Lisa Roberts honored with 2024 Coreopsis Award
The Florida Wildflower Foundation proudly announces Lisa Roberts as the 2024 recipient of the T. Elizabeth Pate Coreopsis Award.
Lisa served as the Foundation’s executive director from 2008 to 2021, a tenure marked by transformative leadership. She attracted the people and funding necessary to elevate the Foundation, cultivating widespread appreciation for Florida’s native wildflowers. Guided by a strategic vision, Lisa introduced a suite of impactful Education, Research and Planting programs. She also engaged a network of renowned Florida wildflower experts and enthusiasts to support the Foundation’s initiatives as contractors.
Selecting Lisa from a competitive pool of candidates remains one of the Foundation’s most significant decisions. Her passion for wildflowers, paired with her artistic and communications talents, made her an ideal leader. Within her first year, Lisa oversaw a surge in both tag sales and non-tag revenue, and spearheaded the Foundation’s first strategic plan. Her dedication to the mission established her as a respected leader within the organization and a prominent conservation voice across Florida.
Reflecting on Lisa’s impact, Foundation Chair Sara Burke shared: “Years ago, at an event near my home, the way Lisa spoke about wildflowers and the Foundation excited me and made me want to become part of the Foundation.”
In 2018, Lisa played a pivotal role in creating the updated wildflower tag design, which features a butterfly alongside two Coreopsis species, Florida’s state wildflower.
Lisa retired in fall 2021, still in the middle of a pandemic. Despite the challenges, her colleagues gathered via Zoom to celebrate her remarkable achievements and welcome her into retirement. Her leadership ensured the position’s vacancy attracted dozens of qualified applicants. After a rigorous selection process, the board chose long-time Foundation staff member Stacey Matrazzo as the second full-time executive director. Thanks to Lisa’s careful planning, the transition was seamless.
The T. Elizabeth Pate Coreopsis Award honors Elizabeth Pate (1922–2011), a Hall of Fame member of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs (FFGC) and life member of the Ribault Garden Club. Elizabeth served for many years as the FFGC Roadside Beautification Chairman and was actively involved in the successful quest for a Florida Wildflower license plate. She was selected to receive the Foundation’s 2011 Friend of Florida’s Wildflowers Award. The award is the Foundation’s highest and most prestigious honor and recognizes one individual who advances or has advanced the mission of the Foundation. Recipients of the award have made exceptional impact on the Foundation by grown understanding, awareness, protection, visibility or enjoyment of Florida native wildflowers. These impacts endure over a long time or vast area, or affect many people.