The University of Arizona Campus Arboretum Advisory Board
Dr. Tanya Quist is the director of the University of Arizona Campus Arboretum, and an Associate Professor in The School of Plant Sciences. She earned a Ph.D. studying plant environmental stress and M.S. and B.S. degrees in horticulture science. She advocates for responsible landscape practices which protect urban trees and support sustainable landscape management.
***This page is under construction***
Current Board Members 2024-25
Brian Rasmussen, Campus Arboretum Registrar of Collections
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 facilitation of plant review for campus installations, maintaining records, providing support for plant succession planning with plants list fitting the arboretum collections policy. In addition to these curatorial roles, Brian has generated interactive videos of the plants in the Mark Dimmitt Desert Plant Conservatory for our YouTube Channel to share his particular knowledge and passion for "weird plants"!
Mark Dimmitt, Ph.D, earned degrees from Pomona College, UCLA, and UCRiverside, and has authored more than 50 scientific and popular publications about ecology and horticulture. His major publication is the plant and ecology chapters of A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert (2000), and he is the Sr. Ed. of the revised edition (2015). He is coauthor of the book Adenium: Sculptural Elegance, Floral Extravagance (2008). In addition to being a Fellow of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, Mark is a renowed plant breeder focused on hybridized Trichocereus, Tillandsia, Adenium, though also known well for his role in selecting the widely used 'Desert Museum' palo verde. Mark also collects and grows a number of other weird plants, mostly succulents and epiphytes at his home and greenhouses in west Tucson. Learn more about Mark!
Juan Barba Juan Barba is a Consulting and Working Arborist, the owner of Juan J. Barba & Associates in Tucson, Arizona. Holding a degree in Environmental and Landscape Horticulture from the UofA and ISA Arborist Certification, Juan has practiced in and instructed all facets of arboricultural & horticultural care around Arizona and many other states. A native Tucsonan who enjoys traveling, he is a past president of Western Chapter, ISA and a former chair of Trees for Tucson. Learn more about Juan!
Lori Woods earned her Landscape Architecture degree from the UA and worked with RECON Environmental, Inc. She is native Tucsonan, with a passion for Sonoran desert conservation and habitat restoration. Ms. Woods provides design consultation assistance to Dr. Quist for key areas of the Campus Arboretum that are prioritized for revitalization, giving careful consideration to their historic context.
Campus Board Members Serving Previous Terms
Amy Belk, is the manager of Pima County’s Native Plant Nursery, growing and salvaging native plants for public spaces as part of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. She has been an ISA certified arborist for 14 years, and has worked in plant nurseries, botanical gardens, private gardens, and public green spaces in Arizona as well as the Eastern United States. Amy is currently pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Sciences at the University of Arizona, and her research and professional interests include the role native plants play in ecological restoration that supports native pollinators.
Ann Audrey is an alumna of the U of A, and has spent many happy hours over the years walking among the wonderful trees in the Campus Arboretum. As a board member, she tirelessly uses her experience as a fundraiser and expertise in running non-profits to help with marketing, fundraising and landscape development. Learn more about Ann!
Hank Verbais, graduated from the University of Arizona in 1975 and 1976 with bachelors and masters degrees in vocational rehabilitation. He later earned a law degree from the Santa Barbara College of Law. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and U.S Navy Reserve. He was a school administrator in Santa Barbara, CA for a number of years before becoming an air traffic controller. After retiring from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2013, he pursued his love of the outdoors by becoming a docent at Tohono Chul Park where he leads butterfly and wildflower tours. He is a certified master gardener, certified master naturalist, a trained local phenology leader and docent at the Watershed Management Group. He leads arboretum tours and coordinates the tour program with other master gardener volunteer tour guides and the University visitor center. He is an avid fly fisher and a woodworker who enjoys creating Shaker-inspired furniture.
