The ASCFG Welcomes Education Director Rebecca Marrall

We are immensely pleased to share with our members that Rebecca Marrall has joined the ASCFG staff as Education Director.

Rebecca comes to us after serving as Director of Technology & Discovery Services at Western Washington University Libraries in Bellingham, Washington. There she was responsible for the optimal access to and use of different technologies within WWU’s environment, and led her Division in providing comprehensive information technology services to students, staff, faculty, and community members.

This background provides Rebecca with a tremendous knowledge base in educational practices, information technology, and user experience principles, and the ability to synthesize the vast amount of information archived within the ASCFG and its database.

Rebecca’s goal is to collaborate with the ASCFG Education Committee to co-create a holistic education program that offers new and established farmers a wide array of professional development and growth opportunities. She’s excited to organize the existing materials in the ASCFG Members Only learning portal into research guides, factsheets, and other educational tools so that members can easily find impactful resources that may inform farming and business decisions.

Rebecca’s efforts have already paid off for the ASCFG Research Foundation, for which she spearheaded its inaugural fundraiser, “Fund Future Flower Research!”, bringing in nearly $14,000 during June. She has initiated a webinar series titled “Research and the Flower Farmer” which will start in February 2023 and will feature academic research funded by the Research Foundation, including sessions from Dr. John Dole; Dr. Melanie Stock; Dr. Roberto Lopez; and Dr. Stephanie Burnett.

Projects for the ASCFG include another webinar series, this one based on business topics for cut flower growers, with topics such as access to farm capital, grant writing, creating and/or updating business plans, best practices for employee management and retention, and much more.

Rebecca will also assist with existing ASCFG services such as its Farm Tours, monthly “Ask an Expert” sessions, the Mentor Program, and the National Conference and Trade Show.

We are delighted to work with Rebecca. In a short time, she’s accomplished projects we’ve been dreaming of for years. You know that as our membership has tripled in the last six years, our current staff has been juggling many balls and it’s wonderful to pass several of those to Rebecca, with the assurance she’ll complete the missions quickly. Her ability to process information and immediately create effective content is remarkable.

Many of you have already met Rebecca at the Framingham Conference. She’s looking forward to attending the Farm Tour at Piscasaw Gardens next week, and learning firsthand about cut flower production and marketing.

Rebecca lives in Portland, Oregon, where she loves to garden with her dogs Olive and Bailey; read everything she can get her hands on; write; run; and plan travels across the country in her spare time.