Consi Palmer

Over the past 40 years of living, working, volunteering and raising a family, Consi Palmer has made Charlottesville and Albemarle County her home. Holding both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the UVA School of Nursing, she has worked in the field in various capacities for over 25 years, most recently teaching Community Health at the University. Always an advocate for the health of children, the needs of the elderly, nursing care for the homeless and those in public housing, Consi has continuously believed in the idea that the vibrancy of a population and its environment can play a major role in the health of an individual. She deeply values the beauty of Charlottesville and the surrounding area as well as the variety of incredible outdoor spaces available to its residents. In addition to the obvious benefits of being outside and surrounded by nature, Consi considers a public garden to be such a place for many levels of healing, both physical and spiritual. She looks forward to bringing her knowledge and passion for plants and the health of people to the McIntire Botanical Garden.

Dorothy Tompkins

PRESIDENT
Dorothy Tompkins grew up on a farm in Louisa County, gaining a love and appreciation of plants from her father. While majoring in biology at the College of William and Mary, she taught botany and further developed an interest in native plants and ecosystems. While on the faculty in the School of Medicine at U.Va., she was elected to the Academy of Distinguished Educators. Since retiring from practicing medicine, she has served two terms as president of Piedmont Master Gardeners, has been president of Rivanna Master Naturalists and initiated a gardening class in the Reentry Program at Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail. She started a Junior Naturalist program in Albemarle County, participated in the Charlottesville Schoolyard Garden program and started the Demonstration Garden at Martha Jefferson Hospital. She is currently on the board of Albemarle Garden Club and Piedmont Master Gardeners and Chair of the Board of Georgia’s Friends which has recently opened Georgia’s Healing House. She teaches Botany and Site Analysis for the Master Gardener Training Class, was coordinator for the Training Class for five years and teaches Bird Identification for the Master Naturalist Training program. Piedmont Master Gardeners named her Master Gardener of the Year in 2014. She has taught numerous Plant Propagation workshops and is on the Farm Management Committee for Bundoran Farm. The Daily Progress selected her as one of the Distinguished Dozen in 2013-4, The Garden Club of Virginia awarded her the Horticulture Award in 2014 and she received The Garden Club of America Club Civic Improvement Award in 2013 and the Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award in 2015.

Linda S. Seaman

PRESIDENT-ELECT
Linda S. Seaman has made Charlottesville her home since 1974 having grown up in the Hudson Valley of New York. She earned a degree in education from Russell Sage College. Active in community life, she served three terms on the Charlottesville School Board from 1986 to 1995. Her career involved education programming for the Virginia Museum of Natural History UVA Branch and serving as executive director of the Charlottesville Area School Business Alliance. She has served in leadership positions on several non-profit boards and has been active in the political life of Charlottesville. An eager traveler, she has visited botanical gardens in the United States and many other parts of the world.

Sandy Wilcox

TREASURER
Sandy Wilcox is a long-time local resident having grown up in Crozet, returning after college to live in the City of Charlottesville and now living in Ivy. Sandy received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and later an MBA in Health Care Management from Cornell University. He has been a real estate broker for twenty years and currently serves as the Church Administrator at Westminster Presbyterian Church. He is a former appointee to the Jefferson Area Board for Aging from both the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County and is the President of the Downtown Crozet Association. He is a llama rancher, beekeeper, gardener and a member of various organizations including Friends of Claytor Lake in Southwest Virginia and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, N.C.

Cindy Hamady

Cindy Hamady is a garden-loving midwesterner who has called Charlottesville home for 30 years. Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a minor in Recreation and Parks from Texas A&M, she has extensive experience professionally and as a volunteer with development, event planning, writing and community outreach. Ever curious, communicating and connecting, she enjoys diverse participation in community life. Outside of work and volunteering with non-profits, CIndy pursues figurative sculpting and studying with nationally known artists in New York and Brookgreen Gardens, SC.

Katy McCune

Katy McCune currently works as Senior Director of Programs for the American Energy Society, a community of energy professionals dedicated to cross-sector collaboration and innovation. Katy’s past experience includes being a Regional Science Coordinator for The American Chestnut Foundation and a Science and Logistics Manager for a British expedition company in Patagonia, Argentina. Both of these roles involved developing science programs for native flora and fauna and working extensively with volunteers to bring about the success of short- and long- term projects. She has also worked with the Virginia Department of Forestry as a Spatial Analyst, and until recently was on the Virginia Chapter Board of Directors for The American Chestnut Foundation. Katy is passionate about the native landscape of Virginia and is excited for the opportunity to work with the McIntire Botanical Garden at such a pivotal time.

