Employee Appreciation: Stephanie Lind

By Greta Engel

Phipps is well-known for our beautiful gardens, seasonal flower shows, pioneering sustainability initiative, informative educational programs and community outreach. None of our work would be possible without the knowledge and dedication of our employees. There is a wide array of departments at Phipps, each playing an integral role in creating a wonderful experience for our guests. In this series of profiles, we meet some of our employees and get a glimpse into what they do to make Phipps possible. 

Stephanie Lind, Adult Education Assistant at Phipps, coordinates the Botanical Art and Floral Design programs alongside other Adult Education events. She has been with Phipps for nearly 13 years! When asked why she wanted to work at Phipps, Stephanie says, “being a gardener and an artist for many years (stained glass and metalsmithing), I thought working for Phipps would be a great connection to nature and the arts.” While working at Phipps, Stephanie was able to earn her Master of Fine Arts degree in Metalsmithing at Heartwood College of Art in Maine!

In a typical workday, Stephanie spends most of her time developing curriculum and scheduling botanical art and floral design classes to take place throughout the year. She also attends meetings with other members of the Adult Education department and instructors for the classes she is planning. One of her favorite parts of the job is building strong connections with both instructors and students!

Stephanie loves to incorporate instructor and student feedback to “enrich a curriculum that reflects Phipps mission.”  After gaining more interest in nature illustrating with botanical art, Stephanie has been working to schedule more classes under that topic. She also enjoys reaching out to instructors from Britain and incorporating them into a variety of online botanical art classes and in-person workshops.

Stephanie’s favorite memory while working at Phipps stems from the challenges presented by the Pandemic. Although Phipps could not host in-person workshops during that time, there was still a need for Adult Education classes. Adult Education found a solution to this through online classes held over Zoom. Although the pandemic posed unique challenges in her role, Stephanie was able to see students’ success and joy as they attended classes virtually. She still sees tremendous value in online classes, as students now have the option to learn from anywhere they feel comfortable.

Before working at Phipps, Stephanie worked as an Education Assistant for The Society of Contemporary Craft. In her free time, she enjoys gardening at her home in Butler, as well as cooking, baking and walking her dog. Stephanie also likes to create botanical art and nature illustrations of her own! She continues to excel at her role as Adult Education Assistant by sharing her love of art and nature through all of the classes she plays a part in.