Greetings, fellow Santa Fe Botanical Garden lovers! I am honored to be serving as the new chair of the Garden’s Board of Directors.
My love of plants, rocks, weather, and the outdoors really began when I was about 11 years old and first attended a conservation education camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I returned every summer for eight years, first as a camper and later as an instructor – and the first subject I taught there was botany. I would have been amazed to know that, all these years later, I would be working with this Botanical Garden.
When I attended college, I planned to major in English (and write the Great American Novel), but every student was required to take a year of a laboratory science. By the time students with a last name beginning with “R” got to register, the only natural science class with space available was geology – so I signed up. By the end of the first semester, I had fallen in love with the subject. I deeply appreciated being able to walk out of a class and understand something about the world I saw around me that I hadn’t known when I woke up that morning. And geology and soil, of course, provide the foundation for most (although not all) plants. I earned my B.S. in geology from Dickinson College, a master’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton (now Binghamton University), and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. My research was funded by NASA and was on the role of water and water ice on the planet Mars. Water is even scarcer on Mars than it is in New Mexico right now.
I’ve worked for a geothermal exploration company, with the U.S. Geological Survey, and as a science reporter for National Public Radio. I began working in higher education as a faculty member in geology, and, prior to retirement, I served as a university president for 21 years – sixteen in Georgia and five in California.
After moving to Santa Fe in 2019 with my husband Dallas (who is also a geologist and an educator), I have focused on writing, reading, learning more about drawing and watercolor painting, trying to wrangle the tumbleweeds in our yard, and catering to the whims of our dog Kilo. One of our first actions in New Mexico was becoming members and volunteers at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden. I joined the Garden’s Board several years ago, and I am learning more about the history, biodiversity, cultural significance, conservation, science, horticulture, interpretation, pollinators, and people every day. Having spent most of my career in education, I particularly value the Garden’s educational mission and the strong sense of place, highlighting the unique environment of this region. The forthcoming Children’s Discovery Garden will be a great addition to this educational and inclusive focus.
The native plants in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains have little overlap with those in Northern New Mexico, but there are a few. I still get a thrill every time I recognize a plant in Santa Fe that I first learned at that summer camp, including yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Joe Pye Weed (Veronia missurica), and butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa).
And I still haven’t given up on writing that Great American Novel.
I look forward to seeing you at the Garden!
Lisa Rossbacher
Board Chair, Santa Fe Botanical Garden
