Results of elections of ICS President and Vice-Presidents for 2022-24

We are glad to publish the results of elections of ICS President and Vice-Presidents for the 2022-24 term

Prof. Gianmario Motta, President

ICS member since 1984, has served as Vice President Europe, Director for Italy, and Web Manager. In 2006, he launched the Web Camellia Register, currently replaced by the International Camellia Register (ICR). In 2013, he organized the first meeting on Camellia Conservation in Verbania (Italy); also, organized the 2005 pre-congress tour. In 2016, he was awarded the ICS President’s medal. In professional life, he was Partner in Deloitte Consulting and professor at University of Pavia. Finally, he is a camellia collector, especially sasanqua, and curator of Villa Motta, International Camellia Garden of Excellence

Ms. Florence Crowder, Vice-President Americas

ICS member since 2008, immediate past Director for the United States and ICS membership representative, member of the International Conservation Working Group, and member of the 2024 Site Committee in the US. Florence, who was Chair of the American Camellia Society Trail Committee and Preservation Committee, is active in the exchange of scions and locating “lost” camellias, mainly those of the 1800's; in 2017 she established a garden of 100 camellia varieties from the 1800's to the Louisiana State University Botanical Gardens at Burden, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (USA).

Prof. Zhonglang Wang, Vice-President Asia

ICS member since 2005, Zhonglang is a professor in Kunming Institute of Botany, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has been doing research studies on camellias for over thirty years. He cooperated in organizing the 2012 Chuxiong and 2016 Dali ICS Congresses, and the 2019 Symposium for Conservation of Ancient and Historic Camellia Trees. As ICS Camellia Registrar, Zhonglang designed and implemented the database of the International Camellia Register (ICR). Recently, he led a team which translated the 2020 ICS Journal into Chinese.

Dr. Pilar Vela Fernández, Vice-President Europe

ICS member since 2003, membership representative for Spain since 2010, Vice-president for Europe 2019-2021, member of the organizing committee of the 2014 Pontevedra ICS Congress and Post-congress Tour. She also is an active member of the ICS Committee for Historic Camellia Conservation and cooperates with the ICR (International Camellia Register) and the journal of the Spanish Camellia Society. Pilar, a PhD in Biology, is working in Estación Fitopatolóxica Areeiro (Spain) where she is researching all the aspects of the Camellia genus (culture, identification, new and ancient cultivars, conservation, pathology, oil production, tea...).

Dr. Stephen Utick, Vice-President Oceania

ICS member since 2010, he has been an ICS Director for Australia since2014. From 2017, he is Chair of the ICS Committee for Historic Camellia Conservation, helping to initiate the Apoliu Declaration for Conservation of Ancient and Historic Camellia Trees, adopted by the ICS in 2020. In 2020, he was awarded the ICS President's medal. A retired Australian Commonwealth Officer specialising in science and research policy, he is currently visiting curator of Theaceae and camellias at the Royal Sydney Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, and Secretary and Co-founder of Camellia Ark Australia.