Cecelia Sue Sill, Ph.D.

404 Victoria Ave. McAllen, TX 78503

Phone: (956) 458-6695 Celluar

email: [email protected]

Website: http://suesill.com

Education

Del Mar College 1976 Corpus Christi, Texas A.A. Science - 1976

1977 Texas A&I University at Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, Texas B.S. Biology Minors: Art & Chemistry - 1977 Magna Cum Laude, GPA 3.6

Texas A&M University 1982 College Station, Texas Ph.D. Botany - 1982 GPA 3.8 Dissertation Title: A Systematic Study of Tillandsia subgenus Tillandsia

Cecelia Sue Sill, Ph.D. Page 2 Professional Experience

Artist and Illustrator, now doing business as NatureWorks Life long McAllen, TX Self Employed Painting, drawing, Botanical Illustration, portraits, digital graphic arts for brochures, newsletters, websites, and other promotional materials. Favorite media for current works - pen & ink and watercolor. Also works in oil on canvas, acrylic on canvas and masonite, serigraph, etching and pottery.

2007 - 2012 La Cruz Habitat Protection Project, Inc. McAllen, TX

Executive Director. Administration/Development/Programs. Writing grants, developing website and promotional materials, cultivating donors, working directly with Mexican Partner in Michoacan, Mexico to reforest denuded mountainsides by planting trees to restore habitat and climate for the monarch butterfly overwintering reserves and to restore important watersheds.

2003 - 2008 NABA International Butterfly Park Mission, TX Executive Director of the Butterfly Park. Administration/Development/Programs. Writing grants, cultivating donors, Developing native plant gardens, assisting with master plan development, planning and directing re-vegetation project on 72 acre tract, hiring and supervising staff.

2004 – 2005 University of Texas – Pan American Edinburg, TX Adjunct Professor & Part-time lecturer. Teach Plant Taxonomy, Plant Morphology. Publishing research on Tillandsia of the bromeliaceae

1998 - 2003 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA Director of the Botanical Garden. Administration/Development/Programs. Provide leadership for new master plan, develop gardens, plan buildings, programs, publications, etc. Developed and implemented plans for native plant gardens; active participant in Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance.

Adjunct Associate Professor of Biology; Member of Graduate Faculty. Worked with undergraduate and graduate students, offered credit courses, supervised student work at the botanical garden. 1990 - 1998 Rancho Madroño Patzcuaro, Michoacan Mexico, municipio de Erongaricuaro Self employed and freelance. Developed guest ranch; Led natural history tours; Wrote; Consulted; Drew botanical illustrations for the Instituto de Ecologia del la Bajia in Patzcuaro, Michoacan.

1983 - 1989 Corpus Christi Botanical Garden Corpus Christi, TX Founding Executive Director. Administration/Development/Programs. Identified site, obtained donation, developed initial gardens and interpretive trails through native plant communities, led field studies of endangered species and wrote recovery plans under contract between the Garden and US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2.

Corpus Christi State University (Now Texas A&M at Corpus Christi) 1985 - 1989 Corpus Christi, TX - Adjunct Professor. Taught occasional graduate level courses (biology)/continuing education (horticulture)

1983 - 1984 Corpus Christi Bromeliad Society, Inc. Corpus Christi, TX - Contract

Editor, Proceedings/1982 World Bromeliad Conference. Design, solicitation of articles / photos, writing.

Cecelia Sue Sill, Ph.D. Page 3 Research Interest Systematic botany of Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae)—evolution, breeding systems, pollination ecology & biogeography. Restoration of native plant communities Habitat restoration to conserve rare plants, wildlife, watersheds and the environment.

Honor Societies:

1976 Beta Beta Beta, Texas A&I University at Corpus Christi, TX 1982 Sigma Xi, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, transfer GA Southern Univ., 2000.

Languages & Computer Skills Conversant in Spanish Computer skills: Numerical Taxonomy, Data Base, Desktop & Web Publishing, PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator & PageMaker, Adobe Photoshop, Excel, Dreamweaver.

