Recognized Organic Gardening Leaders 2025

I'm Whitney Klonsky, founder and CEO of Rhubarb, a specialized platform for home gardeners featuring AI that understands your unique growing conditions, a "super-app" for growing food designed specifically for the gardening community. I'm a lifelong home gardener, mother of three, and former coach who has studied horticulture, permaculture, agroecology, and nutrition. I hold professional certifications as a Horticulturist (Cert III, Australia), Precision Nutrition Level 1 coach, and NASM Personal Training with corrective exercise and lifestyle specializations. After spending seven years in Australia and experiencing firsthand how food, health, and climate are interconnected, I’m now back in the Pacific Northwest helping more people get growing, wherever they live. I provide expert insights on a broad range of gardening topics, particularly how they connect with nutrition, fitness, sustainability, and seasonal living. I can speak to everything from homegrown food as part of a broader food security solution, to water-wise gardening, biodiversity, ways to support local ecology through everyday garden choices, and the intersection of technology with traditional growing practices. As tech startup founder I can also speak to my experiences in a late career switch. I’m happy to share timely tips, trends we’re seeing in the Rhubarb community, or provide quotes for upcoming stories. You can also find me at www.joinrhubarb.com.

I teach do-it-yourselfers how to design their own landscape, have successful garden projects (big and small), and make the world a better place with their opportunity to do some landscaping. State certified Horticulturist, Landscape Designer, Gardening Teacher, and Master Gardener volunteer of 14 years –YouTube Channel 75k+ subscribers (Average views per video: 95k, Median views per video: 33k) –Newsletter List 5k+ subscribers (Average open rate: 48%) –Instagram: 19k+ followers Featured in The Seattle Times: www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/5-weeds-a-northwest-horticulturist-says-you-should-try-eating/ Through my business, Garden Project Academy, I offer live workshops, on-demand online courses, and coaching on landscape design and gardening for beginners and do-it-yourselfers. Email: hello@gardenprojectacademy.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/@gardenprojectacademy Instagram: www.instagram.com/gardenprojectacademy/ Website: www.gardenprojectacademy.com/ 🪴 Landscape design 🪴 Wildlife gardening 🪴 Money-saving tips, landscaping on a budget 🪴 Time-saving tips and low-maintenance landscaping 🪴 Gardening with native plants 🪴 Vegetable gardening 🪴 Ecological best practices 🪴 Pollinator gardening 🪴 Urban foraging 🪴 Composting 🪴 Mulch best practices 🪴 Plant propagation 🪴 Lawn removal methods 🪴 Landscape design for privacy 🪴 Landscape design for slopes and hillsides 🪴 Weeds & what to do 🪴 How to create a landscape design plan

Davy Wright is a horticulture-minded entrepreneur who builds practical systems for growing, selling, and supporting plants at scale—without losing the personal touch that makes gardening meaningful. With a background rooted in nurseries and greenhouse operations, Davy has spent years learning what actually works: which varieties perform, how to keep plants healthy through handling and shipping, and how to create customer experiences that feel clear, honest, and helpful. Davy’s work sits at the crossroads of plants and process. He’s known for improving day-to-day operations—inventory tracking, task management, order flow, packaging standards, and customer communication—so teams can move faster with fewer mistakes. He also brings a builder’s mindset to the digital side of the business, shaping tools and workflows that support e-commerce and internal operations, and making sure the technology serves the people using it. Above all, Davy cares about outcomes: stronger plants, happier customers, and businesses that can grow sustainably over time. He’s based in Plantersville, Alabama, and when he’s not working on operations or systems, he’s usually testing ideas, refining processes, and finding new ways to help gardeners succeed season after season.

Entrepeneur and experienced ecommerce specialist. By leveraging my skills in content marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I've created scalable small businesses that continue to thrive.I love small business and I'm a jack of all trades. I thrive when introduced to new challenges and experiences.

