Board of Directors
President
Gordon Coop
Vice President
Gordon Coop is a Real Estate Broker that specializes in commercial real estate for over thirty years. He is a bamboo hobbyist, who has been growing exotic bamboo species on his half acre in Temecula California for over a decade. He is an experienced, self-taught machinist, who has an interest in the design and fabrication of bamboo harvesting tools, as well as bamboo metal art. He has participated as a vendor and donor in the Southern California Bamboo Society Chapter’s bamboo sales. Recently, he has been a frequent volunteer at the Garden of Hope, a community garden on the Duarte campus of City of Hope, and at the Dia Dang Monastery in Bonsall city of San Diego California. His other pursuits include trail building for hiking and mountain biking in his local community. He hopes to expand the chapter’s community outreach and educate on the public on the benefits of bamboo.
Roy Wiersma
Treasurer
A lifelong plant fanatic whose threefold present research is:
1. Finding the rest of the“lost” Luther Burbank plant hybrids, 2. Cloning champion SoCal trees, 3. Determining ways to bring dead plant material back to life (cf. Paracelsus, Scripture, etc.).
Academic background: B.S. Horticulture Cal Poly Pomona 1994. Research included a study of bamboo tissue-cultured branchlet nodes in Phyllostachys and Bambusa. Ph.D. Botany UC Riverside 1997. Research included work on bamboo cytogenetics in Phyllostachys nigra ‘Punctata’ and a study of progeny competition based on spikelet position of barb goatgrass (Aegilops triuncialis). Ph.D. Plant Molecular Biology UC Davis + UC Irvine 2004. Research included a host range study of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and work on bioluminescent plants using Vibrio fischeri lux genes (UC Davis). Work at Irvine included looking at the splicing patterns of the exons of the ankyrin gene and antisense mutants based on PCR amplification. Additional research was the study of NMD in tobacco BY-2 cells using Phytochrome A gene and its mutants (PhyA101. PhyA102, PhyA103). RT-PCR products were studied for RNA degradation
products by stopping transcription with Actinomycin D.
Landy Banks
Secretary
As a mother of two, Landy Banks was always drawn to the idea of growing bamboo. Two years ago, through the discovery of the American Bamboo Society, Landy found a way to incorporate her passion into her everyday life. Caring about the environment, having an interest in bamboo linen, and the dream of one day owning her own bamboo farm, she took the leap to join the Southern California Bamboo Society Chapter. She has consistently participated within the American Bamboo Society, attending board meetings, workshops, yearly conferences, volunteering for the Arts and Crafts committee, and now she has the honor of serving as Secretary of the Southern California Bamboo Society Chapter. Continuing to travel and learn about bamboo she hopes to bring awareness to the public through education, workshops, and activities for a busy new calendar year!