Director at Large
Born and raised in Ohio, Adriana Quiñones began volunteering at the Dawes Arboretum in 1996, learning about public horticulture. After a year working with the propagator, she went to school and received her Bachelors’ of Science degree, summa cum laude, with distinction in landscape horticulture from Ohio State University. During this time, Adriana held a fellowship to work at the university’s’ Chadwick Arboretum, solidifying her affinity towards public horticulture. She also taught classes in plant ID and botany as well as teaching Master Gardeners and public horticulture.
After working at Dawes Arboretum for a year, Adriana received a full academic fellowship to enter the graduate program at Ohio State University in Plant Molecular Genetics, where she received her Master’s Degree. Her studies involved the genetic pathways leading to flowering in Magnolia virginiana, where she discovered and named three genes.. During that time, she continued to work at the university arboretum as the curator and plant records specialist. Adriana eventually became part of the horticulture faculty, teaching plant biology, plant ID and introductory horticulture to undergraduate students.
After a year as an educational program specialist for AmericanHort, Adriana relocated to North Carolina where she became Director of Horticulture and Education at Cape Fear Botanical Garden in 2014, eventually serving as Executive Director from 2017 through 2018. Adriana currently serves as the Executive Director of Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Garden in Punta Gorda Florida.
