Open  |  Daily 8AM - 7PM | Wed 8AM - 9PM | Members-Only Hour 7AM
  Open  |  Daily 8AM - 7PM | Wed 8AM - 9PM | Members-Only Hour 7AM

Administration

The Botanical Garden's Board of Directors

Executive Committee
President
Omar Akhil
1st Vice President/Chair, Development
Jim Greenwood
Treasurer/Chair, Finance
Madison Marceau
Secretary
Shari Mao
Chair, Board Management
Bill Orr
Chair, Buildings and Gardens
Allen Sikes
Chair, Science and Education
Julie Wilkinson
Chair, Long Range Planning
John Comander
Members at Large
Molly Amini
Elaine Kearney
Marina Gonzalez
Phil Miller
Advisory Members
Claire Alexander
Karen Greenwood
Ex-Officio Members
Sabina Carr, CEO
Homer Garcia, Director, City of San Antonio, Parks and Recreation

Board Members
Omar Akhil
Molly Amini
Candace Andrews
Mote Baird
Sarah Cochran
John Comander
Gabriel Durand-Hollis
Missy Finck
William Fisher
Burkley Fitzsimmons
Lou Celia Frost
Anne Gamboa
Marina Gonzales
Jim Greenwood
Elaine Kearney
Cally Kothmann
Shari Mao
Madison Marceau
Marie Mays
David Meyers II
Phil Miller
Susan Mooberry
Bill Orr
Andy Russ
Lamar Sales
Allen Sikes
Paula Stumberg
Lisa Uhl
Julie Roberts Wilkinson
Alejandra Zertuche

Advisory Council
Claire Alexander
Tisha Beck
Emma Cantu
Kristen Casey
Gary Cox
Charlotte Creamer
Karen Dawson
J. Patrick Deely
Joel Erben
Mary Fisher
Magdalena Gaona
Leslie Garcia
Karen Greenwood
Linda Gunter
Rob Holliday
Robin Howard
Estee Kellogg
Barbara Kyse
Susan Lane
Marline Lawson
Annabelle McGee
Barbara Moss
Linde Murphy
Janet Putman
Dennis Quinn
Jeff Rochelle
Lisa Rosenbloom
William Scanlan, Jr.
Michael Swanson
John Troy
Bette Vexler
Julie Zacher
Nancy Zachry

Leadership

Sabina
Carr

Chief Executive Officer

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Lisa
Corbett

Director of
Marketing

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Katherine
Trumble

Director of
Development

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Andrew
Labay

Director of
Horticulture

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Scott
Litchke

Associate Director of Gardens and Conservatories

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Katie
Erickson

Director of
Programs

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Sam
Hogg

Director of
Operations

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Michael
Eason

Associate Director of Conservation and Collections

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Past Board Presidents
Hall Hammond (1981-1985)
Helen Hogan (1985-1987)
Patrick Deely (1987-1989)
Mary Pat Stumberg (1989-1991)
Margaret Deely (1991-1993)
Robert Downey (1993-1995)
Wally McGee (1995-1997)
Nancy Zachry (1997-1999)
Susan Lane (1999-2001)
Claire Alexander (2001-2005)
Cathy Garison (2005-2007)
Joel Erben (2007-2010)
Claire Alexander (2010-2012)
Jeffrey Rochelle (2012-2013)
Mary Ann Beach (2013-2015)
John Troy (2016-2019)
Karen Greenwood (2020-2021)
 

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Sabina Carr
Chief Executive Officer

Sabina Carr is chief executive officer for the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Sabina joined the Garden in the fall of 2019 after an extensive national search and is the first female leader of the organization in its 40-year history. She arrived at a significant juncture for the public garden that transitioned to privatization in January 2019. Sabina directs all operations for the 38-acre public garden located in the heart of San Antonio’s cultural corridor, and under her leadership oversees fundraising, education, marketing, business administration and horticultural efforts. During her first two years, she doubled annual visitation to 368,000, doubled membership households to 12,000+, and increased the annual operating budget two-fold.

In the spring of 2021, the Garden completed a successful $40M capital campaign that transformed the organization with stunning new gardens, facilities and amenities, including a culinary garden, an outdoor teaching kitchen, family adventure garden, and new state-of-the-art event and education center. Carr activated these new spaces with expanded hours, premiere events such as Lush: Twilight in the Garden, and blockbuster art exhibitions including the world debut of Frida Kahlo Oasis. She created horticulture exhibitions including Wildflowers in the Garden and Orchid Week. She negotiated a partnership with SONY to bring internationally-acclaimed Lightscape to the San Antonio Botanical Garden in winter 2021, welcoming 112,000 guests in its first year. Carr recommitted the Garden to the conservation and collection of native Texas plants with the hiring of a full-time botanist while also increasing educational programming to more than 14,000 students annually. She guided the development of the Garden’s 2022-2026 strategic plan focused on horticultural excellence, exceptional guest experiences and fiscal sustainability. With the new strategic plan in place combined with the increase in activations, she has attracted significant earned revenues and broadened audiences across all San Antonio zip codes.

