Photos courtesys of American Horticultural Society
The American Horticultural Society has added five members to its Board of Directors.
"We are thrilled to welcome these exceptional individuals to our Board of Directors,” said Suzanne Laporte, President and CEO of AHS. “Their collective expertise and passion for horticulture will be invaluable as we continue to advance our mission and inspire Americans to become confident gardeners. Their diverse backgrounds and proven leadership will help guide AHS into a new era of growth and innovation."
Kathryn Acerbo-Bachmann (Acton, Massachusetts) is the founder of Experience Curation, a marketing consulting firm for museums and cultural organizations, botanic gardens and horticulture.
She previously served in senior roles for more than 20 years in museums and nonprofits, including Tower Hill Botanic Garden and architect H.H. Richardson's Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston.
James Folsom (Eastpoint, Florida) retired in 2020 after 36 years as director of the botanical gardens at The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.
During his tenure, Folsom significantly expanded the gardens. He oversaw the creation of the 15-acre Chinese garden, Liu Fang Yuan, the result of an international partnership among Chinese and American architects, contractors and craftspeople and the Frances L. Brody Botanical Center. He also spearheaded educational programs, research initiatives and conservation efforts.
Folsom received the 2020 Liberty Hyde Bailey Award, AHS’ highest honor.
Panayoti Kelaidis (Denver, Colorado) is the director of outreach for the Denver Botanic Gardens. At DBG since 1980, Kelaidis has introduced hundreds of plants to general horticulture; designed and implemented numerous gardens, including DBG’s Rock Alpine Garden; and led tours to Asia, Europe and South Africa.
He works with rock garden, perennial, native plant and succulent societies nationally and internationally and has served on the boards of many plant societies.
Kelaidis received the 2000 Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal from the Scott Arboretum and the 2003 Liberty Hyde Bailey Award from AHS.
Christian Primeau (Cortland Manor, New York), former manager of the New York Botanical Garden, has spent 22 years at nonprofit public gardens managing major glasshouse programs.
Specializing in tropical horticulture, Primeau most recently worked at New York Botanical Garden, where he designed and built extensive seasonal exhibits and directed operations at the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory complex, with more than 55,000 square feet of historic tropical collections. He also curated tropical collections at New England Botanic Garden. He is an ardent plant collector focusing on the genera of Madagascar.
Bryant Smith (Baltimore, Maryland) is CEO of the Baltimore Tree Trust, the city’s city-wide tree planting organization. He has more than three decades of experience in the urban forestry industry with the U.S. Forest Service, Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks and other regional environmental nonprofits.
Smith is a past Warnock Foundation Fellow and a licensed commercial pilot who founded an organization in 2015 to fly relief missions to natural disaster victims.
