AHTA Board of Directors

President 
Lana Dreyfuss, LPCC, LCADC, SEP, HTR
she / her / they / them

Lana is a licensed professional clinical counselor, licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor, somatic experiencing practitioner, and horticultural therapist registered. She/they holds a MA from the University of Maryland in counseling. Currently working at United Indian Health Services in northern California, living gratefully on Tolowa Dee-ni’ land and serving Native American community members providing behavioral health services to include the modality of horticultural therapy. Lana has been serving on the AHTA Board of Directors and work teams since 2004.

Secretary
Nicole Giron, CTRS, HTR, MPH
she / her / hers

Nicole is a registered horticultural therapist, receiving her certificate from the Horticulture Therapy Institute, as well as a certified therapeutic recreation specialist. Nicole holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Nebraska Medical Center where she works as the Director of the Recreation Therapy program at UNMC’s Munroe Meyer Institute. Nicole works with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and incorporates horticultural therapy into her practice with the primary focus being on a farm to fork cultivation.

Treasurer 
Rebecca Pulliam Francis, EdD, HTM

Rebecca Francis is employed as the Associate Dean of the College, and Director of Adult and Online Education at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro, KY. She received her Doctor of Education and an MS degree in plant pathology from NC State University, a BS degree in IPM from the University of Kentucky, and has her North Carolina teacher certification. Rebecca has been a member of AHTA since1992 and professionally registered since 1995.

R. Nicole Magor M.S

Nicole is a passionate newcomer to the profession of horticultural therapy. She is a master gardener, has a master’s degree in non-profit management and social entrepreneurship, and a certificate in horticultural therapy from HTI.  Nicole works in psychiatric rehabilitation doing organizational capacity building and program development. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland and is excited to contribute to the expansion of the profession in the Mid-Atlantic region and nationwide.

Sara Rodriguez, LMFT 

Sara is a licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in California. She has worked in the mental/behavioral health field for 17 years. Sara received the Excellence in Research Award from the University of La Verne. The research focused on resiliency as opposed to a pathology emphasis in treatment. Currently, Sara is the clinical therapist in a garden program at a community mental health center. Therapeutic horticulture has been the focus of her work for 5 years.

Laura Rumpf, HTR
she / her / hers

Laura is a registered horticultural therapist living in Southern Maine. She received her certificate in horticultural therapy from the Horticultural Therapy Institute. Laura is currently an independent contractor. Populations she has served include, among others, those with dementia, students with developmental disabilities, veterans, and those with brain injuries. Laura also collaborates with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department’s Dementia-Friendly program and the University of Washington Memory and Brain Wellness Center.

Binxia Xue, PhD, HTR 

Binxia, Ph.D. in Engineering and Master in Architecture, serves as an associate professor and doctoral supervisor in the School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology at Harbin, China. He received his certificate in horticultural therapy from the Horticultural Therapy Institute. He is professionally engaged in the design and research of the restorative environment and healing space in urban planning with abundant accumulations both in the theory and practices of healthy living environment and horticultural therapy theory and project planning.

Brendan Yukins


Brendan Yukins, LSW, is a therapist in Chicago, IL. He is a co-president of Chase Park Community Garden (7 years) and staff therapist at The Expansive Group specializing in sexual & intimate partner violence with LGBTQ populations. He holds a Masters in Social Work from Loyola University and is currently a PhD student in Couple and Family Therapy at Adler University. Brendan's research is in Nature-based therapy and he enjoys bonsai gardening on his back porch. 

April Ellis LCSW HTR

Bio coming soon!

Charles Jordan Jr. 

Bio coming soon!

Kelly Warnick

Bio coming soon!