In 2022, she was awarded with the prestigious Club Civic Improvement Commendation Award by The Garden Club of America recognizing her dedicated and innovative leadership. She is a past president of the American Public Gardens Association, a national network of over 800 member gardens and over 9,000 individual members in 14 countries. Prior to joining the San Antonio Botanical Garden, Carr was Vice President, Marketing for the Atlanta Botanical Garden where she helped lead that garden’s impressive growth over 15 years by quadrupling three key areas: annual operating budget, annual visitation, and household membership. Before her career in public gardens, Carr worked in New York City and held marketing positions with American Express, Condé Nast, and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Lisa Corbett
Director of Marketing

Lisa Corbett joined the San Antonio Botanical Garden in 2021 as the Senior Manager of Sales and Events. In 2023, Lisa began her role as Director of Marketing, bringing a 14-year background in attraction sales and ticketing, promotional marketing, and nonprofit program management. Lisa oversees marketing, guest experience, exhibitions, and the Garden Gift Shop.

Prior to the Garden, Lisa held leadership roles at Caesars Entertainment, Three Square Food Bank, and Babies “R” Us. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration from California State University Fullerton.

Katherine Trumble
Director of Development

Katherine Trumble joined the San Antonio Botanical Garden in May 2020 as Director of Development. With more than 10 years of experience, Katherine is well-practiced in leading a comprehensive fund development program and has built a career around a passion for arts and culture. In this role, Katherine oversees the development department and contributed revenue at the Botanical Garden. This includes membership, annual fund, major gifts, grants, fundraisers, planned giving, and capital projects.

Prior to the Botanical Garden, Katherine worked at the McNay Art Museum, the Briscoe Western Art Museum, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, AL, and El Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs, CO. Katherine holds a B.A. in American Studies and Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Denver.

Andrew Labay
Director of Horticulture

Andrew Labay joined the San Antonio Botanical Garden in 2017 as a horticulturist responsible for the Lucile Halsell Conservatory’s plant production and plant collections. In 2020, he was promoted to Director of Horticulture. In this role, Andrew oversees the management of horticulture operations and plant collections across all gardens. He brings over 10 years’ experience in horticulture with a strong background in greenhouse management and perennial fruit crops. Prior to joining the Botanical Garden, Andrew served as a viticulture program specialist with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. Andrew holds a M.S. of Integrative Plant Biology from the University of Montpellier II, located in the south of France.

Scott Litchke
Associate Director of Gardens and Conservatories

Scott Litchke joined the San Antonio Botanical Garden in 1992. Over the past 28 years, Scott has played a vital role in the horticulture of the Botanical Garden, specifically in the development of the Texas Native Trail area. In 2020, Scott was elevated to Associate Director of Gardens and Conservatories. In this role, Scott is responsible for managing and coordinating garden activities for the 38-acre urban oasis, including the award-winning Lucile Halsell Conservatory. Scott provides leadership with the horticultural design development, indoor/outdoor displays, planting projects, garden renovations, and maintenance. Scott also supports the establishment of new garden areas and exhibitions.

Katie Erickson
Director of Programs

Katie Erickson joined the San Antonio Botanical Garden in 2017 as Director of Programs. Katie has over 15 years of nonprofit experience in educational programming, engaging diverse audiences, and developing community partnerships. Most recently, Katie served as director of education at the San Antonio Museum of Art for 10 years and brings extensive experience in programming with Pre-K-12, family, and adult audiences. Katie received her B.A. in Art History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and M.A. in Museum Learning and Visitor Studies from the University of Leicester.

Sam Hogg
Director of Operations

Sam Hogg is the Director of Operations at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Sam joined the Botanical Garden in 2016 with 10 years of experience in the facilities operations industry. In this role, Sam oversees the functioning of all 34 building systems including mechanical, electrical, fire/life safety, plumbing, and waste management for the 38-acre property. Sam has been heavily involved in the operating facets of the $40M capital project, with Phase I & II ranging from landscape irrigation to the state-of-art facilities.

Michael Eason
Associate Director of Conservation and Collections

Michael Eason joined the San Antonio Botanical Garden in 2017 as the Center for Plant Conservation representative guiding the South Texas rare plant conservation efforts. In 2022 he moved to full time to continue to develop their rare plant conservation program and curate the living collections, focusing on native plants of Texas and northern Mexico. Michael brings over twenty years of experience as a conservation botanist, with extensive knowledge of the flora and ecology of the southwest region of the U.S. Previously, Michael worked for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, where he managed their conservation and field survey programs. Through his consulting business, Texas Flora, he designs and installs native plant gardens, as well as performs plant inventories, wetland delineations, and rare plant surveys on public and private lands. In 2018, he published Wildflowers of Texas and is currently working on several other book projects. Additionally, he has served on the State Executive Board for the Native Plant Society of Texas and is currently the State Botanist for the organization.