Adkins Arboretum recently welcomed eight new members to its Board of Trustees. Pictured left to right are Carol Jelich, Katherine Allen, Vicki Arion, Will Cook, April Walter and Blair Carmean. Not pictured: Julie DeStefano and Mary Jo Kubeluis.
Allen holds a BFA from University of Arizona and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. A working artist who focuses on creating botanical art on fabric, she has exhibited in galleries across the country. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and is held in many private collections.
Arion has a deep love for animals and formerly worked for the World Wildlife Fund General Counsel in Washington, D.C. She and her husband, Dr. Mitchell Arion, moved to the Eastern Shore and established Caroline Veterinary Clinic in 1992. She is an avid tennis player and an accomplished quilter.
A native of Denton, Carmean holds degrees from University of Delaware and Colorado State University. He is secretary/treasurer of Carmean Grain, Inc., a family-owned grain farm located in Ridgely. He is a member of the Choptank Ruritan Club, the Maryland Farm Bureau, and numerous other civic organizations.
Cook, a retired engineer with more than thirty years in the satellite communications industry, maintains a broad range of artistic and environmental interests. He is involved in a number of nonprofit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, St. Michaels Art League and the Avalon Foundation, among others. An Arboretum Nursery volunteer, he spearheaded the project of developing a guide to native trees on the Arboretum grounds.
Born and raised in Charleston, S.C., DeStefano moved to the Eastern Shore in 2000. She led an architectural design firm specializing in residential design in both Charleston and Annapolis. She is a member of the Queen Anne’s County Garden Club and is a Master Gardener. Her interests include conservation and environmental issues, and she serves as chair of the 2013 Federated Garden Clubs House and Garden Pilgrimage in Queen Anne’s County.
A longtime Arboretum volunteer, Jelich holds degrees from Towson University and University of Maryland, is a Queen Anne’s County Master Gardener, and has served the Arboretum as volunteer librarian, book club coordinator and docent naturalist. A founding member of the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, and serves on the board of Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council and numerous other conservation nonprofits.
A longtime Arboretum docent and Master Gardener, Kubeluis joins the Board as the Volunteer Program representative. She moved to the Eastern Shore after raising a family in Prince George’s County, Md., and retiring from nursing. Among her civic involvements, she is a member of the Woman’s Club of St. Michaels.
A Talbot County native, Walter has lived with her family near Queenstown for 27 years. She is an avid tennis player and is a member of the Queen Anne’s County Garden Club and Wye Bible Church. She has a passion for all types of gardening and an interest in Eastern Shore habitats.
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