Carolyn received her bachelor’s degree in botany and plant pathology from Michigan State Universityand her master’s degree in biology at Miami University (Ohio), where her focus was developing innovative ways to inspire urban residents to landscape with native plants to help support native pollinators. She is currently the Arboretum and Invasive Species Coordinator at Michigan State University, spending much of her time mapping and recording data for all the trees and shrubs across more than 5,000 acres of campus. Before this position, she was curator of plant collections at the Naples Botanical Garden (Naples, Florida), where she was involved in procuring plant material for a major garden expansion. After returning to her hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, she became involved with the Wild Ones River City – Grand Rapids Chapter. During this time, her quest to learn more about and promote native plants took flight. Upon relocating to Lansing, Michigan, she became the program coordinator for the Wild Ones Red Cedar Chapter and currently coordinates the chapter’s native plant sales. In addition, she is president of the Wildflower Association of Michigan, recording secretary for the Michigan Botanical Society, and Vice President of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Michigan Botanical Society. When she’s not botanizing or transforming unproductive lawns into productive pollinator habitats, she can be found spearheading efforts to remove invasive plants from local habitats.
TSN Conference 2025:
- January 24th, 2025 (Friday) // 11:20 am – 12:20 pm // Room 104 // “Organizing a Rapid Response to a New Invasive Species”