SARADA KRISHNAN

Director of Programs
Global Crop Diversity Trust

Dr. Sarada Krishnan is the Director of Programs at the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust) based in Bonn, Germany. She supervises a team of scientists and project managers implementing strategies to safeguard agricultural biodiversity. Her work involves collaborating with various stakeholders, including governments, research institutions, genebanks, and NGOs, to promote conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources to secure the future of global agrifood systems. She has extensive experience in agricultural development, biodiversity conservation, and project management. Her research focuses on the conservation and use of coffee genetic resources. Prior to joining the Crop Trust, Sarada was the Director of Horticulture and Center for Global Initiatives at Denver Botanic Gardens for 16 years where she was responsible for directing the design and maintenance of the horticulture displays and collections, and for developing and leading global projects.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture from India, where the focus was on tropical horticulture and a Master of Science degree in Horticulture from Colorado State University. Her doctorate research at University of Colorado, Boulder, focused on the conservation genetics of wild coffee (Coffea spp.) in Madagascar.

Sarada has served on several local, national and international boards and committees. She is a faculty affiliate with Colorado State University’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. She served on the USDA National Genetic Resources Advisory Council and is currently the chair of USDA’s Coffee and Cacao Crop Germplasm Committee. Sarada served as the Executive Director of International Women’s Coffee Alliance from 2021 – 2023. She has published numerous papers and chapters on coffee genetic resources, botanic gardens, consumer horticulture and sustainable agriculture in peer reviewed journals and books.