Tatiana Anderson is a tropical plant expert with over 20 years of hands-on experience growing and caring for tropical and subtropical plants. Her work focuses on fruit trees, flowering plants, and climate-sensitive species, with practical guidance based on real growing conditions. She works with a US-based tropical plant nursery that ships plants nationwide and contributes to a large online plant encyclopedia documenting thousands of plant species. Tatiana specializes in plant identification, variety selection, cold protection, and helping gardeners avoid common growing mistakes.

Kristina and Jason Walker are the dynamic husband-and-wife duo behind StarWalker Organic Farms, a Regenerative Organic Certified® farm in Northern California. As third-generation farmers and entrepreneurs, they’ve transformed a 50-year-old family legacy into a cutting-edge leader in sustainable agriculture, focusing on soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness. Kristina, a visionary in organic farming and product innovation, oversees the brand’s direct-to-consumer operations and nationwide distribution. Jason, an expert in regenerative farming, manages the farm’s 7,000 acres and livestock, including 400 cattle and 4,000 pigs raised annually. Together, they run the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified® pork farm and are the first Regenerative Organic Certified® beef producers in the U.S. In 2024, their farm set a new standard for organic protein with the debut of the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified® jerky. Now in 2025, they're raising the bar once more with the launch of the first-ever Regenerative Organic Certified® meat snack sticks. Passionate advocates for regenerative farming, the Walkers share their journey on TikTok where they’ve amassed over 30,000 followers and 10 million views, driving conversations on the future of food and farming.

Ciarán De Buitléar is the founder of Gardeningwell, a family-led wildlife gardening and biodiversity project based in Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland. He works with schools, youth groups, community gardens and local councils to create pollinator-friendly, chemical-free growing spaces and to give children hands-on experience with soil, food and wildlife. Gardeningwell began during the COVID-19 lockdown, when Ciarán and his sons started posting simple seed-planting and “grow your own food” videos for people stuck at home. Those videos led to the discovery and revival of a 150-year-old Victorian walled garden, which is now used for food growing, biodiversity projects and environmental education. The core message is simple and hopeful: every ordinary Irish garden can become a small piece of climate action.

Entrepeneur and experienced ecommerce specialist. By leveraging my skills in content marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I've created scalable small businesses that continue to thrive.I love small business and I'm a jack of all trades. I thrive when introduced to new challenges and experiences.

Angelika Zaber is a Lawn Care Specialist & Gardening Expert working for Online Turf. She provides exceptional lawn care expertise and gardening advice that encourages both novice and experienced gardeners to have healthy, vibrant outdoor spaces all year round.

Dynamic Senior Content Strategist with a dedication to driving process efficiency and automation through content strategy and industry best practices. Adept at harnessing AI, DEI, + ESG pillars with neuromarketing techniques to deliver compelling communication campaigns and CRM strategy. Well-versed in conducting consumer experience research and advocating for accessibility. Backed by an extensive background spanning diverse industries, including agency, corporate, and freelance work.Founder of Let's Go Compost, a 501(c)3 registered non-profit and community-driven initiative, which provides free compost bins and school gardens through the repurposing of bulk ingredient buckets, impacting the education and landfill management industries.

Dynamic Senior Content Strategist with a dedication to driving process efficiency and automation through content strategy and industry best practices. Adept at harnessing AI, DEI, + ESG pillars with neuromarketing techniques to deliver compelling communication campaigns and CRM strategy. Well-versed in conducting consumer experience research and advocating for accessibility. Backed by an extensive background spanning diverse industries, including agency, corporate, and freelance work.Founder of Let's Go Compost, a 501(c)3 registered non-profit and community-driven initiative, which provides free compost bins and school gardens through the repurposing of bulk ingredient buckets, impacting the education and landfill management industries.

