We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Dallas County’s new Horticultural Agent, Katerina Velasco Graham, and share her open letter of introduction.

Hello Master Gardeners and Dallas County gardening enthusiasts!  My name is Katerina, and I am your new Horticulture Agent. My husband Jeff and I have been married for 30 years and I am the proud mama of two kids: Mitchell who lives in California and works as an aerospace engineer for Lockheed Martin, and Daniela, who works in Houston as an ER Trauma 1 nurse for Memorial Herrmann.

I was born and raised in Ecuador so, yes, I’m bilingual and bicultural… and yes, I have been to the Galapagos Islands! It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I strongly encourage you to add it to your bucket list! I came to the US to attend college over 30 years ago with the intention of returning to Ecuador to work on my father’s farm.  I did receive my BS in Animal Science, but I never returned to Ecuador.

After working in reproductive physiology for a couple of years, I got interested in using the techniques I had acquired to save endangered species.  By then I was already in Texas (after living in Virginia and Florida), so I attended Texas A&M to pursue a master’s in Wildlife Sciences.  Half-way through my degree I decided to focus on Environmental Education: toting around my firstborn and doing research “in the boonies” was not a very compatible proposition. For several years I worked as a part- time Naturalist and Environmental Educator at various nature centers in the Houston area.

Along the way, I decided to delve deeper into my childhood passion: gardening.  I had been that child who spent her afternoons and weekends on her balcony tending her plants.  Most of my birthday gifts were plants, pots, or dirt. A trip to the mom-and-pop nursery near our home was a better treat than getting an ice cream. I took the gardening series offered by Urban Harvest in Houston.

Similarly, to the MG School requirement, I had to complete a project to get certified.  I loved the idea of gardening sustainably so much that I quit my daytime job, transformed my backyard into a combination of raised beds and native landscaping and grew produce at a local farmer’s market for the next three years as I simultaneously designed and built a school garden at my children’s elementary school (I forgot to apply for my Urban Harvest certificate by the way- I was having too much fun!).  I worked with the teachers and the PTA for the next 4 years to keep the garden running and assisted with curriculum integration.

As my children got older, I went back to part-time work.  I designed, built and managed two more raised garden projects: at the Sims Bayou Nature Center (as well as teaching JMG), and at Veggie Village, a large donation garden for Interfaith of the Woodlands. I also managed a separate community garden a few years later for The Woodlands Township Environmental Dept.  In between my garden building and supervising, I also worked as a contract teacher and managed a farmer’s market.

When my second born started college, I decided to go back to school one more time to pursue a research degree in Entomology under the Horticulture Dept. at Oregon State University.  My thesis focused on the control of azalea lace bug on rhododendrons and azaleas using alternative controls such as supplements and the use of volatiles to attract natural enemies. After I graduated, I got hired to work in biocontrol by the Agricultural Research Service- USDA.  My main project focused on determining whether the use of various sustainable tools could reduce spotted winged drosophila populations in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (blueberries), Washington (peaches) and California (raspberries).

In a nutshell, my vision and my passion are the same:  to ensure we grow both our food crops and ornamentals using strategies and techniques that ensure we work with, and not against, mother nature. My experience has also taught me that we can not expect humans to put effort into being stewards of the environment if they are hungry.  I am excited that this position will allow me to act on that conviction through the many opportunities and projects developed under Jeff Raska and powered by you, the Dallas County Master Gardeners. I look forward to meeting and learning from you!              –Katerina Velasco Graham