Membership on Boards and Committees:

1979 - 1982 Chair, Bromeliad Conservation Committee. The Bromeliad Society, Inc. 1979 - 1980 Chair, By Laws Committee. The Bromeliad Society, Inc. 1982 - 1988 Member, Editorial Board, Journal of the Bromeliad Society, Inc. Chair, Seminar Committee World Bromeliad Conference. Corpus Christi, TX 1987 1982 Member, Landscape Ordinance Committee for City of Corpus Christi, Texas. 1989 Member, Advisory Council for Science Division, Corpus Christi State University 1988 – 1989 Chair, Education Committee, Corpus Christi Quincentenary Commission 2002 & 1976-82 Member, Board of Directors. The Bromeliad Society, Inc. 1999 - 2003 Member, Elliottia Committee, Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance 2004 – 2005 South Texas Representative, Board of Texas Chapter, Society for Ecological Restoration 2004 – 2005 Member of steering committee, Monarch Butterfly Festival, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. 2008 - 2011 Member Texas Native Plant Conservation Alliance

Cecelia Sue Sill, Ph.D. Page 4 Scholarships and Other Honors

th 1977 Invited Artist, 4 International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Academic Scholarship 1977 Corpus Christi State University

1980 Graduate Student Mini-Grant Texas A&M University

1981 Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant National Science Foundation

1982 Foreign Travel Award National Science Foundation

1982 Student Participant Award NATO Advanced Study Institute, West Germany

1985 Invited Participant/Symposium: The Biology of Tropical Epiphytes Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida.

1986 Nomination for Women in Careers Award YWCA Corpus Christi, Texas

1986 Featured Photographer, “Meso-American Images” Multicultural Center, Corpus Christi, Texas

1986 Limited Edition Botanical Prints / Benefit for Corpus Christi Botanical Garden Designated as official Texas Sesquicentennial project

1988 Invited Participant, Bromeliad Research Workshop Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC

1990 Featured Artist, Display of Botanical Illustrations Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas

Cecelia Sue Sill, Ph.D. Page 5 Publications

Frequent contributor Bulletin. Corpus Christi Bromeliad Society. 1970 - 1980 1975 - 1985 Frequent contributor Journal of the Bromeliad Society, Inc. 1976 - 1977 Fascinating Epiphytic Bromeliads. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Bulletin. Reprinted: Pacific Horticulture

1979 A new species of Tillandsia from Mexico. Selbyana 2: 339-339

1982 Book Review: The Biology of Bromeliads by David Benzing. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 96:234 Reprinted: Journal of the Bromeliad Soc. 1:32

1983 Numerical Taxonomic evaluation of the taxonomic value of character suites in Tillandsia L. Proceedings, NATO Advanced Study Institute on Numerical Taxonomy Springer-Verlag. Heidelberg.

Grass-like lilies for carefree borders 1983 Corpus Christi Real Estate Review

1984 New species and nomenclatural changes in Mexican Tillandsia. Selbyana 7:361-379

1984 Natural hybridization in Tillandsia subgenus Tillandsia. Selbyana 7:380

1984 Hardy Palms. Corpus Christi Magazine

1984 A Botanical Garden for the City. Corpus Christi Magazine

1985 Recovery Plan for the Black Lace Cactus, Echinocereus reichenbachii var. Albertii Technical review draft US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2

1986 Preliminary Classification of Tillandsia based on floral characters. Selbyana 9:130-146

1986 Inferences about pollination in Tillandsia subgenus Tillandsia. Selbyana 9:76-87

1988 Recovery Plan for the Slender Rush Pea, Hoffmannsseggia tenella Tharp & Willliams Technical review draft US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2

