Amy Padolf

As Director of Education at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 
in Miami, Florida, Amy Padolf 
has inspired thousands of students annually with innovative and engaging science programs. She introduced FTBG’s Million Orchid Project into 250 Florida schools, spearheading the installation of orchid lab materials 
in middle and high schools; working with elementary students to plant 
rare orchids in the trees around 
their schools; and developing the STEMLab program, a mobile 
orchid propagation lab built in a decommissioned school bus, bringing specialized propagation technology 
to seventh graders. The project is now the nation’s largest educational outreach program dedicated to orchid conservation. Padolf also initiated 
the Growing Beyond Earth Project, designed to have students conduct botany experiments on growing plants in space, in conjunction with NASA researchers at the Kennedy Space Center. Additionally, she developed Shade our Schools, a leaf research project for elementary students, in conjunction with the University of Miami, and helped to establish a public magnet school dedicated to the plant sciences.