Erin Kinley

Erin Kinley is the Senior Extension Program Manager and State Coordinator for the Penn State Extension Master Gardener Program. Alongside her Area Master Gardener Coordinator team, she leads over 50 county Master Gardener coordinators and 4,000 volunteers to deliver science-based education on sustainable horticulture to the general public.

Erin has been with Penn State for over 8 years, originally serving as the Montgomery County Master Gardener/Master Watershed Steward Coordinator from 2018-2019, then as an Area Master Gardener Coordinator (regional manager) for eastern Pennsylvania from 2019-2023. She was hired into the State Coordinator position in August 2023. As Senior Manager and State Coordinator, Erin both supervises staff and develops the team’s strategy for delivering consumer horticulture education through the power of volunteerism.

Erin received her B.S. in Horticulture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she also worked part-time in plant genetics and molecular plant biology labs. In 2017, she completed her M.S. in Public Horticulture through the Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware with the thesis, “An Evaluation of Food Systems Education and Interpretation in U.S. Public Gardens.”

Her current areas of expertise include volunteer management, small space gardening, food systems, consumer horticulture, and strategic program planning. She is a member of the Longwood Gardens Alumni Association and serves on the National Extension Master Gardener Impact Subcommittee.