Richard Wiedhopf is the President of the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society and one of the founders of its rescue program that has saved more than 95,000 cacti and succulents from destruction. He served the University in the College of Pharmacy for more than 50 years and retired as Assistant Dean for Finance and Facilities and Curator of the History of Pharmacy Museum. He was an early officer and board member that helped establish the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
Pauline Savage is an artist both as painter and sculptor. She earned a B.S. in Art, a B.S. in Art Education and a M.A in painting and ceramics from Fort Hays State University, and the University of Kansas. She also has a certificate in Expressive Art Therapy. Through her company, Savage Design Studio in Seattle her paintings were marketed and sold nationally through The Seattle Gift Mart and Picture Source. She has experience as Assistant Director of Admissions for the Kansas City Art Institute and also experience in Market and Research in the training and seminar industry. She is a member of the Southwest Society of Botanical Artists, Botanical Artist Guild of Southern California, the Americans Society of Botanical Artist, the National Guild of Scientific Illustrators. In a quest to learn about the flora a fauna of the desert, after moving to Tucson in 2017, she became a member of Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, Tucson Native Plant Society, Native Seed Search, Tohono Chul, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and The Tucson Botanical Gardens. Pauline is actively involved in the Campus Arboretum's Krutch Garden Florilegium project. For more information on Pauline, visit: paulinesavage.com
Kathryn Stamps is a volunteer copywriter and editor for the Campus Arboretum's e-newsletter. She earned an MFA from Hunter College, NY; BFA, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst; and ASA in Fine Art from Greenfield Community College. Kathryn grew up hiking and camping in New England, where she developed a passion for learning about the local natural environment anywhere she goes. Her favorite book about the outdoors is "Reading the Forested Landscape" by Tom Wessels
Leonard Sciulli, is an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona. Lenny is professionally interested in urban horticulture and helps the arboretum with research and outreach. He is working on an analysis of the climate adaptation of our campus and created and hosts an outreach tour relating to desert plant adaptations. Both of these projects aim to provide practical learning and guidance to the community seeking to build sustainable landscapes.
Peter Dourlein is the Assistant Vice President for Planning, Design & Construction and Campus Architect for the University of Arizona. He is currently on the board of directors of the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a member of the Metropolitan Pima Alliance, and serves in numerous design and construction industry organizations and associations. He is an accredited professional with the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental design certification program.
Jackie Lyle, Vice President of Operations and Communications for Civano Growers in Tucson, Arizona. As an ISA Certified Arborist and member of the City of Tucson Landscape Advisory Committee, Jackie is well-versed in urban and residential horticulture for the Southwest. She is also a Pima County Master Gardener and she sits on the board of the Arizona Community Tree Council. In her free time, Jackie volunteers as a docent at the University of Arizona Campus Arboretum. She also enjoys visiting famous trees around the world.
William Lampman, is an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona. William is double majoring in Plant Sciences (BS) and Natural Resources (Wildlife Conservation Emphasis) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. William provides leadership on the board in establishing a new desert plant conservatory, and in providing reserach of plant species proposed or existing in the Campus Arboretum collection. Learn more about William!
Peter Price is currently a Ph.D. Student at Arizona State University studying native and desert-adapted succulent plants that employ crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) for green roof design applications in the Sonoran Desert. Peter earned a B.S. in Plant Sciences from the University of Arizona in 2011, and a Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) from Arizona State University in 2016, and has experience in natural resource management with the US Forest Service as well as state agencies in Arizona, New Mexico and South Dakota. Learn more about Peter!
Sandra Obenour-Dowd is the Grounds Superintendent for the University of Arizona. She earned her B.S. degree in Horticulture from Texas A&M University. From wholesale and retail nurseries, to tissue culture at the Biosphere, to golf course horticulturist, to university grounds maintenance, she has a deep horticultural background. Sandra has lived in all three of the southwestern United States deserts and has a great interest in promoting the beauty and functionality of native and adapted plants in the landscape.
