The New York Botanical Garden hosts more than one million annual visitors to its 250-acre National Historic Landmark site, which features over one million living specimens, as well as one of the world's preeminent plant research and conservation programs. Founded in 1899, the Garden's Mertz Library is one of the largest, most comprehensive botanical libraries in the world.

David Allen Sibley is one of the world's best-known natural history illustrators and the author of acclaimed field guides, including The Sibley Guide to Trees, which have sold more than one million copies.

Gregory Long is Chief Executive Officer and The William C. Steere Sr. President of The New York Botanical Garden.

Susan M. Fraser is Vice President and Director of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library at The New York Botanical Garden.

Marta McDowell is a gardener, lecturer, and horticultural writer. Her books include All the Presidents' Gardens (2016) and Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life (2013), winner of the Gold Award from the Garden Writers Association.