13 Millennium - Twentieth Edition ACADEMIA, EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES Tracy A. Calla boasts nearly two decades of experience as a rising leader in horticulture and academia. Since 2025, she has served as the director of education at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. She began her career with the garden in 2013 as a greenhouse grower and moved into the education department in 2017. She notably operated as the senior manager of school and family programs for the organization between 2019 and 2020. Though she departed in 2020 to pursue other opportunities, she subsequently returned in 2024, taking on her current leadership position. Ms. Calla holds a BA in theater and horticulture from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in landscape and horticulture from Palm Beach State College. She discovered her passion for plants after completing her theater degree, when she turned to gardening to help manage anxiety. Inspired to pursue horticulture as a career, she enrolled in Palm Beach State College, graduating in 2012. During her studies, she worked at various nurseries in sales and education roles before joining Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Reflecting on her career, Ms. Calla believes her most notable professional achievement was her success in building the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ mangrove curriculum and field trip program, which she introduced in 2017 while serving as a youth program manager. She and a local eco-tour boat collaborated on an education initiative to introduce marine science to middle and high school students in Sarasota, Florida. Within a year, it became the gardens’ most popular field trip. Moving forward, Ms. Calla strives to introduce a horticultural therapy program to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The local community has faced many challenges, including two hurricanes, which have left many residents stressed and mentally exhausted. By establishing a formal horticultural therapy program, Ms. Calla hopes to build mental and emotional resilience within the community. In addition, she is developing a therapeutic horticulture initiative for female veterans. Millennium Magazine Featured Listee TRACY A. CALLA DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Nokomis, FL
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