Steven and his wife, Phyllis,  journeyed to Brazil to explore the flora and fauna of a country that contained an extraordinary variety of plant life including cacti, succulents, and Dyckia, as well as, other genera that were equally fascinating.  They encountered an ecology that possessed remarkable bio-diversity which left them with a completely different impression of what types of conditions cacti and succulents can flourish in.  They encountered numerous locations where cacti, bromeliads, and orchids coexist very happily.  Steven will share their nearly one-month journey, led by two prominent Brazilian horticulturists, and provide you with a glimpse of their private collections.

Steven Frieze has been involved with collection, sales and propagation of cacti and succulents for over thirty years.  He is a lifetime member of the Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society where he served as the President of this club for a number of years and as its Newsletter editor for several more.  Steven and his wife Phyllis own Distinctive Flora, an exotic cactus and succulent nursery, specializing in Tillandsia and Bromiliads.  Phyllis and Steven have made several plant related expeditions to exotic locals such as Chile, East Africa, South Africa, Oaxaca Mexico, and Cost Rica.

Prior to his retirement, Steven was an administrator for the California State University system serving as the Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Research.  Subsequent to his retirement, he has joined the Psychology Department at California State University, Dominguez Hills as an adjunct faculty member.   He also functions as the Director of the Positive Psychology Lab at the same institution where students get the opportunity to design and execute psychological research studies.