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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Adele Bentsen received a BS in Interior Design with a Minor in Photography from Purdue University. She was an interior designer at Brown and Root and later a Partner at Gensler and Associates in their Interior Design practice. She has served as the President of The Garden Club of Houston, 2nd Vice President, and Prior-President. She has also volunteered for The Kinkaid School, the Children’s Defense Fund, River Oaks Country Club Beautification Committee and the Community Contributions Committee at The Garden Club of Houston.

Mary Barone is a native Texan and a longtime Houstonian, but a relative newcomer to the pleasures of The John Fairey Garden. A Rice University (B.A.) and University of Houston (M.A.) graduate, she is active in the family’s residential construction company, The Southampton Group. As an avid reader, she co-owns with her daughter Main Street Books in Davidson, NC and serves on Houston’s Inprint Advisory Board.  As an eager art collector, she’s a Trustee of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. And as a reader of garden books and an aspirational actual gardener, she values the opportunities for tangible engagement that the John Fairey Garden offers the community.

Antonia Adezio is a non-profit leader with a specialty in the development and stewardship of small cultural organizations and public gardens. She served as Executive Director of the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross, California from 2015-2023, creating new public programs in the

arts and gardens and developing a master plan for the renovation of this beloved 11-acre site, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Antonia was the founding President and Executive Director of the Garden Conservancy, a national organization formed in 1989 to identify and preserve America’s exceptional gardens.

Antonia served as chair of the Peckerwood Garden Conservation Foundation in 2013 and taking on the role of Acting Executive Director in 2014-15, completing the process of the property’s ownership transfer to the Foundation and helping lay the groundwork for asuccessful new public garden.

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.

Louise is a native Houstonian, a “Lifer”, K-12 at St. John’s School.  Aggie – graduated from TAMU with a BS in Agricultural Economics.   Mother of 3 dear children.  Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston Board member, Garden Club of Houston member.  Part owner of Standards & Falls Iris

Bio coming soon.

bio coming soon

Steven Matthews is a fourth generation Houstonian born into a family of gardeners. He is a Senior Project Manager at Reis Contracting, where he leads significant high-end residential construction projects, with regional influence in Texas and New York. His portfolio consists of projects of various building types and includes the installation of premier landscapes. Steven holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Texas A&M University with an emphasis on Art & Architectural History.

Isaac Stein, ASLA, RA

Isaac Stein is a landscape architect originally from the Florida Panhandle. He is the design principal of Dept., a landscape architecture and urban design studio based in Houston, where he leads projects at various scales, from the garden to the bayou. Prior to founding Dept., Isaac worked for West 8 in New York and Rotterdam. Isaac holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Miami where he was awarded the AIA Alpha Ro Chi Medal. He also holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Design Studies in Risk and Resilience from Harvard Graduate School of Design where he received the ASLA Certificate of Merit.

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.

Bio coming soon.

Maggie Tsang, ASLA, RA

Maggie Tsang is an assistant professor at Rice School of Architecture and managing principal of Dept., a landscape architecture and urban design studio based in Houston. Her research and practice focus on the relationship between landscape, infrastructure, and ecology. She is currently managing a 10,000-square-foot test garden on Rice campus called Prairie Plots and an interdisciplinary research project on community-oriented stormwater infrastructure. Prior to Maggie holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Architecture from Yale University and a Master of Design Studies in Urbanism, Landscape, and Ecology from Harvard Graduate School of Design.

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 Bachelors in Horticulture from Texas A&M University. Wally has a long history with the garden as a visitor, volunteer and docent.

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.