Gwen Stauffer, Executive Director of New England Wild Flower Society,  is a trained horticulturist and garden designer, hailing from southeast Pennsylvania where she grew up in a family of organic gardeners, ecologists and conservationists.  Gwen received the BS in Ornamental Horticulture/Landscape Design from Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture in 1982 and worked her way into management positions in the commercial horticultural industry as well as public horticulture, before acquiring the MS in Public Horticulture Leadership and Administration through the Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware in 1993.  From 1993 until 2001, Gwen was the Deputy Director of Gardens and Physical Plant for Hillwood Museum and Gardens in Washington, DC, where she led the restoration of the historic gardens and greenhouses, managed the construction of new buildings, and managed the facilities and security services.  She also served as Deputy Director of Visitor Services, overseeing all visitor center, museum store and café services.  In 2001, Gwen became Director of the Gardens and Preserve for Callaway in Pine Mountain, GA, where she directed the renovation and development of gardens and plant collections, and the conservation, resource management and education on 2,500 acres of cultivated and natural landscapes.  She also directed the land stewardship and botanical research on 6,000 acres of conservation easement and 5,500 acres of managed forest and preserve.   She led the renovation of the Sibley conservatories and the restoration of significant horticultural collections developed by Fred Galle.  Gwen has served as a grant reviewer for the IMLS and on numerous committees for the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta.  She currently serves on the Awards Committee for the Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal from the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College.  Gwen travels for career and pleasure, including an internship in Costa Rica, and a month-long conservation trek in South Africa culminating in a global conference on plant conservation.