By Bernheim
International Women’s Day, observed each year on March 8, celebrates the achievements and contributions of women around the world. The 2026 theme, “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future,” recognizes the women who are reimagining and rebuilding systems to support long-term environmental, economic, educational, and societal sustainability.
Women have long played an important role in the study of plants and the natural world. Scientists like Alice Eastwood, Emma Lucy Braun, and Elizabeth Blackwell helped advance the field of botany in meaningful ways. Alice Eastwood was a botanist and conservationist who helped protect what is now Muir Woods National Monument. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, she famously rushed into the damaged California Academy of Sciences building to rescue hundreds of plant specimens she had curated. Emma Lucy Braun was a leading botanist and ecologist known for her groundbreaking research on the forests of eastern North America. Elizabeth Blackwell, an 18th-century botanical illustrator and herbalist, became the first woman to publish a plant name under the binomial naming system in 1757.
Here at Bernheim, we are also fortunate to have remarkable women using their scientific knowledge to care for the arboretum, steward plant collections, and help shape a more sustainable future through their work with the landscape.
Women in Horticulture at Bernheim
Kelly Vowels
Kelly Vowels is Bernheim’s Research Coordinator and first joined the organization in 2007 as a natural areas technician. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marine science and biology from Coastal Carolina University and a master’s degree in biology from Western Kentucky University.
Kelly grew up visiting Bernheim nearly every other weekend with her siblings and spent much of her childhood exploring the woods here and near her family home in Bullitt County. Before joining Bernheim, she worked across the country surveying birds and plants, conducting forest inventories, and studying bats and other wildlife.
At Bernheim, her research has covered a wide range of topics, including oak forest burns, rare plants and animals, insect populations, birds, bat acoustics, and ecological bioassessments. She has conducted countless surveys of birds, amphibians, plants, and insects while also helping remove invasive species and restore hundreds of acres of forest habitat.
Hannah Hunt
Hannah Hunt joined Bernheim as a horticulture intern in 2018, became a full-time staff member in 2019, and was promoted to Plant Records Coordinator in 2022. She grew up hiking, fishing, and kayaking with her mom near the Chesapeake Bay.
After graduating high school, she initially attended Virginia Commonwealth University’s art school in Richmond before switching to political science. Eventually, she realized her real passion was the outdoors and transferred to Oregon State University. In 2018, she graduated with honors from the College of Forestry with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management Policy, studying subjects like hydrogeology, soil science, silviculture, and botany.
Today, Hannah manages the arboretum’s plant records database and oversees the curation of Bernheim’s living plant collections. She also serves on Bernheim’s burn crew for prescribed fires. Most recently, she spearheaded Bernheim’s successful bid for national accreditation through Botanic Gardens Conservation International, along with collection-specific accreditations for the Oak and Magnolia Collections through the American Public Gardens Association.
While her interests began with plants, her work now extends across the broader field of ecology. She is an active member of the Kentucky Native Plant Society, the Southeast Bat Diversity Network, and the Kentucky Bat Working Group.
Olivia Towles
Olivia Towles has worked as a horticulturist at Bernheim since 2023 and currently oversees the Magnolia Collection. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Eastern Kentucky University with a concentration in fruit, vegetable, nursery, and greenhouse production, along with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Landscape Horticulture.
“I got into this field because of my love for vegetable gardening,” she says. “But after taking classes in landscape design, a new appreciation for the intersection of beauty, design, and plant science led me to where I am today.”
Megan Weissmann
Megan Weissmann serves as Bernheim’s Edible Garden Steward, growing the vegetables and herbs found in the edible garden spaces. She grew up in Evansville, Indiana, and moved to Louisville in 2013.
In 2022, she left a career in project management to follow her passion for agriculture. Since then, she has built professional experience managing grow spaces of many different sizes and specializes in crop planning and using data collection to guide growing practices.
Her work is rooted in building healthy systems—whether food systems, environmental systems, or community connections. She is passionate about regenerative agriculture and its potential to positively impact both communities and the environment. Megan also works to build partnerships with universities and nonprofits to help strengthen the local food system.
Katie Glauber
Katie Glauber has been a horticulturist at Bernheim for just over a year. She studied both writing and biology at Western Kentucky University, earning bachelor’s degrees in both subjects.
Katie is especially interested in landscaping that also functions as wildlife habitat. She enjoys the idea of transforming everyday yards into places that support conservation while still being beautiful and practical.
Some of her favorite plants include red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and spicebush (Lindera benzoin), while her favorite trees include sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) and white oak (Quercus alba).
These are just a few of the many dedicated people who help care for Bernheim Forest and Arboretum. Their work—whether studying wildlife, tending plant collections, or growing food—helps keep this landscape thriving while inspiring others to learn more about the natural world.
While progress has been made, there is still work to do. Many women—especially women of color—have long been overlooked for their work in fields like science, math, and research. For centuries, women faced bias and barriers that limited opportunities, and in many cases their discoveries were suppressed or credited to male colleagues. Today, women make up about 30% of scientists and mathematicians in the United States, and representation of women of color remains even lower. Continuing to challenge bias, expand access, and support future scientists is an important part of moving these fields forward.
The next time you visit Bernheim, take a moment to appreciate the people behind the scenes who help make it all possible!
