the Arboriculture Manager at Mt. Cuba Center. He joined the staff fulltime in 1988 and began his arboricultural career as a tree climber in 1989. William is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist. In addition to daily tree care duties, he is currently involved in Mt. Cuba Center's tree canopy replacement project and development of best practices for ecological arboriculture.

Joseph Tychonievich

Joseph Tychonievich is a life-long lover of plants and gardening. He got his degree in horticulture from Ohio State University and went on to work for specialty rare plant nurseries in Japan and Michigan. Joseph is the author of several books including The Comic Book Guide to Growing Food: Step-by-Step Vegetable Gardening for Everyone and his writing has been published in Fine Gardening, Horticulture, and The New York Times. Joseph has a special love for hepaticas, and plans trips every spring to see them flowering in the wild.

Timothy Waller, PhD

Dr. Waller’s major responsibilities are to provide leadership and support for the commercial agriculture industries of southern New Jersey, specifically commercial nursery production in Cumberland County. He holds a PhD in Plant Biology (focused on Plant Pathology) and is tasked with mitigating pest issues (insects, diseases, weeds, herbivores), intercepting invasive species, improving farm sustainability and production techniques, as well as developing best management practices (BMPs) for the growers and green industry professionals of the region. Dr. Waller is serving in his second year with Rutgers Cooperative Extension but has worked in various sectors of agriculture for the last decade and has held a pesticide license since 2014.

Hattie Weselyk

Hattie Weselyk is a jewelry artisan and owner of Hattie Weselyk Studio. A self-taught artist from a family of artists, Hattie draws on her background in ballet and passion for the arts. Her metal plant sculptures have been exhibited at the Philadelphia Flower Show and the Museum of Natural Sciences, and her botanical jewelry has sold at Urban Outfitters, Longwood Gardens, Terrain, and other botanical museums nationwide. She teaches throughout the region and lives in Unionville, Pennsylvania with her husband and three children.

Charlie Wilson

Charlie is a member of Stewardship Team of the Natural Lands Division at Mt. Cuba Center. He holds a BS in Biological Systems Engineering with a focus in Natural Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and is an accredited Environmental Engineer. He holds a certificate in Watershed Management from the EPA's Watershed Academy. Charlie brings a unique mathematical perspective with his experience in stormwater management design.

Danae Wolfe

Danae Wolfe is an award-winning conservation photographer, writer, educator, and TEDx speaker focused on fostering appreciation and stewardship of backyard bugs and wildlife. Through her community conservation initiative, Chasing Bugs, she has reached global audiences with science-based education about the importance of gardening for biodiversity and has inspired gardeners to appreciate the beauty of our natural world and embrace their role in its protection.

Cynthia Woodsong

Cynthia Woodsong holds a certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration from the North Carolina Botanical Garden, UNC Chapel Hill and is a member of the North Carolina Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. Her work focuses primarily on making paper replicas of flowering plants native to the eastern United States, as botanically accurate as possible. The paper botanicals may be placed in clay pots or other containers or added to her botanical plates rendered in watercolor or colored pencil. Cynthia’s work can be seen at woodsongbotanicals.org.