Dan B. Stern
Daniel Stern was born in Champaign, Illinois but grew up in the small coastal town of Oriental, North Carolina. He completed his last two years of high school at a residential magnet school for Science and Mathematics in Durham. Upon graduation in 1990, Daniel moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he held a variety of jobs in the food service industry. In 1993, he traveled abroad and spent several months living on a kibbutz in northern Israel. There, he worked in a large-scale commercial orchard pruning trees for the coming season.
Upon returning to North Carolina, Daniel sought out similar jobs at a commercial landscaping firm and local greenhouse / nursery operation before starting an internship at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in 1996. Daniel became the Curator of the Coker Arboretum in 2002 and the following year, helped organize the Arboretum's Centennial Celebration and wrote a book about the history of that garden entitled "A Haven in the Heart of Chapel Hill". While overseeing all of the operations and several renovation projects at the Coker Arboretum he also pursued his baccalaureate degree in Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in May of 2008.
In his thesis research, Daniel is investigating the role that public horticulture institutions can play in water conservation and is developing a model for gardens interested in promoting water-wise gardening through demonstration gardens, educational programs, and collaborations with other professional associations. Daniel is looking forward to taking on a leadership role in the management of a public garden committed to conservation after completing the Longwood Graduate Program. On a personal note, his hobbies include bicycling, sailing, snowboarding, and table tennis. Daniel was awarded the Louise Roselle Fellowship in Public Horticulture in 2009.
Student Position: 2009 International Experience Leader
Board Position: University of Delaware Botanic Gardens Advisory Board Member / Longwood Gardens International Gardener Training Program Selection Committee Member