Joan Swanberg

Joan Swanberg is a lifelong gardener and has gardened everywhere from chilly Chicago to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. She and her husband Greg have lived in the Charlottesville area for twelve years, restoring a 1790’s home in the south county. Joan received her Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Kentucky with a minor in Art Education. She has worked in a variety of teaching roles for school systems and universities. She served as a Master Gardener in Illinois for six years culminating in a state award for a volunteer program she designed and implemented. Joan has a certificate in Botanical Illustration from the Morton Arboretum, and for five years she was an administrator and treasurer for Bread of Life, a multi-congregational non-profit food pantry in Scottsville. She is currently an active member of Preservation Piedmont and Point of Fork Chapter DAR. She also enjoys bee-keeping and has traveled extensively.

Carolyn Achenbach

Carolyn Achenbach first became a gardener at age three when her parents gave their daughter her first plot to design and grow flowers in their backyard south of Pittsburgh. Though her pursuits at Northwestern University and her career in Art History and Design, she jumped back into gardening at her first house near Chicago, taking related classes at the local community college. Since moving to Charlottesville in 1991, she has been active in the community as a founding member of Piedmont CASA, The Women’s Committee/Martha’s Market at Martha Jefferson Hospital, and the Emily Couric Leadership Forum. She has served on the boards of the University of Virginia Cancer Center and various other organizations. She has been a member of the Albemarle Garden Club since 1996. All the while, her passion, therapy, and exercise have been focused in her garden.

Jill Trischman-Marks

It was her love of plants and history that brought Jill Trischman-Marks to the field of landscape architecture. She holds a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture and a graduate certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia. Projects she has worked on include most of the original gardens at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond and historic properties that include Thomas Jefferson’s home Monticello and his rural retreat Poplar Forest, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and James Madison’s home Montpelier. Jill is a proponent of working animals and has professionally trained working dogs and worked as an assistant with therapy horses, she and her therapy dog volunteered with hospice and Alzheimer patients through Therapy Dog International for many years, and she has been a puppy raiser for Service Dogs of Virginia since 2013. She is also an avid cyclist, reader, and gardener. While raising her daughter, Jill became familiar with most of the soccer fields in the mid-Atlantic states.

Carol Carter

Carol Carter first moved to Charlottesville to attend the University of Virginia. She graduated from the School of Nursing and then from the Darden Graduate School of Business. After a career in healthcare management, she raised her family in Birmingham, Alabama, where she worked in various volunteer capacities at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. On returning to Charlottesville in 2009, she now manages the family farm and is active in the Albemarle Garden Club, the Garden Club of Virginia, and the Garden Club of America, particularly in promoting conservation in all forms. She has never met a garden she hasn’t liked and has volunteered in maintaining many, from Dumbarton Oaks and Tudor Place in Washington, D.C., to many school, church, and community gardens. Trees, native plants, ecosystem restoration, invasive species management, and vegetable gardens are her current horticultural interests.

Diego Anderson

Diego Anderson has lived in the Charlottesville area for more than 20 years and served with various community non-profit organizations including several board assignments. He has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from South Carolina State and earned a Master’s in Administration from Central Michigan University. Diego brings a strong business and operational background to the Board having worked for several publicly and privately held organizations, and is honored to serve on the MBG Board. In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with family.

Deborah Bell Burks

Ted Coates

Since retiring from a career in the Navy & Coast Guard, Ted has headed four non-profits as Executive Director. He has served on numerous Boards and Committees not only for non-profits, but for government agencies, homeowners associations, schools, as well as private clubs. He established a non-profit dedicated to historic preservation, and obtained 501c3 approval from the IRS. He has consulted with numerous non-profits, and teaches a course called “Doing Good by Serving Well” for those serving on non-profit Boards.

Jude Garzolini

Jude Garzolini grew up on a dairy and grain farm in the Midwest which included extensive vegetable gardens – a remnant from the time her family raised tomatoes for Campbell’s soup. She pursued her interest in chemistry and textile materials to become a Chemical/materials engineer and worked in the auto, aerospace, and electronics industries and holds 5 patents. She served on the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) board of directions for several years and was national president in 2006-07.

