Joined Wild Ones: June 25th, 2025
Board Term: 2026-2029
Contact Wild Ones: [email protected]
Chapter: Wild Ones Columbus
Favorite Native Plant: American Smoketree ((Cotinus obovatus))
About:
Ahdra holds a degree from the University of Kansas in Public Health and has extensive experience in non-profit work. She co-founded Bexley Minority Parent Alliance in 2015, a non-profit advocacy group focused on building community among families with children of color, as well as advocating for those students in schools. She served as Vice President of the BMPA until 2023. In 2024, she completed a degree in Landscape Design and Management, combining a love of design with promoting healthy, native ecosystems. She recently completed a year of AmeriCorps service in Plant Collections at The Dawes Arboretum, where she met fellow Wild Ones Board Member Holly Latteman. She is now working as an Ecological Landscape Designer with Scioto Gardens, a native plant nursery. She is also serving a three-year term on the Bexley Tree and Public Gardens Commission, the guiding board for the Bexley Arboretum, the first municipal arboretum in the US.
What inspired you to become involved with Wild Ones:
During my service at The Dawes Arboretum, I participated in restoring and maintaining native plant ecosystems. These restored spaces are brimming with life and abundance and as such, are places of wonder, joy and healing for all who visit them. In my new work with Scioto Gardens, I get to help individuals and families bring this into their own backyards! Being able to serve on the Wild Ones board takes this work one more step forward as I have the privilege of putting my skills and experiences to use for an amazing organization doing critical work to promote native plants and foster diverse, healthy ecosystems in practical ways for every person, wherever they live.