Staff

PLANT BIOLOGY GROWTH FACILITIES STAFF

Plant Biology Growth Facilities Assistant Director

Heather Lash

Heather graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and M.S. in Natural Resources Environmental Sciences.  She worked as a Research Greenhouse Specialist at the ACES Plant Care Facility for 16 years before transitioning to her current role in the department of Plant Biology in LAS.  Her interest lies in the use of beneficial organisms to reduce dependence on pesticides in a greenhouse setting.  She enjoys taking macro photos of flowers and the creatures that are attracted to them.

Email: hek@illinois.edu

Research Greenhouse Specialist in Agriculture

Jeff Hansen

Jeff graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Horticulture – Specialty Crops. He has a strong passion for propagation and greenhouse plant production. Jeff’s experiences include working at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Indianapolis Zoo, and the University of Illinois (RIPE Project). Jeff’s favorite plants are cacti, succulents, and other desert species, and he loves to geek out about them and the other plants in our plant collection.

Email: hansen34@illinois.edu

PBIG Greenhouse Manager

Tracy Johnson

Tracy graduated from Millersville University with a BS in Biology and then from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with an MS in Crop Sciences. Before joining the UIUC team, she worked on a plant breeding team managing sorghum breeding nurseries. She joined the university as a field and greenhouse technician for CABBI before moving to the Plant Biology Innovation Greenhouse as Greenhouse Manager.

Email: tracylj@illinois.edu