Melissa Booth is the Founder, Principal Science Communicator, and Director of Training at The Science Communicator, a firm that helps scientists and other professionals improve their communication skills. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Master of Science in Applied Climate Studies program at Warren Wilson College. She earned a PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Oklahoma State University. For more than 25 years, she was a research scientist and professor. She has appeared on national and public television and numerous radio shows and podcasts.

Professor Jack A Gilbert earned his Ph.D. from Unilever and Nottingham University, UK in 2002, and received his postdoctoral training at Queens University, Canada. From 2005-2010 he was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK; and from 2010-2018 he was Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at Argonne National Laboratory, a Professor of Surgery, and Director of The Microbiome Center at University of Chicago. In 2019 he moved to University of California San Diego, where he is a Professor in Pediatrics and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Associate Vice Chancellor for Marine Science, and Director of the Microbiome and Metagenomics Center. Dr. Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology.

Jack Gilbert is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Oath Soil Life, a microbial soil inoculant brand. He cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project. He has authored more than 450 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology. He is the founding Editor in Chief of mSystems journal. In 2014 he was recognized on Crain’s Business Chicago’s 40 Under 40 List, and in 2015 he was listed as one of the 50 most influential scientists by Business Insider, and in the Brilliant Ten by Popular Scientist. In 2016 he won the Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society, and the WH Pierce Prize from the Society for Applied Microbiology for research excellence. In 2017 he co-authored “Dirt is Good”, a popular science guide to the microbiome and children’s health. In 2018, he founded BiomeSense Inc to produce automated microbiome sensors. In 2021 Dr Gilbert became the UCSD PI and Consortium Chair for the National institutes of Health’s $175M Nutrition for Precision Medicine program. In 2023 he became President of Applied Microbiology International and won the 2023 IFF Microbiome Science Prize. He is also a Private Pilot and plays in a punk rock band.

Lisa Morano earned a B.S.(1990) from the University of California, Irvine in Biology and a Ph.D. (1995) from the University of Calfiornia, Davis in Ecology within the Department of Viticulture and Enology.Lisa is currently an Associate Professor of Biology and Microbiology at the University of Houston-Downtown where her research interests focus on questions of microbial ecology of grapevine diseases.She has studied various aspects of detection and genetic diversity of the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, the causative agent of Pierces disease (PD) in grapevines. Since 1995 she has taught biology, microbiology, plant physiology, and cell biology at colleges and universities in California, Michigan and now in Texas.

Sanjay Antony-Babu is a microbiologist working on various facets of microbial diversity and functioning. He did his PhD at the Newcastle University (United Kingdom) in 2008 where under the supervision of Prof Michael Goodfellow and Dr James EM Stach, he worked on biosystematics and biogeography of a novel class of actinomycetes, termed as alkaliphilic streptomycetes. Since then his research has concentrated on deciphering microbial diversity, functioning and development for tapping their biotechnological potentials.

Dr. Stephanie Adams is a tree pathologist and ISA Board Certified Master Arborist. She has been working in the green industry for 24 years and she is excited and happy to be here.

Hannah Ayala graduated with a B.S. in Bioenvironmental Sciences from Texas A&M University in 2018. As an undergraduate, she worked as a student worker at the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab (TPDDL). This is where she developed a deep fascination for the relationships between plants, pathogens, and the environment. Every day brought her a new puzzle to solve in the form of a diseased plant that needed a diagnosis. She worked at the TPDDL as an Assistant Diagnostician until she left for graduate school at the University of California, Riverside. Her M.S. research focused on the epidemiology of onion downy mildew in southern California. She monitored fields for symptoms, used spore traps, and tracked conducive weather conditions for Peronospora destructor to identify trends and develop strategies for disease prevention. She is now the Head Diagnostician at TPDDL.

Certified arborist David M Vaughan has been a stalwart figure in the arboriculture field in San Antonio since 1978. As the founder of ArborVaughan Consult, LLC, he has dedicated his career to providing expert consulting services in tree management and preservation. He was awarded the Arborist of the Year award in 2000. David’s passion for trees was ignited during his academic pursuits, culminating in a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1971, followed by a Master of Agriculture in Natural Resources Development from Texas A&M University in 1977. He was in the first group of arborists to take the certification test in Texas. He is currently a member of ASCA, Texas oak Wilt Qualified, and Organic certified. David serves on the boards of Alamo Forest Partnership, Bexar Branches Alliance, and San Antonio Arborist Association.