Justin Thomas is the Director and primary instructor at the Institute of Botanical Training. He conducts ecological and taxonomic research and teaches plant identification workshops throughout central and eastern North America through this position and also as the Director of Science for the non-profit, NatureCITE. Justin is also an adjunct professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology where he teaches Plant Biology and Vegetation of the Ozarks, is the co-author of the Ecological Checklist of the Missouri Flora, and holds a research associateship at Missouri Botanical Garden. He holds a Master of Science degree in Botany. Justin has spent most of the last 24 years performing botanical field work throughout the Midwest which has armed him with an encyclopedic knowledge the flora and related conservation issues. He has published various papers dealing with the vegetative identification of Midwestern plant species and has written numerous vegetative keys to some of the most difficult genera in the region. His teaching philosophy is to educate, not overwhelm. Workshop attendees find him dynamic, humorous and extremely knowledgeable.

Dana Thomas serves as the Executive Director of the Institute of Botanical Training. She possesses over 20 years of botanical and ecological field, lab, teaching, and administrative experience, and holds a Master of Science degree in Botany from Miami University. She also currently serves as president of the ecological non-profit organization, NatureCITE. Prior to her current positions, she performed botanical and ecological field work for The Nature Conservancy, National Park Service, Missouri Department of Conservation and University of Missouri.