Andrea Niessen
Andrea Niessen grew up in a German family in Cali, Columbia.After high school in Cali, she was an exchange student in California,
where she received her second high school diploma.
She has a botany degree from Columbia
and an MS from the University of Florida in electron microscopy and virology.
She inherited her grandfather's strong interest in orchids,
and, later, many of his plants.
She has served as President of her local orchid society,
and is a well-known lecturer on Colombian orchids and their habitats.
With her husband, Juan Carlos Uribe, she has operated Orchideas del Valle, Ltd. since 1989.
They now have two nurseries; one for warm growers, and the other for cool growers.
They also have two retail shops in Colombia.
She and Juan Carlos make frequent trips to the US,
bringing in advance orders, as well as plants for sale at shows.
