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Annual Membership Meeting and Reception

Photo by Kenji Takigami

Join your fellow Portland Japanese Garden members as we welcome keynote speaker Scot Medbury, President of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, who will be giving a talk titled “Building a Global Audience by Celebrating Japanese Culture.” Brooklyn Botanical Garden has been listed as one of the Best Botanical Gardens in the world by both Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure.

Board President Dorie Vollum and CEO Steve Bloom will present an annual overview to members.

A light reception will follow. RSVP required.

About Scot Medbury

SCOT MEDBURY is president of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, one of the nation’s preeminent public gardens. He is the Garden’s sixth leader since its founding in 1910. Mr. Medbury provides vision and strategic leadership as the Garden completes capital projects associated with its highly successful $120M capital campaign, which is adding new gardens and refined visitor facilities, including the award-winning Steinberg Visitor Center. He also oversees a broad range of innovative educational, horticultural and conservation programs benefitting the Garden’s diverse local community and extensive national and international audiences.

Mr. Medbury has been involved in the curation, cultivation, and interpretation of botanical collections for nearly 40 years, having held appointments at gardens in California, Washington, Hawai’i, Great Britain, and New Zealand. Prior to coming to New York, Mr. Medbury was the director of both the San Francisco Botanical Garden and the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, overseeing a historic restoration that transformed the Conservatory in to one of that city’s premier attractions.

Mr. Medbury is affiliated with several professional associations, including the American Public Gardens Association (APGA), where he is a past trustee. He currently serves on the governing councils of Botanic Gardens Conservation International – U.S., the Center for Plant Conservation, and the International Dendrology Society, and is an advisor to five American public gardens.

Mr. Medbury received the professional citation from the APGA in 2004, and was elected an honorary member of the Garden Club of America the following year. In 2006, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the American Alliance of Museums, Mr. Medbury was one of 100 people named to the Alliance’s Centennial Honor Roll. He holds two degrees from the University of Washington in Seattle: an MS from the UW Center for Urban Horticulture; and a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, from the Jackson School of International Studies.