Dina Mandoli Russell, ‘Dr. Plant™, The Lazy Gardener’

Dina served as a Research Associate Professor at the University of Washington for nearly two decades, with appointments in Biology, Botany, and Molecular & Cellular Biology, and previously worked as a Staff Scientist in Genetics at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Her career includes advisory roles with NASA, NSF, and the American Society of Plant Biology, editorial and peer-review leadership, and numerous publications across journals, books, articles, and educational webinars/lectures/classes. A hallmark of her career is the breadth and depth of the disciplines to which she has contributed from photobiology, soil science, genomics and organismal biology of a marine model system.

Dina is also deeply committed to ethics, education, and public outreach in both her public and private life. She authored a long-running bioethics column for the American Society of Plant Biologists and served as the Chair of their Education Committee. She created The Cube, a 3D printed product for teaching plant biology and was the editor of an episode about plants on The Magic School Bus, a children's science television program. She has consistently championed women: as Chair of the Committee for Women Faculty at the University of Washington, in 2005 she won women faculty a vote on the UW Executive Committee, which was unanimously approved by the Faculty Senate; and championed legislation so that girls in the US could participate in sports based on skill rather than gender, setting a legal precedent that was later used in Canada.

A passionate gardener who loves nature, ergonomic gardening, and eco-friendly practices, she is known for her warm personality and good sense of humor. She founded PlantShare LLC to ground and invigorate urban communities by sharing homegrown plants on a human scale locally and online while fostering connection, learning, and well-being.