1st Vice President
Sara has been a member of NWOS since 2022 and a board member since 2024. She is a mother, 4th grade teacher, and novice orchid grower. Sara grows about 100 orchids (primarily cattleyas and oncidium alliance) under artificial lights inside her house while she budgets for a greenhouse so she can continue to grow her collection. As 2nd VP, Sara’s goal is to bring experts from around the country and world that are interesting and engaging for both beginners and veteran growers.
Treasurer
Nora Hightower
Nora rejoined NWOS in 2022 after a 40-year hiatus when she focused on her family and career. Now retired, she once again has a greenhouse/sunroom where she grows primarily cattleyas, plus others that catch her fancy. She took over Treasurer responsibilities in 2024 with a desire to apply her budgeting expertise to manage the society’s funds. She also is our society’s lead for the NW Flower & Garden Festival as well as the Indoor Plant Festival.
Past President
Ryan Russell
Ryan serves on the NWOS Board as Past President (President, 2024). He operates a local orchid-focused farm and greenhouse. He engages with the horticulture community through sharing practical growing experience, presentations, and shows. In his day job, Ryan works in security engineering and brings a steady focus on reliability, systems-level thinking, and thoughtful process improvement—skills he applies in a grounded way to support NWOS operations and member experience.
Director
Hannah Mchugh Brewer
Hannah Brewer joined NWOS in 2017 after moving to Seattle from New York City, where she served on the board of the Manhattan Orchid Society. She completed her degree in Plant Biology at UW in 2022 and has since been more active at NWOS, serving as 2nd Vice President this year. A former greenhouse manager at Olympic Orchids, Hannah now works as a horticulturist at the Amazon greenhouse, where she curates and cares for the orchid collection for the Amazon Spheres. She has been growing orchids since the age of 12 and maintains a personal collection—mostly compact cattleyas—and carnivorous plants in her home.
Director
Kelly Jin
Kelly Jin has been a member of the society since 2020, and 2026 will be her first year serving as a board member for the society. She is a research scientist by day with an interest in genetics and evolution, and enjoys learning about the genetic and phenotypic diversity of orchids. Kelly is a novice orchid grower, currently mostly growing phalaenopsis and dendrobiums in her apartment space. Kelly also enjoys learning about native orchids, and has a personal goal to see all the native orchid species of Washington state in the wild.
Director
Ben Johnson
Ben has been growing orchids for over 30 years, breeding for 4 years, and co-owns Standard Orchid, a tissue culture laboratory currently focused on orchid seed. He created the Indoor Plant Festival (IPF), the Society’s annual Spring show, and has served as Second Vice President for four years. Ben brings deep horticultural experience and a strong commitment to supporting the orchid community through innovation and education.
Yoshi has been a member of NWOS for several years, and is also a member of the Mt. Baker Orchid Society. He’s an excellent grower and owns Orchids By The Lake.
Board President
Christine Swendseid
Christine is a cybersecurity professional who has been collecting and growing Cattleyas since the early 2000’s, and lately has been venturing into growing other genera. She started her orchid fascination in Bozeman, Montana, where she participated in the local society for several years before moving to the Pacific NW. She has been President since January 2025.
2nd Vice President
Joe Grienauer
Joe has been growing orchids professionally since 2004 and owns Emerald City Orchids. He’s held various positions on the board during 15+ years as a NWOS member including President and 1st VP. He is currently our Librarian and regularly presents our display table.
Secretary
Sierra Rudnick
Sierra joined the NWOS in 2021. There, she became inspired to learn more about orchids beyond the Pacific Northwest orchids that she found on trails when she was younger. She has dedicated her whole living room to orchids, house plants, succulents, plus a small walk-in greenhouse. She graduated in Summer 2025 from the University of Washington with a BS in Conservation and Restoration and hopes to work with wildlife and restoring protected vital ecosystems worldwide.
Director
Julian Banbury
Julian is an orchid enthusiast who has been growing on a small scale since 2019. He primarily grows bulbophyllums, both for their variety and their unusual aromas. He is a freelance photographer with interests in landscape, portrait, and especially orchid photography. Julian has long been interested in etymology and history of languages, particularly in the Latin roots of words, giving presentations on “Botanical Latin: History of and Strategies for Deciphering Latin Names of Orchids”. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and two small children.
Director
Diane Drisch
Diane joined NWOS in the early 2000’s and became active volunteering for various club projects and serving on the Board. She quickly found her niche, becoming Newsletter Editor until late 2022 when she resigned due to medical issues. Diane grew up in NJ and graduated from Univ. Connecticut. She left her 25 year career as a museum registrar in 1991, moved to the NW and opened a Wild Birds Unlimited backyard bird feeding shop. She enjoys being around people who love nature like birds and orchids. Orchids of many varieties fill her windows.
Director
Susan Treiber
I have been a member of NWOS for 2 ½ years and held positions on the board of Secretary and Director. I am also the current newsletter editor and membership chair. I work part time as the reimbursement manager for a medical manufacturer, and I am also on the board of another non-profit group, so I keep pretty busy. Since joining NWOS, my orchid collection has grown from three orchids to sixty plus. As a result, my family has nick-named my house The Forest.
Director
Yoshi Namagatsu
Sara Hart
Contact Info
Address
P.O. Box 51021
Seattle, WA 98115-1021
Meetings are free and open to the public. They're typically held on the second Monday of every month in the NHS Hall at the Center For Urban Horticulture. Learn more about meetings here.
We have a new Facebook group where NWOS members and non-members alike can chat and share growing info in between meetings. Join here (you will need a Facebook account). This is different from our society facebook page
Whom Do I ask...
If I want to check out a library item?
Joe Grienauer
If I need to change my address or renew my membership?
Sean Hoyt
If I want to put something in the newsletter?
Susan Treiber
If I want an NWOS nametag?
Christian Martin
If I want to learn about the mentorship program?
Steve Dorsey
If I want to help out with an NWOS show?
Ben Johnson
If I have blooming plants I want to include them in a show display?
Ben Johnson
If I have something I want to share on NWOS Social Media?
Social Media
If I see a broken feature on the website?
Heather Harrington
If you enjoy the logo design please visit the artist's page.
Joanna West Moser.