Aliquam pretium
The Fellows
A Fellow is appointed by an Associate to represent the Associate and actively serve to further the Mission of the Trust. Alternatively, a Fellow may be appointed by the President for having special expertise necessary for promoting the Mission of the Trust.
Munekazu Ejiri (JOGA)
Mr. Munekazu Ejiri is the owner of Suwada Orchid Nursery, located in Chiba, Japan. Since 2020, he has been the President of the Japan Orchid Growers Association (JOGA). Previously, he served as the Chair of JOGA’s Judging Committee for ten years before his election as President. He is a third-generation orchid nurseryman and has been involved with orchids since childhood. His primary interest is the cattleyas of South America which have significantly impacted his hybridization program. He is a member of OHRAG and a corresponding member of the RHS Orchid Committee.
Manohar Mariapan, PhD
(Orchid Society of Selangor and Federal Territory)
Dr. Mano has been involved in orchid growing and orchid conservation in Malaysia for almost 50 years. He loves to attend orchid shows and has judged in many of them over the years, such the Okinawa International Orchid Shows, Taiwan International Orchid Shows, Sanya (China) International Orchid Shows, Asia Pacific Orchid Conferences (APOC), Singapore Garden Festival Orchid Shows, South Kalimantan Orchid show, Borneo Orchid shows, East Java Orchid Show Indonesia and many other local orchid shows in Malaysia. As a botanical Horticulturist, Dr. Mano spends most of his free time exploring and experimenting with the potential of growing orchids in ex-situ and in-situ environments for the purpose of wild orchid conservation.
David Ridgeway
(RHS)
David Ridgeway has been growing orchids as an amateur for over fifty years. He has had collections of varying sizes which he has nurtured at various locations in the United Kingdom. He has a BSc degree in Botany and has spent some time working as a teacher of biological science. During his Orchid growing career David has been involved with a number of amateur Orchid societies and spent over ten years as chairman of one of these. He also spent five years as the Chairman of the Judging sub-committee of the British Orchid Council. He is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society's Orchid Committee and an accredited RHS judge. He has assisted at a number of Orchid events around the world. He took over as chairman of the RHS Orchid Committee in January 2023.
Kanchit Thammasiri, PhD
(Korat Orchid Society)
Kanchit Thammasiri received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii in Horticulture (Orchid breeding). After graduation, he started working at the Department of Agriculture, Thailand, and then moved to Mahidol University to teach and conduct research on orchids. He authored three Thai orchid textbooks and 93 scientific papers (SCOPUS). He organized the Workshop on Orchid Production Technology for 31 times and convened four international conferences, namely TSO 2016, CryoSymp 2018, BGL 2019, and Biotech 2021 in collaboration with the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). In addition, he was the speaker at the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 23rd World Orchid conferences; and 1st, 11th, and 13th Asia Pacific Orchid Conferences, as well as other local and international conferences. In 2023, he started working as a full-time professor at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, China to teach and conduct research on orchid conservation and utilization.
Alison Gallaway, JD (Pres. Appt.)
Alison Gallaway is a mostly retired attorney lending her legal expertise to the WOCT. Since 1995, Ms. Gallaway has been an avid orchid hobbyist and accredited orchid judge with the American Orchid Society (AOS). She is currently a Vice-President of the AOS and serves as the Chair of its Governance Committee.
Additionally, Ms. Gallaway is the Chair of the Alamo Judging Center in San Antonio, Texas, the Show Schedule Committee Chair for the Southwest Regional Orchid Grower’s Association, and Treasurer for the Heart of Texas Orchid Society.
Yin-Tung Wang PhD
(TOGA)
Dr. Yin-Tung Wang was a professor and graduate faculty at Texas A&M University, USA, for 23 years with over 100 papers in scientific journals. His research covered areas related to orchid physiology, nutrition, growth and flowering regulation, production technology, postharvest handling, energy savings, etc. His studies since 1990 contributed greatly to growing phalaenopsis for the mass commercial market in the U.S. Dr. Wang also worked in commercial orchid nurseries, co-funded the International Commercial Orchid Growers Organization (ICOGO) in 2007, and served in the capacity of the ICOGO Executive Secretary until 2014.
Dr. Wang’s association with TOGA began in 2005 as a speaker and an organizer of the first Taiwan International Orchid Show (TIOS). Since then and for the ensuing 20 years, Dr. Wang organized symposia and forums for the annual TIOS, invited foreign orchid buyers, as well as speaking at TIOS. He worked closely with scientists in Taiwan, government officials in the U. S. and Taiwan, and TOGA in developing the technology for shipping phalaenopsis in dark ocean containers overseas. This resulted in very low shipping costs per unit orchid plant and drastically increased their export. Twice in the past four years, Dr. Wang helped TOGA and orchid growers in Taiwan and the U. S. in solving two serious issues related to continued export of orchids to the United States, 25 million pots annually. In addition, Dr. Wang served as a co-convener for the 2021 Virtual WOC and the 2024 23rd WOC, both hosted by TOGA, as well as being the Editor-in-Chief for their respective proceedings.
