Toni Monzón, M.S.

Irrigation Consultant

Toni Monzón was born and raised in the Canary Islands, Spain. Since childhood, she learned water management practices due to the severe drought conditions that have affected this region. In 1997, Toni obtained her B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in Botany from the University of Salamanca (Spain). After that, she carried out studies on ecological adaptations of plant communities, conservation and seed-biology of endangered flora of the Canary Islands, under the supervision of Dr. David Bramwell, director of the Botanical Garden of Las Palmas "Viera y Clavijo".

In the summer of 1988, Toni moved to the United States to further pursue her education. In 1991, she graduated with honors and received her Master of Science Degree in Plant Science/Soils & Irrigation, from the California State University, Fresno. She conducted her master thesis at the USDA Water Management Research Laboratory, under the supervision of Dr. Claude Phene. This practical experience reinforced her knowledge of drip irrigation, water management and plant-soil-water relations.

Since January 1993, Toni has been the director of the Bilingual Training Institute (BTI), organization that specializes in providing consulting services and irrigation training to the landscape industry. During this time, she has presented water management programs directly to landscape maintenance companies, as well as through prestigious organizations such as California Landscape Contractors Association, City of Santa Monica, The Getty Center, The Getty Villa, Irvine Ranch Water District, Santa Margarita Water District, Metropolitan Water District, Santa Clara Valley Water District and Southern California Turfgrass Council, among others.

In 1997, Toni became a bilingual instructor for the Fullerton College Horticulture Department. During two years, she developed and taught various soils and irrigation classes that were heavily attended by landscape professionals.