BOARD AND COMMITTEES
MEET OUR BOARD
APLD Virtual Chapter President -
Tina Krug
A North Carolina native with over 25 years of experience in the landscaping industry, Tina now leads the next generation of designers as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. She has been digging and drawing across much of the eastern half of the US, working in Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa. Her business, Red Fern Landscape Design, launched in New Hampshire in 2011 and relocated to Iowa in 2016.
A plant geek at heart, Tina holds a Master’s degree in Horticulture from North Carolina State University and is an Iowa Certified Nursery Professional. She’s been an APLD member since 2009. Membership in APLD makes her a better designer and educator, and she thoroughly enjoys giving back to this organization through serving on the Virtual Chapter’s Board.
Tina is serving as president for the APLD Virtual Chapter. Her 2-year term started in 2024.
Email Tina at president@apldvc.org
APLD Virtual Chapter Past President -
Kathy Hubner, FAPLD, CPLD
A South Texas native, Kathy has been designing and installing landscapes for three decades. She specializes in creating landscapes that endure in both urban and ranch land settings throughout Texas, Colorado, and Mexico.
Loving all aspects of fashion, interior and landscape design, Kathy studied all three in order to create cohesive landscape designs that work. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, is a Certified Professional Landscape Designer, Fellow of APLD, and a Texas Certified Nursery Professional.
Kathy is passionate about the benefits of APLD membership and has served on the APLD Board of Directors for eight years. She is currently Chair of the APLD International Landscape Awards Committee and the Board President of the APLD Virtual Chapter.
Kathy started her 2-year term as Past President in 2024.
Email Kathy at pastpresident@apldvc.org
APLD Virtual Chapter Vice President -
Merle Kroeker
For over 20 years, Merle has designed properties that offer play, rest, and beauty. He specializes in unexpected, generous and joyful spaces custom designed for each client's needs.
Merle’s biggest skill is being able to understand the space, the ultimate potential it has, and the best path to get it there. He loves the constant challenge of coming up with new ideas and honouring my clients by imagining and designing a landscape that brings them joy.
Growing up in a small Mennonite town in Manitoba, all he ever wanted was to be outside having fun. Years later, his understanding of spaces and how we interact with them has taken his career through drafting, graphic design, and finally to landscape design and installation.
Merle is serving as vice president for the APLD Virtual Chapter. His 2-year term started in 2025.
Email Merle at vicepresident@apldvc.org.
APLD Virtual Chapter Treasurer -
Jock Lewendon, FAPLD, CPLD
Jock is one of the original Founding members of APLD. He's been a member since back in 1989, serving as a regional coordinator for several years and as a former president of the New Jersey chapter of APLD. He also served on the national board of APLD for several years.
His company, Outdoor Living Spaces, LLC, values a creative approach to the indoor/outdoor relationship. His clientele are based mostly in New Jersey, although he has traveled to Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and New Hampshire.
Jock’s 2-year term as treasurer started in 2023.
Email Jock at treasurer@apldvc.org
APLD Virtual Chapter Secretary -
Helen Grundmann
Helen was first introduced to APLD in the spring of 2008, while participating in a Designer Showhouse Garden event. Her first APLD Conference was in the Hudson Valley area of NY, and after that she was captivated.
Helen’s early love of nature and gardens as a young child growing up in a wooded section of NJ. She knew the names of the trees and wildflowers by the time she was 8 years old. At 10, her mother brought her to the NJ Flower and Garden Show, where she discovered the beauty of plants being used to create patterns and designs. Helen later pursued a career in both Environmental Sciences and Botany to further her love of the blending of art and science.
A consummate note taker, Helen’s attention to detail comes in handy as the Virtual Chapter secretary.
Helen’s 2 year term as secretary started in 2025. You can email Helen at secretary@apldvc.org.
APLD Virtual Chapter Member-at-Large -
Ellen Johnston, FAPLD, CPLD
Ellen is a retired Certified APLD Designer, having joined in 2004. Design was a second career for her. She enrolled in an Associate Degree Program in Horticulture that offered design classes when her kids were nearing high school. She wanted a new career in something that really excited her.
Ellen worked in a two woman design-build company for most of her career, doing modest residential projects. Sustainability, rain gardens, native plants were the up and coming design elements at the time, along with serious water restrictions and recapture, drought, and erratic and consequential weather events. Every designer has environmental challenges, but Texans seem to face BIG ones.
The best thing about APLD is the camaraderie -- the members are Ellen’s people. We all have similar interests, appreciation of well designed spaces, and are generally happy individuals.
Ellen serves in various roles as a Member-at-Large for the APLD Virtual Chapter. Her three-year term as Member-at-Large started in 2023.
Email Ellen at memberatlarge@apldvc.org
APLD Virtual Chapter Member-at-Large -
Steve Skaggs
Steve started in the Green Industry as a junior in high school way back in 1985, working as a crew member on a landscape team. Steve went back to school at the University of Cincinnati and earned a BS in Horticulture. He is an Ohio certified landscape technician, an ISA Certified Arborist, and holds an Ohio pesticide applicator’s license. He also has served on the Northern Kentucky Urban Foresty Council.
Steve started designing full-time 1999. He first joined APLD around 2000, re-joining in 2018.
Since joining in 2018, he’s attended all the conferences, served as the VP and President of the Ohio Chapter. He is the chair of the APLD HQ member benefit task force.
Steve serves in various roles as a Member-at-Large for the APLD Virtual Chapter. His three-year term as Member-at-Large started in 2025.
Email Steve at memberatlarge@apldvc.org
