August 2025
Meet Laura Leach, the Garden’s New Executive Director
Santa Fe, NM: The Board of Directors of the Santa Fe Botanical Garden is delighted to announce the appointment of Laura Leach as the next Executive Director of the Garden, as of November 2025. Laura succeeds Dr. David A. Young, who has served in the role for the past three years and will be returning to the Garden’s Board of Directors.
Laura comes to the Garden with a background in horticulture and is a graduate of the New York Botanical Gardens’ School of Professional Horticulture. She has more than three decades of successful development and marketing experience and worked for British and US nonprofits including public gardens, environmental and conservation organizations, and the performing arts.
Currently the Director of Development and Marketing at the Tucson Botanical Gardens (TBG) in Arizona, Laura will help steward October’s celebrations of TBG’s 50th Anniversary before making the move to New Mexico.
She has served in key development roles at Ladew Gardens in Maryland and at Wasatch Community Gardens in Salt Lake City, where Laura received an Association of Professional Fundraisers (Utah Chapter) Outstanding Development Professional Award in 2023.
Laura says, “I am thrilled to lead the team at Santa Fe Botanical Garden into its next exciting chapter. Public gardens play an increasingly important role in the health and wellbeing of our communities. I look forward to connecting with Santa Feans and our visitors from all over the world to hear – and help shape – stories of this garden’s impact on their lives.”
On behalf of the Board and staff, Board Chair Libby Keefer welcomes Laura to the Garden family: “Her background, creativity and enthusiasm are just the right combination of talents to help us realize our ambitious goals for the Garden’s future and our growing contributions in the community.”
About the Santa Fe Botanical Garden: Located on nearly 20 acres on Museum Hill in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Garden celebrates, cultivates, and conserves the rich botanical heritage and biodiversity of our region. The Garden is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is open to the public.
