The botanic garden has welcomed John Berryhill as interim director. Berryhill has been at the botanic garden since 1997, having filled many roles during his 25+ years here. Of late, Berryhill has been spearheading critical botanic garden conservation work: establishing a meta collection of mountain magnolia at MacLeish Field Station, working on the GCCM Global Conservation Action Plan with the botanic garden conservation interns, seeking and receiving a level IV ArbNet accreditation as a result of these conservation efforts, and partnering with the Atlanta Botanical Garden on magnolia conservation research through the funding of the prestigious IMLS grant. 

“I’m grateful to be approaching this moment of transition with such a strong team. The priorities the botanic garden has embraced and relationships that have been building under Tim's leadership are in good hands. Despite more than a quarter century of work with the botanic garden, I have never felt so strongly that we are at the start of something as I do now. We have student-led educational programming and research, student art installations that transform our spaces, and endless opportunities to call in a diverse community of learners to share in the magic of plants and gardens. We have had the opportunity to show what a 21st century botanic garden can be, and it is a privilege to be part of that journey–as a gardener, an arborist, a student, and now as interim director,” shared Berryhill.