The Board of Trustees of Native Plant Trust today announced the appointment of Tim Johnson as its new Chief Executive Officer. Native Plant Trust is the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants. Johnson joins Native Plant Trust from Smith College, where he was Director of the Botanic Garden and Professor of Practice.
Johnson will lead the conservation and horticulture organization, including 45-acre Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA; Nasami Farm, a native plant nursery in Whately, MA; and expanded seed-processing and storage facilities
to support the new Northeast Seed Network, a regional initiative led by Native Plant Trust to create a sustainable source of seed to meet the increased demand for native plants. Johnson brings a background in environmental horticulture and biological science to a long-standing career in conservation and botanic garden administration and leadership, pillars of Native Plant Trust’s mission and organization.
At Smith College, Johnson expanded the impact of scientific programming and conservation science research, mentorship and education. He oversaw the financial management of the renowned botanic garden, and guided the development of organizational vision in alignment with mission. He grew the botanic garden’s fundraising capacity, led strategic planning including the first comprehensive plan in its 128-year history, and restructured and strengthened internal and external communications. He modernized links to the college curriculum, oversaw membership growth, audience diversification and founded the garden’s germplasm conservation collections by partnering with Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Prior to his role at Smith, Johnson was Head of Preservation and
Seed Bank Manager at Seed Savers Exchange, an international non-profit that stewards America’s culturally diverse and endangered garden and food crop legacy through the preservation and collection of 27,000 heirloom seed varieties.
A native of Wisconsin, Johnson focused his studies on biology and environmental horticulture, earning a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire and a PhD in environmental horticulture from the University of Florida. The appointment is the culmination of a national search, and follows the retirement of Executive Director Debbi Edelstein in January 2024 after fifteen years of distinguished service to the organization. Johnson will begin his role as CEO at Native Plant Trust on January 29, 2024.
