President

Donna McGinnis is CEO of Denver Botanic Gardens. McGinnis joined the Gardens in early 2026 from Naples Botanical Garden in Florida, where she served as President & CEO since 2017. Under her leadership, Naples Botanical Garden more than doubled its budget, visitation, membership and staff. She also successfully led strategic planning and fundraising at Missouri Botanical Garden and Missouri History Museum. She led a $100+ million capital campaign at Missouri Botanical Garden and a recent $20 million campaign for a new horticulture facility at Naples. In 2024, she co-authored the book, “Fundraising Management in a Changing Museum World,” with Kate Brueggemann of Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo.

McGinnis serves as the President of the Board of Directors of the American Public Gardens Association and is an active member of the International Advisory Council of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). She helped elevate Naples Botanical Garden as the Secretariat of the Caribbean and Central American Botanic Garden Network, a collaboration of more than 200 gardens.