She took the opportunity to give back by managing a National Science Foundation grant supporting STEM education at Boise State University to encourage the next generation of engineers. In 2018 she assisted with the STEAM Academy‘s Girls do Engineering in Albemarle County. She is an Idaho Master Gardener and enjoys cycling, travel, gardening, reading, challenging herself with new software, and cooking international cuisines.

Julia Green

Julia has many passions in life including children and gardening. She moved to Charlottesville in 1974 to attend graduate school at UVA earning her Ph.D. in 1980. For 35 years Julia worked as a Child Psychologist at Oakland School providing therapy to children with learning differences. She served on the Piedmont CASA Board of Directors for six years helping their volunteers learn strategies to talk with children and adolescents. Julia’s love of gardening developed at an early age through summers spent with her grandmother at the family farm in central Pennsylvania. She later volunteered with her father, Bob Hammond, for the Piedmont Master Gardeners teaching gardening classes and developing gardens in local schools as well as contributing to his Bluebird Trail throughout the region. Julia was the recipient of the “Whole Village Award” from the Virginia Education Association for volunteer service when her sons attended local public schools. Over the years her family joined her in creating their home garden which was open to the public for the 2010 Charlottesville Albemarle Historic Garden Week. It is a real joy for Julia to share her love of education and gardening by serving on the Board of Directors of the McIntire Botanical Garden.

Rodney Shirley

Rodney Shirley is a lifelong Virginian having been born and raised in Fairfax County where he and his wife Alexandra raised their three children. Rodney and Alexandra now reside in the Blue Ridge foothills of Albemarle County. A graduate of The Catholic University of America, School of Architecture, Rodney is the founding and managing principal of RJS & Associates, Architecture LLC, a national design firm with an office in McLean, Virginia and a studio at his home near Free Union. Rodney’s practice of architecture has included large scale commercial hotels and resorts, office buildings, industrial and warehouse and interior projects in addition to master planning and site development.

Rodney is also a lifelong gardener and landscape designer. Presently, Rodney and Alexandra are embarking on their third extensive residential garden/landscape project for themselves and are also members of several local garden and horticultural venues dealing with environmental and native habitat issues. Rodney and Alexandra have also visited many gardens and botanical gardens in both the US and Europe and are very enthusiastic about being involved in the advent of the McIntyre Botanical Garden.

Other interests and activities of Rodney’s have included:

Former Citizen Committee Member for Fairfax Co Dept of Parks and Recreation – Athletic Fields
Former sub-committee member for Child Help non-profit
Counselor to Safe Spot (Youth Protection) non-profit
Former President – Great Falls Optimist Club / Former member Arlington Optimist Club
Former member of Great Falls Citizens Association
Eagle Scout father and Committee Member, GF Boy Scout Troop 673
Participated in design charette conducted by Fairfax County for the re-development of the original and historic Lake Ann Plaza, Reston

Stefan Bechtel

Stefan Bechtel is a Charlottesville-based journalist and author who has authored or coauthored twelve books which have sold more than two million copies and been translated into a dozen languages. His books include Roar of the Heavens (about Hurricane Camille of 1969); Mr. Hornaday’s War (about a famous 19th century conservationist); and most recently, Through A Glass, Darkly (about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Spiritualists). Stefan is pleased and honored to be on the team to create a splendid garden for our town.

David White

A 1963 graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in Sociology and Anthropology, David began his post-college life with a stint in corporate sales management with Lever Brothers in the New York metro area. After five years, he entered the non-profit field working with the Airlie Foundation and then the Fauquier Community Action Program, both located in Warrenton, Virginia. He and his wife Roxanne, and their two daughters, then went back to the land and spent 10 years in West Virginia where they built a home and ran a small farm operation before he took employment as a counselor at the Federal Correctional Institution for Women in Alderson, WV. Relocating to Charlottesville in the early 1980s, David become the Executive Director of the American Diabetes Association, Virginia Affiliate, for the next 17 years before becoming the Chief Development Officer with the Jefferson Area Board of Aging and then Director of Development and Community Relations for The Arc of the Piedmont, retiring in 2012. An avid bird watcher and supporter of environmental causes, he currently volunteers for the Virginia Society of Ornithology, JABA, The Arc of the Piedmont and, now, the McIntire Botanical Garden, where he looks forward to marrying his passion for the natural world with this community garden.

