Dr. Sarada Krishnan is the Director of Programs, Global Crop Diversity Trust overseeing the planning, development and implementation of the technical program of the Crop Trust, where she leads an expert team of scientists working with many dedicated partners all around the world to conserve crop diversity and use it to ensure global food and nutrition security.  Formally she was the Director of Horticulture and Center for Global Initiatives at Denver Botanic Gardens, where she was responsible for directing the design and maintenance of the horticulture displays and collections, and for developing and leading global projects. Dr. Krishnan owns coffee plantations in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica and is a faculty affiliate with Colorado State University’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. She serves on several boards, is a global expert on coffee and has published several papers on coffee. She is passionate about issues related to food security and women’s empowerment

Dr. Krishnan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture from India, with a focus on tropical horticulture. She has a Master of Science degree in Horticulture from Colorado State University, with a research focus on the propagation of native Colorado flora specializing in plant tissue culture. Her doctorate research at University of Colorado focused on the conservation genetics of wild coffee (Coffea spp.) in Madagascar.