Ashley Aberg is the Reference Archivist at the New York Botanical Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library. She earned her MLIS with a focus in Archives Management from Simmons University in 2021 and comes to NYBG from the Greenwich Historical Society. Previously, she spent 10 years as the research director of a small academic project on Plato’s Republic and continues to advise the project.
Measuring the Impact of Female Botanists through Archival Practices and Historical Research
March 4, 2026
5 p.m. | Online
Over the past year, NYBG archivists have worked to enhance the visibility of women botanists within the Garden’s archives. This talk explores the role of archivists in shaping the historical record, the persistence of archival silences, and how earlier collecting and descriptive practices often obscured women’s scientific contributions, with attention to the Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton Records and the Otto and Isa Degener Records. The webinar also centers on the work of Ireland’s first female botanist, Ellen Hutchins, whose internationally circulated collections of algae, lichens, and bryophytes contributed to the description of new species, forming a lasting botanical legacy in institutional collections, including those at NYBG.
About the Speakers
Laura Briscoe is an Assistant Director of the William & Lynda Steere Herbarium, where she oversees the cryptogamic collections. Her academic training focused on plant taxonomy and systematics, with a specialization in leafy liverworts. Her current research centers on nomenclature and historical research to properly contextualize natural history collections.
Nicole Font is a Shelby White and Leon Levy Processing Archivist at the New York Botanical Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library. She earned her MA in Archives and Public History from New York University in 2022 and has since worked on projects for the Bob Dylan Archive, the New-York Historical Society, and the Center for Brooklyn History.
Location Online
Location Online