Woodland Community Volunteer Workday

Jess Brey is Wave Hill’s Ruth Rea Howell Senior Horticultural Interpreter. Her goal is to excite the public about plants and Wave Hill’s art of horticulture. She does this by leading walks and programs, writing articles, voicing audio guides and appearing in humorous videos on social media. She also keeps track of the living collection by managing plant records and labeling notable plants for the public. Jess has worked in public gardens for a decade—she worked at Queens Botanical Garden, studied interpretation at Cornell Botanic Gardens and received an MPS in Horticulture specializing in Public Garden Leadership from Cornell University. 

Cathy Deutsch has been Wave Hill’s Director of Horticulture since 2021 and has more than two decades working and designing in public spaces from Central Park Conservancy to Greenwood Gardens. Her introduction to gardening began as an apprentice under Marco Polo Stufano, and soon thereafter she pursued study at NYBG’s School of Professional Horticulture. Having come full circle, Cathy is currently undertaking ambitious projects that will usher Wave Hill’s gardens to improved accessibility and greater resiliency to climate change. She is proud to instill the traditions of great gardening that originally inspired her and further Wave Hill’s undeniable impact on the garden community. 

Kevin is a part of Wave Hill’s talented gardening staff, responsible for the Entrance Garden and “Secret Garden” (north of the Visitor Parking Lot). He began his career at Wave Hill as a Nally Intern in 2020 and moved into a full-time position immediately after.  

As Youth Programs Manager, Ilana oversees two high school internship programs, Forest Project and WERM (Woodland Ecological Research Mentorship). Previously, she managed and taught middle school programming as Seeds to Trees & Coastal Classroom Summer Institute Program Manager at City Parks Foundation, and prior to that she was an Urban Park Ranger with NYC Parks. Ilana has taught a variety of ages in a variety of urban environmental settings. Her connection to Wave Hill runs deep, starting as an early child in Family Art Project, being a high school intern in Forest Project, and continuing as a Crew Leader in college. Ilana holds an M.A. in Environmental Conservation Education from New York University and a B.S. in Conservation Biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF).