Chelsea Mahaffey is on a mission to visit every public garden in North America. Ever since her first job as a gardener at a zoo, Chelsea has obsessed over plants and their role in the community. As a plant enthusiast and garden advocate, she delivers keen horticulture insights during her Smithsonian tours. She brings over a decade of experience in the green industry as a front line horticulturist to behind the scenes administrator. Some of the great gardens she has worked at includes Missouri Botanical Garden, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and currently, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Chelsea graduated from Temple University with a degree in Science, concentrating in Horticulture. She obtained a certificate in Management Development from University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. She completed the Fellows program from Longwood Gardens, a 13-month leadership development program for the next generation of public garden leaders. She currently lives in the Richmond metro region. She can be often found looking for new green spaces, learning improv, and trying out eateries around town.