Our Staff

Rhonda J. Ferree

Extension Educator, Horticulture

University of Illinois Extension
104 N Westgate Ave
Jacksonville, IL 62650
Phone: 217-243-7424
FAX: 217-243-1544
ferreer@illinois.edu

127 S High St, Ste 1
Havana, IL 62644
Phone: 309-543-3308
FAX: 309-543-6239
ferreer@illinois.edu

Rhonda is the Horticulture Educator for University of Illinois Extension serving nine counties in the Illinois River Valley between Chillicothe and Grafton. She provides leadership and expertise in horticulture programs for both the home gardener and commercial horticulturalist, with emphasis in the area of landscape horticulture. She also trains and assists in coordinating the Master Gardener and Master Naturalist programs.

Ferree graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor's degree (high honors) in ornamental horticulture and a master's degree in horticulture.

She joined Extension as a specialist in pesticide safety education on the Champaign-Urbana campus, where she served for 10 years before joining the Fulton County Extension staff as a horticulture & crops educator. Ferree later served as County Extension Director in Fulton County. She then served as Associate Regional Director in the West-Central Region office in Springfield, IL.

Rhonda has won numerous Extension awards for her innovative programming and exceptional media work, including the College of ACES Professional Staff Award for Excellence, University of Illinois Extension Excellence Awards for Units, Individual and Teams, the National Association of County Agricultural Agents Distinguished Service Award, and the National Epsilon Sigma Phi Mid-Level Career Award.

Ferree's professional affiliations include the Illinois Extension Agricultural Association, National Association of County Agricultural Agents, Association for International Ag and Extension Education, Epsilon Sigma Phi, Illinois Green Industry Association, and Environmental Education Association of Illinois. She is also a member of the Allerton and Emiquon Corps of Discovery.

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