Sister Bee

Patricia Butler has a doctorate in health policy from the University of Michigan and a law degree from University of California Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.  She is a Master Gardener with an interest in honeybee pollination and fruit trees.

Suzanne Connolly-Howes has taught science and outdoor environmental education since 1983.  She fell in love with bees watching three feral hives on a ranch in California and started keeping bees in Colorado in 1987.  Ms. Connolly-Howes graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Colorado with a degree in Environmental Conservation.  She teaches Ecology of Bees for the Master Beekeeping class sponsored by the Boulder County Extension each fall.

One of Ruth Eastman’s earliest childhood memories is being stung by a honeybee after putting a bouquet of flowers in her pocket.  Her father was a beekeeper. She started keeping bees in 2001.

Julie Finley is the Beekeeper, Greenhouse Director and Volunteer Coordinator for Growing Gardens.  Growing Gardens enriches lives  through sustainable gardening and beekeeping programs that empower people to experience a direct and deep connection with plants, the land and each other. The beekeeping programs support the educaton of youth and children. Ms. Finley has been keeping bees for over 10 years.

Marjorie McLellan was a schoolteacher who taught science for the Boulder Valley School District from 1968 through 1987.  Ms. McLellan was an active community volunteer who kept bees for over 20 years. She passed away on July 16th, 2010.

Mery Molenaar Rosenboom is a science educator and the mother of two young boys. She has been keeping bees since 2001.