speaker profiles
Our Speakers
Marieanne Arata
A master gardener since 2008, Marieanne and her husband are passionate wildlife gardeners. Each year at their home on two acres in Waggaman, many bird species enjoy nesting and feeding in their magnificent native landscape. A large pond attracts many water birds, and at dusk, bats. She is also a member of Petals of North Bridgedale Garden Club and a board member of Friends of Jefferson the Beautiful.
Anne Barnes
A longtime member of the Herb Society of America New Orleans Unit, Anne has been growing and sharing her love of herbs her entire life. She is equally passionate about her collection of over 80 salvia that attract the butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds populating her wildlife garden, cultivated for 25 years. Her uptown garden was granted the Greenbridges™ certification from the Herb Society of America. Anne is a master gardener, a Louisiana Master Naturalist and member of the Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans.
(Available Wednesday afternoon, Thursday or Friday. No evening presentations.)
Miranda Bashaw
Miranda is a Louisiana Master Gardener (class of 2017), beekeeper, and insect enthusiast. She has been gardening organically for over 30 years and has a background in education. Originally from West Virginia, Miranda has called New Orleans home for the last 19 years. In 2013, Miranda helped start the Federal City Community Garden in Algiers and took over as Lead Gardener in 2016 where she helps members grow their own fresh veggies. She and her husband maintain a small urban homestead in Algiers alongside their two Great Danes.
Chris Belser
Chris Belser (LMG Class of 2021) is a faculty member in the UNO Counselor Education program with a background in school counseling and career counseling. He volunteers regularly with the Super Plant Demonstration Garden at City Park. He also has a passion for Louisiana native plants, has a certified habitat in his New Orleans yard, and is involved with several native plant projects at UNO.
(Not available Monday – Thursday)
Dov Block
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Dov now calls New Orleans his home. He has spent the majority of his career working in urban agriculture, garden education, and private landscaping. Dov is a licensed landscape horticulturist in the state of Louisiana and has taught children and adults of all ages in the garden through numerous capacities. A Master Gardener since 2017, Dov’s horticultural interests focus on organic/low-impact growing practices and edibles.
Angela Theresa Henderson
Angela is currently the lead gardener at Okra Abbey, a community garden and pantry serving the neighbors in Pigeon Town, Uptown. She is also an enthusiastic City Park volunteer spending time in the Botanical Garden’s cold frames and at the Pelican Greenhouse. As the elected representative of the Louisiana Master Gardener class of 2023, Angela also serves on the Board of MGGNO. Sustainability is Angela’s passion. She has been composting since 2006 and regularly shares her knowledge with anyone interested in the environmental and agricultural benefits of the process.
Glen Laborde
A master gardener since 2013, Glen has a masters in science education from UNO. He is a volunteer mentor for the New Orleans master gardening training classes and volunteers with the Pelican Greenhouse at their monthly plant sales. He loves tropicals, roses, camellias, and citrus.
Shelly Ferro
Shelley Ferro is the founder of Urban Tree, a 501(c)(3), whose mission is to educate homeowners and the public on the benefits of trees in urban areas and to advocate for the protection of trees. Shelley has presented to civic groups and garden clubs in Jefferson Parish to understand the importance of green space and tree canopies. Her interest in gardening and nature led her to the Louisiana Master Gardener program through LSU AgCenter in the summer of 2025. Her interests also includes nature photography and visiting botanical gardens
Seth Nehrbass
Seth Nehrbass is a member of Master Gardeners of Greater New Orleans (Class of 2019) and Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater New Orleans (Class of Spring 2020). A major focus of his interest is hummingbirds, especially increasing the number of days of hummingbird sightings in his yard and the number of species of hummingbirds observed in his yard. Seth volunteers at the New Orleans Botanical Garden and helps to band hummingbirds with Nancy Newfield. He is a patent attorney at the New Orleans patent law firm Garvey, Smith & Nehrbass, Patent Attorneys, L.L.C.
Sandy Pitre
Recently retired after devoting 48 years as a labor and delivery nurse and nurse educator, Sandy is now pursuing her passion for gardening and photography. She has been a Louisiana Master Gardener since 1999 and loves sharing her knowledge of horticulture with other NOLA gardeners. Originally from Cut Off, she adds a little Cajun perspective to her classes, which she acquired on Bayou Lafourche.
Usha Ramadhyani
Usha Ramadhyani is a retired anesthesiologist and is finally able to indulge in her passion for gardening. She is a native of the southern city of Bangalore, India and has lived in the New Orleans area since 1984. She is a Louisiana master gardener since 2017 and is a mentor for the MGGNO class of 2018. Today she and her husband enjoy maintaining their yard of ornamentals and edibles and have passed on their passion to their children. She volunteers at the cold frames gardens in City Park where produce is grown to donate to the local teaching kitchens and to community centers like Okra Abbey. Her current interests are native plants and gardening for pollinators.
Anna Timmerman
Anna Timmerman is an LSU AgCenter Horticulture Agent stationed in Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes. Anna has a diverse background within the industry, and prior to working for LSU ran several horticulture-based businesses. Timmerman is currently finishing a Masters thesis on containerized citrus at LSU this fall and plans to pursue her PhD in Horticulture while running the new Louisiana Citrus Center of Excellence as a research farm in Meraux, LA in partnership with Docville Farm and the Meraux Foundation. She lives and gardens with her partner in the Upper 9th Ward, where they have a small nursery, as well as a “micro farm” raising chickens, quail, ducks, pigeons, and rabbits for meat and eggs, and manages a public seed library project that distributes over 30,000 packets of seed per year.
Linda Wegmann
Linda has been an active volunteer with the Louisiana Master Gardener program for over 25 years. She has served in various leadership roles for MGGNO and helped launch their Speakers Bureau in 2014. Currently, she serves as webmaster for mggno.com and administrator for MGGNO’s Facebook sites. An advocate of the Louisiana Super Plant program, Linda volunteers at the LSP Demonstration Garden in City Park where she enjoys experimenting and sharing her experiences with the latest LSP introductions.
(No evening presentations)
Laura Boland Wright
Laura Boland has been gardening most of her life. Originally from Connecticut and New York City, she moved to New Orleans 35 years ago for graduate school at Tulane and was thrilled to discover year-round gardening. After retiring, she became a Master Gardener in 2019 and recently earned Advanced Master Gardener certification. Laura volunteers in the Cold Frames at the New Orleans Botanical Garden, where she and a team of other volunteers grow produce for Okra Abbey. She also helped create the “Gumbo Garden” at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum and is active in the Native Plant Initiative. At home in Algiers Point, she grows vegetables, herbs, and plans to cultivate a native garden on the hellstrip in front of her house.