The Fellows
A Fellow is appointed by an Associate to represent the Associate and actively further the Mission of the Trust. Alternatively, a Fellow may be appointed by the President for special expertise necessary to promote the Mission of the Trust.
Munekazu Ejiri (JOGA)
Mr. Munekazu Ejiri is the owner of Suwada Orchid Nursery, located in Chiba, Japan. Since 2020, he has been the President of the Japan Orchid Growers Association (JOGA). Previously, he served as the Chair of JOGA’s Judging Committee for ten years before his election as President. He is a third-generation orchid nurseryman and has been involved with orchids since childhood. His primary interest is the cattleyas of South America which have significantly impacted his hybridization program. He is a member of OHRAG and a corresponding member of the RHS Orchid Committee.
Alison Gallaway, JD (Pres. Appt.)
Alison Gallaway is a mostly retired attorney lending her legal expertise to the WOCT. Since 1995, Ms. Gallaway has been an avid orchid hobbyist and accredited orchid judge with the American Orchid Society (AOS). She is currently the President of the AOS and serves on several of its committees.
Additionally, Ms. Gallaway is the Chair of the Alamo Judging Center in San Antonio, Texas, the Show Schedule Committee Chair for the Southwest Regional Orchid Grower’s Association, and Treasurer for the Heart of Texas Orchid Society.
Manuel Lucas Garcia (EOC)
Manuel Lucas García is the ideologist and curator of the Orchidarium of Estepona. He is a passionate worker, running numerous workshops, talks and conferences throughout Spain to promote the culture and art of orchids. He is also the director and editor of the magazine "Orchidarium" where he also writes as a columnist. He is professionally trained as a "senior official" at a Notary’s Office. In May 2025 he was appointed as Secretary General of the European Orchid Council, a position he has held to this day.
Daniel Geiger PhD (AOS)
Dr. Geiger grew up in Basel, Switzerland, and earned a Diplom (equivalent to an M.S.) in Organismal Biology with a minor in Paleobiology. He completed a Ph.D. in Marine Biology, focusing on the systematics and evolution of abalone, followed by postdoctoral research in molecular systematics. After teaching several courses at the University of Southern California, he became Curator of Mollusks at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in California, where he is now Curator Emeritus.
An orchid hobbyist for more than 20 years, Dr. Geiger is particularly interested in botanical orchids. His global monograph of the genus Oberonia is currently in press. He currently serves as an AOS Trustee.
Dr. Geiger brings extensive editorial and publishing experience, having served in editorial roles for Zootaxa, Molluscan Research, Malacologia, and Rheedea. He has overseen the publication of two proceedings volumes (Zoosymposia 1 and 13) and has co-authored four additional books. He has also been responsible for the layout and typesetting of these works and has worked as a commercial stock photographer.
His areas of expertise include systematics, nomenclature, natural history collections, optical and electron microscopy, editorial work, and scientific publishing.
Haruhiko (Harry) Nagata (Tokyo Host Liason)
Mr. Nagata was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in 1954 and has been actively growing orchids for nearly five decades. Throughout his career, he has devoted himself to advancing orchid cultivation and organizing major orchid conferences and exhibitions in Japan and across the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr. Nagata has held leadership roles in many internationally recognized orchid events. He served as Vice Show Chairman of the 12th World Orchid Conference in Tokyo, Secretary General of the Nagoya International Orchid Show (1990–1992), and Trustee of the Japan Grand Prix International Orchid Festival at Tokyo Dome from 1991 to 2020.
His contributions to the Asia Pacific Orchid Conference have been especially noteworthy. He served as Secretary General of the 7th Asia Pacific Orchid Conference in Nagoya, President of the Asia Pacific Orchid Conference Main Committee (2001–2004), and President of the Asia Pacific Orchid Conference Trust (2007–2016).
Mr. Nagata continues his service to the international orchid community as Secretary General of the Organizing Committee for the 25th World Orchid Conference. His longstanding dedication to promoting orchid culture and fostering international cooperation has earned him the respect of orchid enthusiasts throughout the world.
David Ridgeway
(RHS)
David Ridgeway has been growing orchids as an amateur for over fifty years. He has had collections of varying sizes which he has nurtured at various locations in the United Kingdom. He has a BSc degree in Botany and has spent some time working as a teacher of biological science. During his Orchid growing career David has been involved with a number of amateur Orchid societies and spent over ten years as chairman of one of these. He also spent five years as the Chairman of the Judging sub-committee of the British Orchid Council. He is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society's Orchid Committee and an accredited RHS judge. He has assisted at a number of Orchid events around the world. He took over as chairman of the RHS Orchid Committee in January 2023.
Yin-Tung Wang PhD
(TOGA)
Dr. Yin-Tung Wang was a professor and graduate faculty at Texas A&M University, USA, for 23 years with over 100 papers in scientific journals. His research covered areas related to orchid physiology, nutrition, growth and flowering regulation, production technology, postharvest handling, energy savings, etc. His studies since 1990 contributed greatly to growing phalaenopsis for the mass commercial market in the U.S. Dr. Wang also worked in commercial orchid nurseries, co-funded the International Commercial Orchid Growers Organization (ICOGO) in 2007, and served in the capacity of the ICOGO Executive Secretary until 2014.
Dr. Wang’s association with TOGA began in 2005 as a speaker and an organizer of the first Taiwan International Orchid Show (TIOS). Since then and for the ensuing 20 years, Dr. Wang organized symposia and forums for the annual TIOS, invited foreign orchid buyers, as well as speaking at TIOS. He worked closely with scientists in Taiwan, government officials in the U. S. and Taiwan, and TOGA in developing the technology for shipping phalaenopsis in dark ocean containers overseas. This resulted in very low shipping costs per unit orchid plant and drastically increased their export. Twice in the past four years, Dr. Wang helped TOGA and orchid growers in Taiwan and the U. S. in solving two serious issues related to continued export of orchids to the United States, 25 million pots annually. In addition, Dr. Wang served as a co-convener for the 2021 Virtual WOC and the 2024 23rd WOC, both hosted by TOGA, as well as being the Editor-in-Chief for their respective proceedings.