Business + Digital Marketing = Growth

Manage and facilitate business operations for a family owned 9 acre Garden Center that specializes in Trees. Buyer: Network / Research / Order Trees, Shrubs and small plants for 9 acres. Specialize in resourcing material to re-sell on a retail platform. Organized and Restructured Profit Margins / Pricing: All Trees, Plants, & Merchandise. Maintain set Gross Profit Margin's Streamlined Procedures: Developed and created an online "Tree in Distress form" to organize customer communications resulting in employee efficiency and saving time. Researched, Implemented, and Facilitated the integration of 3rd party business applications - "Birdeye" / "Grasshopper" directly improving customer communication while significantly increasing lead generation and sales conversions. Text payment transactions now account for 25% of sales revenue, enabling customers to purchase a tree and installation from the comfort of their home / at their own discretion. Selected & Initiated a Customer Review System: Gained over 500 (and still growing), 5 star reviews since the year 2020 Fosters a work culture of safety, respect, and integrity. Led team meetings to improve daily business operations, safety, training, ideas. Led monthly Zoom meetings to create and facilitate business website operations thetreeplace.com. Started from ground zero and helped build the website into what it is today. Equipment Maintenance Manager: In charge of directing and conducting preventive and routine maintenance on all industrial equipment, Skid Steers, Utility carts, Customer transportation, Lawn equipment. Ensuring that all of this equipment is up and working at all times & ready to use. Skills: Sales Customer Service Procedural Compliance Financial Analysis/Management/Accounting Inventory Management Quality Control Leadership/Team Building Equipment Maintenance Policy Implementation/Development IT/Networking Web Development Social Media Development Marketing Skid Steer Operator Problem Solving

Anirban Saha has 6 Years of Experience as a Java Developer having expertise in developing Microservices. Has proven leadership skills and deep technical knowledge to solve complex problems, design and develop enterprise level solutions. Anirban is a proactive team player and has ability to satisfy and meet the client requirement with high accuracy. Proven to work under tight deadlines; capable of developing multiple projects, managing teams, and also can work efficiently as an individual.Anirban's Tech Skills: Java 8, Spring Boot, Microservices, Spring Security, Spring Cloud, Spring Data JPA, Spring AOP, Redis, Kafka, Hibernate, JUnit, Jenkins, MySQL, AWS.

Local food producers didn't know how to easily sell their products. When consumers want convenient access to quality groceries from people they can trust...they visit Farm To You. Chris is a 7th generation retailer with nearly $400MM in fresh food sales. Growing a 100% local grocery store using direct-to-farmer relationships, Chris has a pulse on local food problems that few have attempted to tackle in this way. Learn why farmers markets don't actually benefit many farmers (or consumers) and how grocery stores also fall short. Chris is eager to educate and inform others using on-the-ground insight into why our food system is so broken and why we lose thousands of farms a year with most farms earning negative income farming.

Jacob is the COO and Associate Certified Entomologist for Family Owned Arrow Termite and Pest Control and our other brands, including Premier Pest Prevention and Dave's and Kevin's Pest Control. We have operated in Louisiana since 1958, with branches in Houston, and South Mississippi. Our sister companies service the Lafayette and Pensacola Areas. He is licensed in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas with extensive experience in Termite, Pest, Rodent, Mosquito, Industrial, Food Processing Pest Control, Industrial Pest Control and Fumigation. He also available for paid consultations for legal cases.

Sarah Storm is an experienced environmental educator and the School Programs Manager at Yampatika, specializing in developing and delivering Colorado state standards–aligned outdoor and environmental education programs across Northwest Colorado. With a background in teaching, environmental science, water education, Indigenous land stewardship, and hands-on field science, she collaborates closely with schools, community partners, and land management agencies to create meaningful learning experiences for students from preschool through high school. Sarah is known for her operational strength, program leadership, and her ability to build lasting partnerships with organizations such as Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Trout Unlimited, NRCS, the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District, and other local conservation nonprofits. She is also a CSU Extension Master Gardener and contributes regularly to community education through articles, outreach events, and place-based gardening and ecology instruction. Dedicated, creative, and deeply committed to expanding environmental literacy, she works to foster student curiosity and connect youth to the natural landscapes of the Yampa Valley and the surrounding Northwest Colorado region.

Owner at Green Haven Pest Control in Crawfordsville, IN.