LISLE, Ill. (Sept. 30, 2025)— The Morton Arboretum has announced the appointment of Mark Richardson as its new vice president of collections and horticulture. He joined the Arboretum on Sept. 30, reporting to President and CEO Jill Koski.

In this role, Richardson will lead the Arboretum’s strategies for tree and plant collections, horticulture and natural areas to support the organization’s strategic plan and its long-range comprehensive site plan. Richardson, who brings more than 20 years of experience in the field of public horticulture, will provide direct leadership of the Arboretum’s collections comprising more than 100,000 specimens representing more than 4,000 different types of plants, while deepening integration with the institution’s extensive science and conservation programs.

“Collections and horticulture are central to our mission as an Arboretum,” Koski said. “With his extensive experience and leadership in public horticulture, we are delighted Mark is joining our senior management team to advance our vision of a greener, healthier, more beautiful world where people and trees thrive together.”

Richardson most recently served as director of strategic horticulture partnerships at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. There, he was the executive director of two leading environmental organizations: the U.S. branch of Botanic Gardens Conservation International and the Ecological Landscape Alliance. He was instrumental in forging a partnership among these three mission-aligned organizations to advance plant conservation, research and ecological horticulture practices.

Previously, Richardson served as director of horticulture for six years at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. Before joining the staff at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, he was the Native Plant Trust’s botanic garden director, overseeing Garden in the Woods and the Nasami Farm native plant nursery. Richardson has held additional roles with Brookside Gardens in Maryland and Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. He has a passion for ecological horticulture and is co-author of the book “Native Plants for New England Gardens.”

“I’m thrilled to join The Morton Arboretum and build upon its century-long commitment to plant collections and conservation,” Richardson said. “Public horticulture is a powerful engagement tool to deepen people’s connection to nature and to address the critical environmental challenges facing our world.”

Richardson received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Rhode Island and Master of Science from the University of Delaware.