May 2022 - 26

40 UNDER 40
Blake Lange
Jessie Liebenguth
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
MANAGER, CITY FARMING
SIGNIFY NORTH AMERICA
ROSEMONT, ILLINOIS
Accomplishments:
* Doubled production of edible
biomass per kilowatt hour
compared to previous watercooled,
high-pressure sodium
lighting system in the Mars-lunar
greenhouses in collaboration
with The University of Arizona
Controlled Environment
Agriculture Center.
* Responsible for managing all of
North America indoor vertical
farming business for company.
Coach and Teacher:
Not only do Blake and his wife homeschool their children, but he
also serves as the coach for their baseball and football teams.
Flick to Pick:
One of Blake's favorite movies is " The Founder, " starring Michael
Keaton. " It's great to see the persistence and determination
that Ray Kroc had through the creation of McDonald's fast food
restaurant chain. "
GLASSHOUSE HORTICULTURIST
REIMAN GARDENS, IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
AMES, IOWA
Accomplishments:
* Spent several years modernizing and renewing organization's
facilities and procedures. With the support of management, she
replaced rows of non-functional high-pressure sodium lighting with
new LEDs and is working with multiple interns to create a proactive
IPM program.
* Jessie is a proud judge for several
national trial programs, including AllAmerica
Selections and the American
Rose Trials for Sustainability.
Outside the Greenhouse:
Jessie likes to " experiment " in her yard;
" aka, dig and move plants around,
test for drought tolerance, and grow
thistles and creeping Charlie for native
pollinators. " She also enjoys reading,
rescuing plants and walking her basset
hound.
Can't Live Without:
Water. " I really do love water in all of its
forms. It's also the base for all my other
favorite drinks: coffee, beer and any kind of
herbal tea I can get my hands on. "
Emma
Lookabaugh
SENIOR TECHNICAL
SERVICE SPECIALIST
BASF
DURHAM,
NORTH CAROLINA
Accomplishments:
* Works directly with growers, researchers and consultants to
provide research-based and grower-tested solutions for insect
and disease problems - and make that content available to
the industry.
* Earned her Ph.D. in entomology and plant pathology, her
master's degree in plant pathology, and her bachelor's
degree in biological sciences and plant biology from North
Carolina State University.
Her (Soda) Pop is a Doctor, Too:
Emma can't live without her Dr. Pepper. " Trust me, I've tried to
break the habit, but we always find our way back to each other. "
Finding Fungi Along the Way:
Emma loves spending time outdoors with her daughter. " I'm
trying to teach her all of the most important life lessons - like
how to tell when blackberries are 'just right' and that hiking is
more fun when you call it a fungal foray. "
Melissa Maguire
TRIALS MANAGER
SMITH GARDENS
MARYSVILLE, WASHINGTON
Accomplishments:
* Joined the company as a seasonal employee and by the
end of the season was promoted to trials coordinator.
After one season, she was put in charge of scheduling trial
material and promoted to trials manager.
* Helped grow the department by
approximately 40% from when
she started and increased breeder
participation in their garden event
from 14 to 20 companies.
Finding Her Voice ... In the Garden:
Before discovering her passion for
plants, Melissa studied music theory
and classical voice for a year in college.
" Clearly that didn't work out, but I still
love to sing, but not opera/classical
music. "
Get up and Go Juice:
" It sounds cliché, but honestly, I could
not live without coffee. It's the first thing I
think about when I wake up. "
26 MAY 2022 GPNMAG.COM
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2022
