Laura Cotterman has worked as both a professional botanist and an editor. She received an MS in plant ecology from NC State University and a BS in biology from Vassar College. She began her career as a seasonal botanist/ecologist for the North Carolina Plant Conservation Program and then a botanist/data manager for the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. She was publications and publicity coordinator for the North Carolina Botanical Garden from 2003 to 2014.

Damon Waitt has broad responsibility for overall leadership and management of the North Carolina Botanical Garden and for ensuring that the garden fulfills its mission to inspire understanding, appreciation, and conservation of plants and to advance a sustainable relationship between people and nature. Waitt holds a PhD in botany from the University of Texas in Austin, an MS in botany from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, and a BS in biology from Tulane University.

Alan Weakley is a plant taxonomist, community ecologist, and conservationist specializing in the southeastern United States. He holds a PhD from Duke University and a BA from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has worked as botanist and ecologist for the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, and as regional and chief ecologist for The Nature Conservancy and NatureServe. Since 2002, he has served as director of the University of North Carolina Herbarium, a department of the North Carolina Botanical Garden.