Ross Barreto is the co-founder of the UF Native Plant Nursery and the Plant Propagator as well as the Land Manager at the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory. He propagated thousands of plants from tens of different genera. He was also a Land Management Intern at Ordway-Swisher Biological Station where he participated in prescribed burns, invasive plant management, habitat restoration, and native plant propagation. Ross was also an Urban Forester and Dendrology Teaching Assistant at the University of Florida.

Ross has a B.S degree in Botany, University of Florida and is currently working on his Masters in Forestry with a focus on restoration ecology at U.F.