The Forum will be held in the concert hall at the Round Top Festival Institute on Saturday, March 15, 2025. Register here.
Here’s the lineup of speakers for this year’s forum
Restoring Biodiversity to Your Soil with Natives
Stephen Brueggerhoff, M.F.R.
Stephen Brueggergoff has a B.S. in Horticulture and a Master’s degree in Forest Resources. He is a horticulture extension agent for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Brazoria County. He furthers the Extension mission, offering horticultural consultation to home and business owners and green industry educational programming. With more than 15 years of experience, Stephen has supported the environmental community as lecturer, instructor, administrative organizer, and collaborative partner. Stephen is a member of several professional development and community service organizations such as Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, Texas County Agricultural Agents Association, Native Plant Society of Texas, Houston Area Urban Forestry Council, and Epsilon Sigma Phi.
Growing Central Texas Herbs
Cristen Andrews
Cristen Andrews is a permaculture gardener, herbalist, writer, photographer, and lover of the more-than-human world. She and her partner, Miguel, are stewards of their one-acre homestead and small-scale plant nursery, Small Town Farm, where they offer various pathways for nature connection and homegrown wellness.
Smalltownfarm.com
The Science of Aromatherapy
Judy Griffin, Ph.D.
Dr. Judy Griffin is an internationally renowned author, nutritionist, lecturer, and organic grower. During the past 20 years, Dr. Griffin has pioneered nutritional research for physicians and hospitals integrating natural and conventional medicine. Her research includes complementary cancer care, cardiovascular and pulmonary health, gynecological and menopausal symptoms, weight, chemical dependence, endocrine imbalance, and allergies and environmental sensitivity, as well as emotional and mental well-being.
aromahealthtexas.com
The Healing Chemicals of Herbs
Gayle Engels
Gayle Engels is the Special Projects Director for the American Botanical Council (ABC) where she has worked since 1995. She oversees and guides the development of ABC’s website and content management system (CMS). Gayle directs ABC’s HerbMedPro database, coordinates HerbDay nationally, and writes content for ABC’s website, including its free ecards, Healthy Ingredients profiles, and Adopt-an-Herb pages. Gayle wrote more than 50 Herb Profiles for HerbalGram over 13 years and currently edits and formats Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program articles for publication on ABC’s website.
Gayle has a degree in secondary education and manages the Education Department and the 25 themed gardens on ABC’s 2.5 acre Case Mill homestead. Gayle gives presentations for educational groups and plant-oriented organizations, including demonstrations, study groups, lectures, and tours of ABC’s gardens. She is a lifetime member of the Austin Herb Society, recently served as the Botany and Horticulture chair for the Herb Society of America(HSA), and is thrilled to have received HSA’s inaugural Madalene Hill Award for Excellence in Herbal Education.
We’ll see you at the Round Top Festival Institute, 248 Jaster Road, Round Top, Texas!
