Meet the 2023 Summer Interns

Located at 8,200′ in the central Rocky Mountains, Betty Ford Alpine Gardens internship program provides the next generation of horticulturists, conservation scientists, and educators the opportunity to build their professional skills through hands-on learning and unique experiences supported by our garden staff and community. Each internship is an opportunity for those interested in public gardens to put their skills into practice. Summer Interns learn about mountain ecosystems, alpine plants, and how a public non-profit botanic garden operates. The internship program has been endowed by the Frechette Family Foundation. Thank you for investing in the futures of young educators, horticulturists and scientists together with us.

  This is Ali, our horticulture intern! Ali is from Boston, and just graduated from Tufts University with a degree in Architectural Studies and Art History. Having worked in several gardens in New England, Ali has been very excited to learn about alpine plants and horticulture in Vail this summer! She is passionate about caring for ecological & beautiful public gardens, and she is so grateful to be contributing to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. You can find Ali outside maintaining the lovely gardens rain or shine.

Meet our education intern, Carolyn! Carolyn hails from New Jersey and studied environmental science and architecture at Amherst College in Massachusetts. She is passionate about learning through experience. She once sailed across the Pacific in a sailboat for 40 days to study marine wildlife and sea surface temperatures! Carolyn also loves farming and gardening to get in touch with nature and learn about native plants. Carolyn is so excited to inspire kids and adults alike to get excited about the gardens!

Our curatorial intern this summer is Ellie Hollo! Ellie is from the Philadelphia area, and she just graduated from Connecticut College with a major in Botany. Ellie is passionate about plant conservation in botanic gardens and invasive species prevention and control. She is very excited to learn about alpine plants this summer, and looks forward to contributing to the curation and conservation work being done at Betty Ford Alpine Gardens.

Joining our team as the conservation summer intern is Emma Jordan! Emma grew up in Issaquah, Washington and graduated from Colorado State University majoring in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and minoring in Ecological Restoration. In her free time, Emma enjoys spending time outdoors skiing, hiking, backpacking, and looking at plants. She can’t wait to brave the alpine this summer and expand her knowledge on the logistics of field work in the backcountry. She is beyond grateful for the opportunity to be part of the alpine plant conservation community.