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Aaron Dillon
Fourth Generation Citrus Nurseryman
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Four Winds Growers, Fremont, California
Aaron Driggs Dillon is a Fourth Generation Citrus Nurseryman with Four Winds Growers located in Fremont, California. He is proud to carry on his family’s tradition of providing their customers with high quality citrus trees for use in any setting. Four Winds Growers was founded by Aaron’s great grandfather, Floyd Dillon in 1948. Aaron has been a driving force behind expanding Four Winds Growers offerings to include a wider range of edible fruit trees and bushes that can be used for creating sustainable and productive landscapes. “I am constantly inspired and motivated by the power of gardening and its ability to create positive change. I believe that simply by gardening it is possible for all of us to change the world.” Aaron attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he studied environmental horticulture. He completed a BA in U.S. History from San Francisco State University in 2000. He is now finishing up an MA in Geography, with a concentration on Environmental Planning and Resource Management at SFSU. Four Winds Growers has enjoyed a long association with Sunset. In the 1960s Four Winds provided a number of dwarf citrus trees that were planted in some of the original Sunset Test Gardens in Menlo Park. -
Kate Frey
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Kate Frey grew up in Berkeley, California. Her father was a librarian at the University of California, Berkeley and he instilled a love of reading and literature. She began her career of working with plants and interest in nature as a seasonal employee with the State Forestry, Federal Forest Service and California State Park system, where she worked fighting fires, on timber crews and on trails. At Fetzer Vineyards in Hopland, California, where Kate worked for 18 years, she managed and designed the six-acre, profuse and colorful organic gardens, as well as extensive sustainable landscaping around the facilities and the Bonterra Ranch. Kate earned a B.A. Summa Cum Laude with Distinction in English at Sonoma State University in 2006. In May 2003 her garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in London won a silver/gilt medal, and in 2005 and 2007 her gardens, illustrating many elements of biodiversity and sustainability, won gold medals and were visited by the Queen. In 2009 she competed in the World Garden Competition in Hamamatsu, Japan. She currently works as a consultant, designer and a freelance writer, specializing in sustainable gardens that encourage biodiversity. In July, 2009 Kate became the Director of the Sonoma State University Sustainable Landscape Program. Kate enjoys spending time with her grown children and grandson as well as writing, reading and traveling. -
Matt Golden
President, Founder & Chief Building Scientist
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Sustainable Spaces, San Francisco, California Matt Golden is the co-founder and president of Sustainable Spaces. Prior to founding the company in 2004, Matt worked as an energy consultant helping homeowners and businesses develop solar power systems. He soon realized he was offering only a point solution and established his own company to address most homeowners’ desire to make their homes and lives more sustainable. Matt developed the concept for Sustainable Spaces to meet this market demand by providing a single full-service resource and a brand homeowners can trust to help them improve the comfort, health, and efficiency of their home. Matt speaks extensively on building science and integrated green design to groups such as the AIA (American Institute of Architects), West Coast Green, Build it Green and others. Matt has authored a number of articles for Home Energy Magazine, and has been featured in the USA Today, SF Chronicle, KQED Radio, and the Ellen Degeneres Show. He currently resides on the following boards: Department of Energy (DOE) Home Performance Council, Building Performance Institute (BPI), California Building Performance Contractors Association (CBPCA), Build It Green, and Fine Home Building Magazine Green Building Advisory Board. -
Robin Stockwell
Owner
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Succulent Gardens, Castroville, California
A grower of succulent plants since 1972, Robin Stockwell’s primary focus with succulents is their functionality and use in landscaping and container gardens. Robin promotes the fact that succulents are very efficient, requiring little water, nutrition, and care, and refers to succulents as “the conservationists of the plant world.” Also quite beautiful, their foliage comes in almost every color of the rainbow and their flowers appear throughout the year. Robin works with landscape architects and designers who refer to his nursery as “the candy shop.” He has appeared on radio and T.V., and in newspapers and magazines. He gives talks about succulents to garden clubs and at other venues including the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show and Sunset Celebration Weekend. His plants have been in award-winning landscapes. Robin’s nursery, Succulent Gardens, houses more than two acres of plants for sale as well as display gardens. It is open to the public Monday through Saturday. -
Lisa Van Cleef
Marketing Director,
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San Francisco Botanical Garden
Lisa Van Cleef, marketing director for the San Francisco Botanical Garden, is a compost fanatic. A San Francisco Community Compost Educator, she’s a cheerleader for the FBI—fungus, bacteria, and insects—that break down waste. Lisa teaches that composting is incredibly easy—kitchen scraps and yard waste are designed to decompose naturally. At the SF Botanical Garden, Lisa’s goal is to spark a passion for plants in people. Like a modern-day Johnny Appleseed, she sows the seeds that inspire curiosity and a love for the plant world. Lisa spent more than 20 years in the entertainment industry before turning her energy to the natural world. She wrote the Green Gardener column for the SFGate, was the Curator of Education at the Conservatory of Flowers, and the Associate Director of Marketing for the Nature Conservancy. Today, she supports the Society’s marketing efforts. -
Gina Wicker
Design and Creative Director, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics
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sunbrella.com
Gina Wicker is the Design and Creative Director for Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, makers of Sunbrella® fabrics. Wicker manages a 10 person creative team with oversight of the fabric design process for the casual and residential furniture industries, as well as catalog and contract markets. In addition to her design responsibilities, Wicker also manages the creative elements in Glen Raven’s marketing communications program, including photography, advertising, collateral, web site design, sample books and custom sampling programs. Wicker, who joined Glen Raven as Design Director in 2003, has more than 20 years experience in the textile industry, including management roles for fabric design, product development, marketing and customer service. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in textiles with a concentration in design from N.C. State University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Duke University.