Cecelia Sue Sill, Ph.D. Page 6 Presentations

1975 Member of panel of experts. World Bromeliad Conference, Los Angeles, Calif. Lecture with slides: Ecotypic variation in Tillandsia utriculata in Mexico. 1978 Welder Wildlife Foundation summer Seminar Series. Sinton, Texas Lecture tour: Taxonomic problems with Mexican Tillandsias. 1978 Tour to speak to several Florida Bromeliad Societies. Lecture with slides: Mexican Tillandsias and problems with their taxonomy. 1981 Bromeliad Society/Houston. Lecture with slides: Species, variation and taxonomy. 1980 World Bromeliad Conference, Orlando, Florida. Presentation at professional meeting: Variation in Tillandsia utriculata and a new 1980 taxon. Second International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology. Vancouver, B.C. Canada. 1980 Presentation at professional meeting: Numerical taxonomic evaluation of taxonomic value of character suites in Tillandsia L. NATO Advanced Study Institute/Numerical Taxonomy. Bad Windsheim, Western Germany. 1982 Presentation at professional meeting: Numerical taxonomic evaluation of taxonomic value of character suites in Tillandsia L. Annual meeting, the Botanical Society of America. Penn. State University. 1982 Presentation at conference: Where have all the bromeliads gone? a look at the status of wild bromeliads. World Bromeliad Conference. Corpus Christi, Texas. 1984 Multimedia presentation. Evolutionary Trends in Tillandsia. World Bromeliad Conference. Los Angeles, California. 1984 Presentation at professional meeting: Phenetic relationships among Tillandsia species in subgenera Tillandsia and Allardtia. 35th Annual American Institute for Biological Sciences Meeting . Fort Collins, Colorado. 1984 Poster presentation: New characteristics of Tillandsia Flowers provide inferences to the pollination biology of the genus. Association for Tropical Biology Meeting. Fort Collins, Colorado. : Palms of Texas. 7th Annual Convention of the International 1985 Lecture with slides Society of Arborculture. Texas Chapter. Corpus Christi, Texas. Presentation at professional symposium: Inferences about pollination in Tillandsia. 1985 Symposium on the Biology of Tropical Epiphytes. Marie Selby Botanical Garden, Sarasota, Florida. 1987 Presentation at professional meeting: A Botanical Garden for South Texas. Annual Meeting-American Assoc. of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. Chicago, Ill.

1988 Presentation at professional meeting. Botanical Gardens and Plant Conservation. Regional Conference, US/Mexico Border States on Parks and Wildlife. Saltillo, Mex. 1989 Presentation at professional meeting. Rare Plant Projects of the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens. 2nd Texas Rare Plant Conference. Austin, Texas. Characteristics from living flowers improve 2001 Presentation at professional meeting. classification of Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae). Botany 2001, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 2002 Invited Presentation at professional meeting. Speaker for scientific symposium at 2002 World Bromeliad Conference, St. Petersburg, Florida. 2003/2004 Poster Presentation. NABA Butterfly Park development and revegetation. Austin, TX at Plant Conservation Conference, and Dallas, TX at annual conference of American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta.

Cecelia Sue Sill, Ph.D. Page 7 Botanical Illustrations Published:

Series of Limited Edition Prints - Bromeliads 1974 1970 - 1984 Various - Journal of the Bromeliad Society, Inc. & Other Bromeliad bulletins 1975 The Terrace Gardener’s Handbook by Linda Yang. Doubleday. New York.

1975 Designed Special Award for World Bromeliad Conference. Los Angeles, California.

1976 Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Bulletin. Sarasota, Florida

1977 Pacific Horticulture, San Francisco, California

1977 Program/4th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Carnegie-Mellon Univ. Pittsburgh, Penn.

1983 Program Cover & Stationery/Bromeliad II Conference Sidney, Australia

1975 - 1984 Numerous Publications for The Bromeliad Society, Inc. 1984 Proceedings/1982 World Bromeliad conference. Corpus Christi, Texas.

1986 Limited Edition Prints of Texas Native Plants Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens, Corpus Christi, Texas.

1989 Flora Novo-Galiciana Vol. 15 by Rogers McVaugh. University of Michigan.

1990 - 1991 Illustrations for the publications of Dr. Paul Fryxell, Research Botanist Agronomy Field Laboratory, Texas A&M University.

1992 Poster and Program, I Muestra. Los Recursos Vegetales de Michoacan. Sponsored by various Mexican government agencies, Morelia, Michoacan. 1992 - 1998 Flora Del Bajiio. Various Volumes Instituto de Ecologia. Patzcuaro, Michoacan. Various Volumes. 1993 - 1998 Acta Botanica Mexicana. Instituto de Ecologia A.C. Patzcuaro, Michoacan.

Bromeliad Society International Website 2000 - Current Pen & Ink Illustrations decorate various pages of the BSI website http://www.bsi.org