UT Gardens' Staff

James Newburn
Interim Director of the UT Gardens, Knoxville
Email: jnewburn@utk.edu

Since 1993, James has been learning and growing along with the UT Gardens, Knoxville. Starting out as a student assistant planting annuals in the trial beds, James has been instrumental in planning, implementing, and maintaining various expansions of the Gardens. He has overseen the trials program, designed garden beds, and planted and maintained hundreds of plants. He serves as an ambassador for the Gardens giving educational presentations and tours to green industry professionals, garden clubs and civic groups, and represents the Gardens to the media. Appointed interim director in 2020, James oversees the overall maintenance, development, special events, and human resources of the Gardens. He has been responsible for training and mentoring many undergraduate and graduate students over the years and has found that to be one of the most rewarding aspects of his job. James received both his BS in Ornamental Horticulture and MS in Plant Sciences from UT and considers himself a Vol-for-Life.

Derrick Stowell, Ph.D., HTR, CTRS
Education and Horticultural Therapy Program Administrator
Email: dstowell@utk.edu

Derrick has been working for the University of Tennessee Gardens since 2012. He is the Education and Horticultural Therapy Program Administrator for the UT Gardens. Derrick is responsible for directing education programs and horticultural therapy programs for the UT Gardens, Knoxville location. He received his bachelor’s degree from Maryville College in 2003 with a double major in environmental studies and outdoor recreation. After graduating, Derrick spent a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Knoxville working with Ijams Nature Center and its Earth Flag program teaching environmental education to students in Knox County schools. Derrick went on to complete his master’s degree in therapeutic recreation from the University of Tennessee in 2006. He spent five years directing the national camp program for the Amputee Coalition of America and was also their Annual Giving Manager. He received​ his Ph.D. in plant, soil and environmental sciences from the University of Tennessee. 

Derrick has developed numerous programs for the UT Gardens including horticultural therapy​ programs. He is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS). In 2015 he became a registered Horticultural Therapist (HTR) through the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Derrick served on the Board of Directors for the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) from 2016-2018. He has also presented on therapeutic gardening at national and regional conferences. In 2016, he received the Rhea McCandliss Professional Service Award from the AHTA for his contributions to the horticultural therapy profession. 

Beth Willis
Membership Coordinator
Email: ewillis2@utk.edu

Beth joined the UT Gardens as the Herb Garden Curator in 2004 while completing her B.S. in Plant Sciences at UT. She continued in that role while pursuing an M.S. in Public Horticulture, while also taking a more active role in the annual trials program as part of her master’s project.

Holly Jones
Manager of Edible Horticulture/Social Media & Event  Rental Coordinator
Email: hjones3@utk.edu

Holly began working for the UT Gardens as the Perennial Curator in 2004 while completing her B.S. in Plant Sciences. After graduation she accepted an internship and then an employee position at the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens in Santa Barbara, CA. At the same time she worked with Growing Solutions Restoration Education Institute, propagating native plants and managing their website. From there, she went to Maui where she worked in an organic food garden for a yoga retreat center and later as the lead gardener at a private estate.

Matt Carpenter
UT Gardens Horticulturist/
Collections Manager
Email: matccarp@utk.edu

Matt is a Research Horticulturist and Collections Manager for the UT Gardens. He is originally from Lebanon, Tennessee and began working at the Gardens in August of 2021. He completed his bachelor's degree in Plant Sciences with a focus in Golf Course and Landscape Management from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2016. He then went on to complete his master's degree in Agronomy with a focus in Turfgrass Science and Culture from Mississippi State University in 2019. He has had several internships - one being at Walt Disney World where he was a horticulture intern. After being out of the agriculture industry for several years, he is thrilled to be back fulfilling his dream in plant science as a Research Specialist for the Gardens.

PJ Snodgrass
UT Gardens Horticultural Therapy Education Assistant
Email: pj@utk.edu

P.J. retired from the University of Tennessee after 33 years of service in 2017 and came to work for the Gardens in 2019 in the Horticultural Therapy program. As a life-long learner, she is working towards registering as a Horticultural Therapist with the American Horticultural Therapy Association. She is also a Tennessee Master Gardener. P.J. holds Master's and Doctoral degrees from the University of Tennessee.

Working at the Gardens is joy for her as she has also been a Gardens volunteer for 20+ years. Being able to use her skills in teaching, training, and program development to help grow the Horticultural Therapy program is very rewarding. Being able to teach someone the simple joy of planting a seed or potting a flower is priceless!

As gardening and all things outdoors are important to her she is a hiker and avid home gardener. She also enjoys walking her two dogs Sassy and Pippin and being an active member of her neighborhood association. For the past two years, she has worked with other neighbors to obtain grants from the City of Knoxville to design and install a series of pollinator gardens in the neighborhood.

Whitney Welch
UT Gardens Education 
Program Assistant
Email: wwelch9@vols.utk.edu

Whitney is a Garden Educator as the Extension Program Assistant. She directs the summer and fall camps, coordinates the Homegrown homeschool program, and strives to create other engaging educational programs at the Gardens. In 2019, she graduated from UT with a B.S. degree in Geology and Environmental Studies. During her time at UT as a student, she interned and volunteered over two-hundred hours at several interesting places including Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and Ijams Nature Center. Through her experiences she learned that her passion was environmental education, and particularly in providing experiential learning opportunities for youth and adults. Her goal as a Garden Educator is to create impactful outdoor experiences for children and adults that provide an opportunity for them to connect with the environment in which they live.

Dr. Sue Hamilton
Director Emerita of UT Gardens

Without a doubt it was Dr. Sue Hamilton's vision and leadership that shaped the UT Gardens into the resource they are today. Over the course of her 37-year career at UT, she transformed the original plant evaluation test plots into a true botanical garden. Along the way, she mentored hundreds of students, shared her vast plant knowledge in lectures and presentations around the country and overseas, and created the Gardens we enjoy today. Her impact is visible not only in the UT Gardens, but in thousands of public and private gardens around the world. She saw the opportunity to encourage and develop our sister sites at the West Tennessee and Plateau Research and Education Centers and was the force behind the Tennessee Legislature designating the UT Gardens system as the State Botanical Gardens of Tennessee in 2013. Retiring in 2020, her passion of connecting people and plants continues.