Name: Kathy Reitsma   Title: Curator II – Vegetable Crops Organization: USDA-ARS-MWA-PIRU; Iowa State University Role/Crops/Team: Ms. Reitsma serves as the curator of vegetable crops for the NCRPIS. The curator is responsible for the maintenance, preservation, acquisition, characterization/evaluation, documentation, and distribution of the National Plant Germplasm System’s (NPGS) vegetable collections maintained at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa. These collections include Cichorium, Cucumis, Cucurbita pepo, Daucus, Ocimum, and Pastinaca. Ms. Reitsma’s role is to serve as an information resource to researchers to facilitate their use of the vegetable collections maintained at the NCRPIS. Through this work, the curator is or will become the national authority on the above crops and their wild relatives. Education:   B.L.S. Discipline: Horticulture, Science, Communication; Iowa State University, 1984. Employment History:   1985-Current: Curator – Vegetable Crops; North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station/Iowa State University. 1985-1985: Research Aide; Maize, Amaranth, and Vegetable Crops; North Central Regional Plant Introduction/Iowa State University.