Joe began his work at the Wildflower Center in 2000, at first splitting time between gardening and database management. Over time, the demands of the Center’s ever-growing plant databases necessitated giving up gardening.

Today, he manages all of the Center’s various plant databases including Native Plants of North America, the Image Gallery and Ask an Expert. Joe also manages the Wildflower Center’s library and the Center’s garden sign engraving program and is plant information editor for Wildflower magazine.

Before arriving at the Wildflower Center, Joe worked in wholesale nursery management for a number of years, having been raised in the nursery business and after receiving a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Georgia. He gained valuable database management experience during 21 years serving in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Navy Reserve. Joe’s attention to detail; love of language, writing and research; and his never-sated hunger for learning make him well-suited for the work he does at the Wildflower Center. His particular botanical interests are in plant taxonomy and plant morphology.