5.25.2020

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Wally Wilkins – President

Wally Wilkins earned a Chemical Engineering degree from Arizona State University in 1985 and worked for more than 30 years in the energy industry leading  a variety of research and manufacturing organizations for Shell Oil Co.   After retiring from Shell, he returned to school, earning a Masters in Horticulture from Texas A&M University. Wally has a long history with the garden as a visitor, volunteer and docent.

Mark McKinnon – Vice President

Mark McKinnon is a landscape architect and the founding principal of McKinnon Associates, a landscape architecture firm based in Houston, Texas. Mr. McKinnon is a native Houstonian, a lifelong part time resident of Galveston, and received a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Texas A&M University in 1980.  Mark became familiar with John Fairey and the garden while a student at Texas A&M. Mark writes and lectures extensively in the Houston area and has a deep involvement with the College Park Cemetery in Houston, as a landscape architect, President of the Board, volunteer organizer, fund raiser, and a decade-long sweat equity volunteer. 

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Susan Young – Treasurer

Susan Young is widely traveled community and deeply experienced activist for neighborhoods, arts and culture, and civil rights and civic engagement. She has years of experience in public transportation and public finance, and served for twenty years as the President and CEO of the South Main Alliance, a neighborhood organization advocating for more than fifty member institutions including the Texas Medical Center. In addition to serving on the board of The John Fairey Garden Conservation Foundation, Ms. Young is Board President of Sister Cities of Houston. Previously she has served on nine non-profit boards.

Jane Curtis – Secretary

Jane Curtis is an experienced landscape architect who was most recently the Director of Horticulture, Hermann Park Conservancy. Previously, she worked as a landscape architect on various commercial and residential projects, including landscape renovation and historical research for the Menil House, Houston. Ms. Curtis has worked in Washington, D.C., Montana, and Virginia before moving to Texas. She has lectured widely and published articles in magazines and journals, including the article,”Fairey’s Garden: A Botanical Wonder Takes Root in Hempstead,” for Cite, The Architecture and Design Review of Houston, in 2000. Ms. Curtis has a BA in American Studies from Yale, and a MLA with honors from the University of Virginia. She is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and serves on various other boards.

Adam Adams

A native Texan, Adam graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts and founded One Arm Red in New York. A Ft. Bend County Master Gardener, he also serves on the board of the Houston SPCA, Wildlife Center of Texas, MATCH (Mid-town Arts & Theater Center Houston), and Wonderworks.

Frank Briscoe

Frank Briscoe is an architectural conservator and principal of Briscoe Architectural Conservation (BAC). Mr. Briscoe’s undergraduate studies were in English Literature at the University of Texas; his graduate work was in historic preservation in the College of Art, Architecture and Planning at Cornell University, and at ICCROM, Rome. BAC projects include World Heritage Sites such as Moenjodaro in Pakistan, and Angkor, Cambodia, but the area of specialty for the company is the conservation of historic Spanish colonial masonry buildings along the Rio Grande in south Texas. Briscoe is a native Houstonian, with deep roots in Fort Bend County, Texas. His primary extra-professional interests involve the stewardship of natural resources of the lower Brazos River valley and support of flora and fauna of the delicate and interwoven ecosystems found there.

Satara Henry

Satara Henry is the Environmental Director for Daikin, where she has led the implementation and execution of award-winning sustainability programs at Daikin Texas Technology Park and several other sites. She earned her Chemical Engineering degree from Drexel University and is a Certified Hazardous Material Manager. Mrs. Henry has over 25 years of industrial environmental, health and safety experience. She is most passionate when teaching elementary and high school students about the importance of biodiversity, impacts of climate change and conservation.

David Klein

David Klein is a fifth-generation Texan who lives on the original 150-year Klein family farm certified by Governor Rick Perry as a Historical Heritage Farm.  He graduated with three degrees from Rice University and is a CPA, real estate broker, appraiser, and commercial developer.

He has served on the Board of Klein Bank,  Boy Scouts of America,  The Mercer (botanic garden) Society, and the Mercer Endowment Fund.  Mr. Klein has his own private botanical garden at his home which has over 3500 different species of rare and exotic plants from around the world. David and his wife, Mary, have twins, Shannon and Dawson.

Tom McCasland

Tom McCasland is an attorney, real estate investor, and affordable housing professional. During his tenure as director of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department, he leveraged over $1 billion in affordable multifamily development, formed the Houston Community Land Trust, and managed the nation’s fastest response to the eviction crisis caused by COVID-19. He previously served as the CEO of the Harris County Housing Authority, prioritizing homeless veterans, low-income seniors and working families living in poverty. While he has gardened since childhood, his passion for Texas native landscape developed from a prairie restoration project in Washington County that he oversees with his partner, Elena.

Eric Mullens

Eric Mullens is the Chief Administrative Office for Hempstead Independent School District. Mr. Mullens holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Southern A&M University and a Master’s Degree from The University of Houston-Victoria in Education Administration. Mr. Mullens has served in the Texas School Systems for over 21 years as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and director. Mr. Mullens is passionate about educating our youth and helping students bridge their future to careers after high school including college, trade school, military or the workforce.

Ron Stricklin

Ron Stricklin joined Curtis and Windham Architects in 2018, and leads the Landscape Architecture Department. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture.  He has planned landscapes for civic, park & recreation, retail, institutional, healthcare, hospitality, and educational clients – as well as numerous residences. Ron is a registered landscape architect with T.B.A.E and CLARB, and a member of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art.

Ann Thompson

Ann Thompson has spent most of her professional life as an educator and non-profit leader. She
was president and CEO of Project GRAD Houston for 16 years, and served in leadership
positions with the organization since 1997. Before retiring, she completed the successful merger
of Project GRAD with a larger community-based organization, resulting in strengthened capacity
for expanded reach. She has provided leadership consulting to school district and non-profit
organizations across the U.S., supporting their collaborative efforts at the community level.

Dr. Thompson is an adjunct professor for the University of Houston Clear Lake, and has held
adjunct positions at the University of Houston, University of Houston-Downtown, and
University of St. Thomas. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of Houston, master’s
and bachelor’s degrees from the University of St. Thomas. Her research has focused on the
impact of community-based efforts to improve educational attainment for youth from
communities of low-income.

She is a fourth generation Houstonian and avid gardener.

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