Backstory: Gina Zirkle

Gina Zirkle

Scientist, Environmental Affairs
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.
Marysville, Ohio

Education

Canal Winchester High School
Canal Winchester, Ohio
Class of 2000

The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Class of 2004, B.S., Agriculture
2008-2010, M.S., Environment and Natural Resources

“I worked for the turfgrass pathology lab, looking at diseases of turfgrasses, researching new products and their active ingredients and seeing what golf courses could use when 
they got diseases on 
their grasses.”

Did you know?

Zirkle’s husband, Ashley, works at Scotts too. They met in college because they had some classes together.

Zirkle has a 3-year-old daughter, 
Teagen, and a son, Layne, 
who was born at the end of July.

Zirkle is the first female president of the Ohio Lawn Care Association. “It can be challenging to be a female in the industry,” she says. “I think it’s important to be supportive of the other women in the industry and know that you can do the same thing as men are doing.”

Words of Wisdom

On a career in science: “It helps to boil it down to one thing you’re interested in. I loved working at the golf course, but I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was passionate about research.”

“When it comes to regulations, legislation and some of the tougher issues going on, I think it’s important that everyone sticks together. We’re all part of this green industry, even though we all represent different segments, so everybody should support each other rather than point fingers at anybody.”

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