Joy Columbus, vice president for the Houston Botanic Garden, will be the guest speaker for Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens’ monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series, slated for 7 p.m. March 14, in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.
Joy Columbus, vice president for the Houston Botanic Garden, will present “A Walk Through the Houston Botanic Garden: The Global Garden Revealed.”
Columbus works with the Houston Botanic Garden’s local, state and national partnerships to build unique plant collections and create awe-inspiring gardens designed to delight and inspire visitors.
Before her tenure at the Houston Botanic Garden, Columbus served as the director of horticulture at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois. She successfully initiated and coordinated the development of Project New Leaf, a multiphase $35 million campus revitalization plan. The project comprised 500 acres and included renovations to the historic garden’s framework and development of new garden attractions.
Columbus has previous experience working with the New York State Office of Parks and Cleveland Botanical Garden, and she served as a research assistant at Miami University of Ohio. Columbus received her Master of Science in biology from John Carroll University, and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in botany with an environmental emphasis and a minor in horticulture.
The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series fund are always appreciated.
Parking is available at the PNPC and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2428 Raguet St.
For more information, call (936) 468-4129, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.
