Diane Valle, President, Director
Diane Valle is a Boston resident, an avid urban horticulturist, and a passionate community organizer and collaborator. Diane has been beautifying greenspace and building community in the City of Boston for decades, spearheading the first private/public partnership at the historic Bunker Hill Monument site; starting the first Crime Watch in her neighborhood, and serving as President and Founder of many urban horticultural organizations.
Discovering the joy of improving open spaces, as Chair of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Gardens on six acres of the newly reclaimed land, Diane’s focus is on bringing fine horticulture to the public where they work, play and live.
In ways that none could imagine, The Boston Marathon tragedy caused unfathomable loss of innocent life, injury, and affected the BAA marathoners, the City of Boston residents, workers and visitors. To welcome the BAA Marathon the following year, as an act of hope, recovery and a tribute to Boston Strong, Diane organized the eight communities along the marathon route and with the help of hundreds of remarkable Garden Club Federation members, Massachusetts Master Gardeners, horticulturists, volunteers and donors, planted over 130,000 Marathon Daffodils along the route.
The generous public support of Marathon Daffodils inspired the distribution potted Marathon Daffodils along the Finish Line and Back Bay, to great marathoners and visitors, and to lift spirits for the historic weekend. This 2020 BAA Marathon will be the seventh year of Marathon Daffodils celebrating Spring, and Boston Strong.
Matthew Piscitelli, Vice President, Director
A successful businessman with an undergraduate degree from Bryant University and a master’s degree from Northeastern University, Matt resides with his beautiful wife and two wonderful boys just south of Boston. Before purchasing Olson’sGreenhouses, Inc. (wholesale greenhouse grower of potted flowers) in Raynham, MA with a business partner in 2006, Matt built, grew and sold a Home Respiratory company. His business passion is pure entrepreneurship and his personal passions all family. In addition to owning Olson’s Greenhouses, he also owns three garden centers, a real estate management company, and a successful restaurant. His drive to grow his business holdings is unrelenting and he is always seeking out new opportunities to grow his professional portfolio.
Clive V. Olson, Clerk, Director
A third-generation farmer originally from Taunton, MA, Clive started a retail garden center in 1991 at the age of 14 in Wareham, MA. After owning and managing it for 13 years he, along with business partner Matthew Piscitelli, purchased Olson’s Greenhouses, Inc., a wholesale greenhouse grower of potted flowers. He has continued to expand his business holdings including two more retail garden centers and a restaurant. Clive continues to love his businesses and all the people with whom which he surrounds himself. His passion continues to this day and his desire to grow his businesses still burns strong.