Delaware Botanic Gardens elects new board members
Delaware Botanic Gardens announced the election of four new members to its board of directors along with a new member of the DBG advisory council, Dr Marianne Walch.
“We are honored that these distinguished professionals are bringing to DBG’s leadership team a remarkable mix of business savvy, horticultural experience and dedication to public service. This infusion of talent and energy will empower DBG to get to the next level of performance by increasing our program offerings and ensuring the continuity of DBG’s governance. I especially thank Sheryl Swed and Carol McCloud for recruiting these outstanding board and advisory council members,” said Ray Sander, Delaware Botanic Gardens president.
New members of the board of directors are Karen Steenhoudt, Alison Willocks, Todd Fritchman and Ryan Revel.
Landscape engineer Karen Steenhoudt has been a volunteer at the gardens since 2018. She contributed to the design and building of the inland dunes habitat garden and the living shoreline conservation project.
Information systems specialist Alison Willocks has been a gardens volunteer since 2018. She is the administrator of the gardens’ computer program that tracks volunteer hours. She also trains docents for the point-of-sale system.
Todd Fritchman has 28 years of experience as a biologist/environmental consultant and biology teacher. He is CEO of Envirotech Environmental Consulting in Lewes. His company was the prime designer-contractor building the gardens’ wetlands outdoor classroom as part of the Dogfish Head Learning Garden in 2018. He taught the inaugural Bugs and Beer class in May 2019.
Sussex Central High School science teacher Ryan Revel coordinated the 2018 visit to the gardens for Sussex Central juniors in the International Baccalaureate science program. She has a proven record of community service, was a founding member of Sussex County Habitat for Humanity and volunteers with Food Bank of Delaware.
Advisory board member Marianne Walch has 35 years of environmental research experience in nonprofit, academic, federal and state government positions. She is the science and restoration coordinator at the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays. She provides expertise in water quality, environmental monitoring and ecosystem restoration. Walch was involved in the 2020 building of the living shoreline conservation project.
