2023 Staff and Student Interns

Dr. Tanya Quist, Campus Arboretum Director

Tanya M. Quist is an Associate Professor in the School of Plant Sciences. She also serves a role in Cooperative Extension as Director of the University of Arizona Campus Arboretum. Her responsibilities extend statewide in providing leadership relating to urban horticulture but include significant commitments on campus working with a wide range of people from UA Grounds Services and Campus Planning to mentoring undergraduate student interns in service-learning activities.

Brian Rasmussen, Campus Arboretum Curator

Brian works part time as an Independent Contractor for the Campus Arboretum to provide curation support. Brian has 6 years experience working in the Nursery and Greenhouse industry and even longer growing his own collection of rare plants. His work with the Campus Arboretum involves completing an inventory of current taxa and generating a list of future species to bring into the living collections. This content will inform campus planting and allow conscious selection and placement of trees and plants best suited to campus landscape sites now and in future climate conditions. The work also supports efforts to assess and set goals relating to species diversity, create succession plans for trees in historic plantings, and provide inspiration for gardens to support university research and education.  

Iza Barrandey

B.S. Sustainable Plant Systems, Urban Horticulture Emphasis, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Class of 2023

Project: Iza has responsibility for care and development of the Mark Dimmitt Desert Plant Conservatory plants. This includes tending to plants in the desert plant conservatory, including plant propagation, pest management, transplanting, watering and nutritional needs. She also assists with propagation and supports the activities of the Plant Science Club.

Maria Rojas

B.S. Sustainable Plant Systems, Urban Horticulture Emphasis; Minor in Nutritional Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Class of 2023

Project: Maria has broad interests in horticulture with special interest in interpreting science for educational communities. Maria has primary responsibility for creating content for the Campus Arboretum's montly newsletter. She also assists with off-campus communications, interviews, and social media outreach. This Spring, she is creating a series of videos to tell the human side of how the Campus Arboretum came to be featuring the diverse people and influences that allowed for such a rich and interesting collection to grow up on a university campus.

Lenny Sciulli

B.S. Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Class of 2024 

Project: Lenny will assess campus tree species and rank their potential adaptation to current and future climate. He will use the Climate Risk Assessment tool made available in 2022 by the Botanical Garden Conservation International (BGCI). The assessment aims to identify species best suited for planting in the Tucson Basin, inform replacement planning for historic specimens on the the UA campus, and production and planting recommendations for nursery producers and  urban foresters. During summer 2023, Lenny will calculate the value of the ecosystem services (ie. carbon dioxide sequestration, canopy cover, storm water mitigation etc.) campus trees provide  This data will identify priority species to plant with the goal of planting for optimal production of ecosystem services. 

Justyne Gonzalez

B.S. Plant Sciences, Plant Health Emphasis; College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Class of 2024 

Project: Justyn has primary responsibility for maintaining the accuracy of the tree map. She accessions newly planted specimens and deaccessions plants recently removed from the landscape to ensure the public facing map content and the GIS database is current. The accuracy of these records is essential for curation of the collection, and use for education and research, campus succession planning, assessing biodiversity or setting and working toward all collection goals. She also creates, installs, and maintains the nearly 700 botanical signs around campus. She has a terrific knowledge of native and cultivated plant materials and exceptional organizational skills. Additionally, Justyne assists with collection of campus plant materials, especially dissection of fruits and flowers needed for scientific illustrations currently being completed for the Joseph Wood Krutch Garden florilegium.

Emmett Bauer

B.S. Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Class of 2026

Project: Emmett will research and produce species descriptions for the Campus Arboretum website to enhance his proficiency with botanical terminology, plant ID, and cultivation requirements of campus plants, while also adding to his knowledge about their natural history and ethnobotanical value.

Donito Burgess

B.S. Environmental Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Class of 2024

Project: Spring 2023, Donito completed a project at the Tohono Chul Gardens that involved identifying and mapping every tree on the property. The resulting plant inventory will provide a foundation for the garden collection to support or conduct research and educational programs and to plan for the future (plant selection, succession planning etc) and enhance the management of the collection. 

Eleora Bailey

B.S. Environmental Science, Soil, Air, Water Emphasis; College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Class of 2024

Project: Eleora grew up in Tucson as an only child and has lived here her whole life. During Spring 2023, Eleora completed a project at the Tohono Chul Gardens that involved identifying and mapping every tree on the property. The resulting plant inventory will provide a foundation for the garden collection to support or conduct research and educational programs and to plan for the future (plant selection, succession planning etc) and enhance the management of the collection. After graduation, she wants to move to the coast and explore careers in sustainable development.