Cape Fear Botanic Garden (CFBG) board of directors voted to promote Interim Executive Director Adriana Quiñones to the position of Executive Director effective December 1, 2017. Since joining CFBG in April 2014, Quiñones has led the organization’s Horticulture and Education departments before being named Interim Executive Director in September 2016.
“Adriana has done a great job of leading the Garden through a transitional time. She is well regarded within the botanical garden community and we are excited to have her continue her leadership of Cape Fear Botanical Garden,” said Board of Directors President Dennis Walters.
“Sharing this passion for public gardens and showing their importance to the community never gets old to me. I am excited and looking forward to the continued growth and development of the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to bring the Garden to the next level of excellence. ” Adriana Quiñones stated.
Quiñones hails from Lancaster Ohio and earned both her bachelors and masters degrees from the Ohio State University. Her graduate degree is in Plant Molecular Genetics, where her work focused on the flowering behavior in Magnolia virginiana and resulted in the discovery of three genes. She has been in the public garden world for over 20 years and has previously held positions at Dawes Arboretum, Newark Ohio, and Chadwick Arboretum (OSU) in Columbus Ohio. She also served as a Faculty Member at OSU where she taught plant identification, plant biology and introductory horticulture. She has held positions at AmericanHort, the leading national trade organization for the for profit green industry.
Cape Fear Botanical Garden opened to the public in 1989. Since opening the Wyatt Visitor Pavilion Complex in 2011, the garden has seen tremendous growth in visitors and events. With a master plan in place and an eye towards the future, the Cape Fear Botanic Garden is poised to become the premier public garden in surrounding area and beyond.