Margaret Pope is a scientific illustrator who has done commissioned work for private individuals, businesses and organizations. Solo exhibits of her work have been held at Tohono Chul Park and Tucson Botanical Gardens and her work has been juried into both local and international exhibits. She has also curated several exhibits. In 2008 she began The Sonoran Desert Florilegium Program, a non-profit organization sponsored by the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, whose mission it is to promote and preserve botanical art of the Sonoran Desert region. Prior to becoming an artist Margaret received a B.S. in Science, from the University of San Francisco and a Masters in Public Health and Nurse-Midwifery from The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She was in the Peace Corps in India from 1965 -1968 and worked as a nurse-midwife on the Navajo Reservation and in Tucson from in 1970 through 1979.
Dr. Steven Leavitt, Steven Leavitt has a B.S. degree in Geology from the University of Illinois, M.S. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia, and Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Arizona. Leavitt is the Associate Director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. His specialty is isotope dendrochronology as applied to paleoclimate and ecology questions. He has been author or co-author on more than 150 papers, and has been Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on 20 grants from various agencies including National Science Foundation, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Dept. of Energy, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Leavitt teaches classes related to global change, biogeochemical cycles and isotope dendrochronology, and he has also been editor of the international journal Tree-Ring Research since 2001.
Jane Evans was born and raised in Tucson and graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Plant Science in 1976. After a brief one year stint as Assistant Extension Agent at the Tucson Garden Center Jane struck out on her own. She purchased the Garden Flower Shop property at 2936 N Stone in 1978. In 1986 her not yet husband, Gene Joseph, started Plants for the Southwest, a cactus and succulent nursery, on this property and Jane and Gene continue to run the nursery to this day. This property is the longest continuous nursery property in Tucson! Growing Lithops, a South African Succulent is her speciality however her plant interests are wide ranging.
Bethany Vos is an undergraduate student pursuing two degrees: one, in Nutritional Sciences and one in Plant Sciences. She expects to graduate in 2021. She is an exceptionally organized, meticulous student who has enrolled for course credit doing projects for the Campus Arboretum. Most recently, she has assumed responsibility for curating the arboretum's extensive botanical photo inventory. As the Campus Arboretum photographer, she ensure all plants in the collection have botanically identifying photos, publishes these to the web and maintains accuracy of all records, including updating current taxonomic classification in the database. As a member of the board, Bethany assists by organizing meetings, compiling the agenda, taking minutes and providing valuable perspectives and insights.
Judith Ratliff (MLA, UA 1991) has been designing Tucson landscapes for 25 years. She's also known for the articles she's written on plantings, design issues and architecture for various publications.
Bob Hutchinson, retired faculty University of Louisiana
Andrew Hatch, University of Arizona Plant Sciences Undergraduate, Class of 2015
Paulina Jenney, University of Arizona Undergraduate, Class of 2016
Caitlin Brown, University of Arizona Undergraduate, Class of 2019
Caryl Clement, Landscape Architect, Tucson, AZ
Doug Holland, Pima Co. Master Gardener, Tucson, AZ
Woodford Remencus, Landscape Manager, University of Arizona Facilities Management
Matt Anderson, Grounds Superintendent, University of Arizona Facilities Management
Sarah Davis, Retired Coronado National Forest LA/NR
Renate Delay, Community Representative
Frank Soltys, Alumnus University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Science
Alan Myklebust, TUSD, and Blenem Elm Neighborhood Connection, Member of Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society,
Julie Wiens, Horticulturalist, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Bob Preble, retired University of Arizona Facilities Management
Irene Ogata, Landscape Architect and City of Tucson Planning Office (1st urban landscape manager in Tucson City Gov't)
Patsy Waterings, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Water Conservation
Chris Monrad, Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society (founding member), Monrad Engineering, Tucson AZ
Eric Scharf, Landscape Architect Wheat-Scharf Associates, Tucson, AZ