Virginia Daugherty

SECRETARY
Virginia Daugherty has lived in downtown Charlottesville since 1975, and for forty years wished that she and her two daughters could enjoy the beauty of McIntire Park without being hit in the head by a golf ball. A fine moment for her was sledding down the infamous “Suicide Hill” in the eastern edge of the park. For twenty-six years, she and her husband, John Conover, operated Papercraft Printing & Design and have both been active in the community. As City Councilor and Mayor, Virginia helped Charlottesville to come to the decision to build the controversial John W. Warner Parkway, believing that the park would be enhanced as a great natural area for all citizens. She also serves on the board of the Charlottesville chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Blue Ridge Abortion Assistance Fund and is learning to play old-time fiddle.

Conceptual Map of the McIntire Botanical Garden Section of McIntire Park East

DOWNLOAD THE FULL McINTIRE PARK PLAN (PDF)

Lesley E. Sewell

Lesley E. Sewell studied Landscape Design & Urban Horticulture at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. After working in the Green Industry for several years, marrying and having two sons, she received a Master’s Degree in Biology & Environmental Health Sciences Education from University of Arkansas, Little Rock, in 1991. This began an 18 year teaching career: six years of high school and 12 years of College Horticulture. She also teaches Horticulture Review Classes for the Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association’s Horticulture Certification Program. She relocated to Crozet, VA in 1999 and began working in the Green Industry as a Wholesale Nursery Representative, ISA Certified Arborist, and VSLD Certified Landscape Designer.

C. Colston Burrell

C. Colston Burrell, is an acclaimed lecturer, garden designer and photographer. The author of 12 gardening books, Cole has twice won the American Horticulture Society Book Award. Cole is an avid and lifelong plantsman, gardener and naturalist. He is principal of Native Landscape Design and Restoration, which specializes in blending nature and culture through artistic design. Cole worked as curator at the U.S. National Arboretum and at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. He has devoted a lifetime to studying native plants in the wild and in gardens which lead to undergraduate degrees in Botany and Horticulture from Virginia Tech. He holds a M.S. in Horticulture from University of Maryland and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota. He is a lecturer in the Landscape Architecture Department, School of Architecture at the University of Virginia.

Peter McIntosh

PAST PRESIDENT
Peter McIntosh, is a graduate of William and Mary with a BA in 1965 and a JD in 1973, who has been a resident of Charlottesville since 1975. Now a retired lawyer he was the Director of Legal Aid for 13 years and practiced family law with Michie Hamlett for 17 years. Peter has been a member of the Board of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library from 1980-1992 and 2009 to the present. He has also served on the Board of the Friends of the Library since 1992-as President from 2000-2006 and as Treasurer from 2006-to the present. Peter has been on the Board of McIntire Botanical Garden, Inc. since its inception in 2008.

Helen Flamini

FOUNDER
Helen Flamini, relocated from Long Island, NY to Albemarle County in 1976 with her young family. A graduate of Brooklyn College, NY with an Associate Degree in Nursing. Worked for a personal injury law firm in Charlottesville assisting with medical malpractice issues and then served as its administrator for 14 years. She joined the Charlottesville Housing Foundation in 1995 and saw it grow into the Piedmont Housing Alliance where she served as chair for six years and remained as an active board member until 2014. In 2008 she founded the McIntire Botanical Garden non-profit with a mission to create a beautiful public garden in McIntire Park and continues today working toward that goal.

Anita Showers

VICE PRESIDENT
Anita Showers is a third generation garden enthusiast. She was born in Charlottesville, raised in Orange, Virginia, and is a graduate of the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University. In Richmond she enjoyed a successful career in marketing, media relations, and writing in both the non-profit and profit sectors. In 2006 she accepted employment at Piedmont Virginia Community College and subsequently moved to Charlottesville in 2008. She retired from PVCC as Director of Marketing and Media Relations in March 2015. She has visited numerous gardens in the U.S. and abroad, is a long-time member of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, and is the author of Gardens of the Spirit: The History of the Gardens at the Bahá’í Holy Places in Haifa and ‘Akká, Israel. She has extensive experience serving on and holding officer positions on non-profit councils and committees. Anita is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Charlottesville and a 2016 graduate of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence Board Academy.

Board of Directors