2025 Science + Literature Selection Committee

Beronda L. Montgomery, PhD is a writer, science communicator, and researcher. She has spent 20 years in academia, most recently as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean, and Professor of Biology of Grinnell College. Dr. Montgomery is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Plant Biologists, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Montgomery has received the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists, Excellence in Supporting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging from the North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, and the 2023 Hutchinson Medal of the Chicago Horticultural Society. Dr. Montgomery is author of Lessons from Plants, and is at work on her second book, When Trees Testify.