CNGA Board of Directors - 2025

Officers

President
Giovanna Romero | Ball Seed, Arvada, Colorado

Giovanna Romero is a Vegetative Annual Sales Specialist at Ball Seed, supporting customers, building partnerships, and driving growth in the horticulture industry. With over 20 years of leadership experience at Welby Gardens, she led sales, marketing, events, customer engagement, and program development, helping the business thrive and strengthen its community presence. She currently serves on the board of the Colorado Greenhouse & Nursery Association and is a former Garden Centers of Colorado Board member, providing valuable industry insight and leadership. Known for her collaborative spirit, strong work ethic, and commitment to excellence, Giovanna is also a dedicated wife and mother of four. 

Vice President / Secretary / Treasurer
Courtenay Koontz | Trees of Corrales, Corrales, New Mexico

Courtenay grew up on his family’s farm and nursery, Trees of Corrales, in Corrales, NM. He attended college at Texas A&M University, studying Agricultural Systems Management and Horticulture. At A&M, he joined the Army National Guard and served for a total of nine years. Upon completion of his education and military service in 2008, he moved home to work full time at Trees of Corrales. In 2018, he enrolled and graduated from Dr. Charlie Hall’s Executive Academy for Growth and Leadership. After surviving the great recession, and being promoted to General Manager in 2010, he oversaw the expansion of Trees of Corrales to include additional field tree production in eastern New Mexico, the development of Trees of Corrales Wholesale (Landscape Distribution Center) which was sold in 2022, as well as production of a larger plant palette in the container division (with an emphasis in growing Plant Select selections). Courtenay feels that having a representative from New Mexico will help broaden CNGA’s reach, as well as bring a different perspective to the board of directors.

Officer At Large
Jeremy Friedman | Blooma Farms, Arvada, Colorado

Jeremy graduated from the University of Kansas with a business degree in 1994. Since then, he has managed the marketing endeavors for the small ski resort town of Telluride, Colo., put on the biggest dog parade in history for Big Dog Sportwear in Santa Barbara, Calif., and worked his way from apprentice carpenter to general contractor with a boutique custom home builder in luxury markets throughout Denver. In 2010, Jeremy switched careers and acquired Brown’s Greenhouse, now Blooma Farms, in Arvada, Colo. Over his 12-year tenure he has launched two additional companies, Rocky Mountain Liners, a supplier of young plants to regional markets as well as Plum Creek Garden Markets, which in 2022 had grown to 6 retail pop up garden markets across the Denver metro area. Jeremy’s varied career endeavors have allowed him to develop a range and depth of skills and knowledge in business development, greenhouse production, and the ornamental horticulture industry. He is passionate about the industry and is honored to bring that passion to the board. Jeremy has been married for 23 years and when not working he tries to keep up with his two boys. 

Directors

Derek Anglemyer | West Canyon Nurseries, Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Derek is the owner/manager of West Canyon Nurseries in Glenwood Springs, Colo. West Canyon is a retail/wholesale nursery serving the Roaring Fork Valley of the Western Slope offering a full line of retail and wholesale products. Since purchasing the nursery in 2018, Derek has run the field operations and wholesale side of the business, he also does the ordering for both finished and production growing areas of the business. He graduated from Wichita State University in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering and worked in the paint industry for 6 years before buying the nursery and shifting focus to a new career. Although his time in the industry has been limited, he has the passion to learn and can offer a new perspective. Derek has started the process of becoming an arborist to further his education. He runs the nursery along with his wife, and they have three amazing daughters. Derek enjoys fly fishing and mountain biking when he can get away from the farm. 

Katelynn Martinez | OneCanopy, Loveland, Colorado

Katelynn is a systems-driven forest ecologist with over ten years of experience in the Rocky Mountain region. As Director of Operations at OneCanopy, a reforestation and native seedling nursery, she has led the cultivation of over one million seedlings, advancing conservation and climate solutions. A two-time graduate of Colorado State University, Katelynn holds a B.S. in Forest Management and an MBA in Corporate Sustainability. Her unique blend of ecological expertise and nursery industry leadership brings fresh perspective to the CNGA board. A seventh-generation Coloradan, Katelynn is deeply committed to land stewardship and sustainable practices.

Brian Austin | The Garden Path Greenhouse, Clifton, Colorado

Brian is the owner of The Garden Path Greenhouse.  He graduated with honors from Colorado State University, with degrees in Floriculture and Nursery Management.  He was also the coordinator of the CSU annual and perennial trial garden in 2008. After CSU, Brian was the head grower at Dutch Heritage Gardens, in Larkspur, CO, where he worked for 12 years.  In 2018, he was recognized as one of GPN’s top 40 Under 40 in the horticulture industry.  He was also recognized as a finalist for Grower Talk’s Young Grower of the Year award in 2019.  In 2024, he purchased The Garden Path Greenhouse from his father, where they grow high quality, large sized baskets, pots, and other bedding plants for the mountain communities.  Growing has always been his passion as he utilizes his experience growing large volume crops to improve efficiency and bring new ideas to energize the family business.  He enjoys the challenge of finding new ways to overcome traditional issues in the greenhouse, while still utilizing tried and true growing methods to consistently achieve a high level of plant quality.  He loves spending time with his family in the mountains of western Colorado, where he enjoys hiking, camping, fishing and hunting.  He also enjoys coaching soccer and basketball.

Dave Dickey | DWD Plant Sales, Denver, Colorado

Dave is the owner of DWD Plant Sales. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Plant Biology from Ohio University in 2000. Dave grew up and got his start in Cleveland, Ohio, working at garden centers, wholesale nurseries and landscaping and moved to Denver in 2008. Twelve years of his career were with Willoway Nurseries in Cleveland, Ohio, covering the Northern Illinois and Wisconsin markets, eventually moving to Denver to open the Colorado territory, and expanding into Nebraska and Iowa. Starting in 2013, he began representing several nurseries including J. Frank Schmidt and Son, Northwest Shade Tree, Russell’s Nursery and Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas, and is responsible for the intermountain region (CO, UT, AZ, NM, & Western KS & TX). Dave has over 25 years in the nursery industry. With his experience working in different markets and parts of the country he brings diverse knowledge of the national nursery industry. He loves his job and brings to it passion and energy to help his customers and the industry succeed. Working more closely with the CNGA has been a goal of his since his move to Denver

Nate Douglas | Greenleaf Nursery, Elizabeth, Colorado

Mike Schleining | SiteOne, Brighton, Colorado

Ex-Officio Director
Mike Bone, CGG | Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, Colorado

Mike is the curator of steppe collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Mike is a graduate of FRCC with specialties in propagation and nursery management. Mike works very closely with the Plant Select program and is engaged in plant collections from around the world with an intent to study and understand the flora of the worlds steppe regions.

Ex-Officio Director
Chad Miller, PhD, Assistant Professor | Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

Dr. Miller recently joined the faculty as an assistant professor in landscape horticulture in the Dept. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. He is the director of the annual and perennial trial gardens, along with the perennial demonstration garden at CSU.  As a part of his duties, he holds a research and service/extension appointment. For these programs, his focus is on evaluation and species improvement to work towards increasing sustainable, environmentally conscious plant selections that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also are more adapted (e.g., heat, drought, pest tolerances) for efficient and responsible production practices for the Colorado Horticulture Green Industry and the broader horticulture industry.