Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust


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Leadership Transition

Transition News from the Trust

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January 18, 2022

With deep appreciation for his 19 years of service, the Trustees announce that Dr. Thomas Daniel has decided to retire from his role as Grants Director.

During his tenure, Tom has guided the Trust in distributing over $12.5 million in grants in support of ornamental horticulture, helped move our application process online, expanded our grantmaking to Australia and New Zealand, and grown the field’s awareness of the Trust’s mission and processes. While we will miss Tom as Grants Director, we are grateful for his continued partnership as a Trustee, a role he has held since 2011.

“It has been a genuine privilege to help carry on the legacy of May and Stanley Smith!” says Tom. “What could be more rewarding to a botanist than meeting so many folks who make gardens and horticulture so inviting and visiting their spectacular gardens? I’ve enjoyed my tenure as the Trust’s Grants Director immensely, and I have no doubt that Nancy will be a welcome and effective proponent for the Trust’s assistance to gardens and other horticultural organizations in their efforts to further ornamental horticulture.”

We warmly welcome Tom’s successor as Grants Director, Nancy Kartes. With her 40 years of service in the public garden sector – including her current positions as Manager of Bellevue Botanical Garden and as a board member of the American Public Garden Association – we are confident Nancy has the experience, enthusiasm, and insight that will help the Trust align its work with the needs and goals of the horticultural field and ensure the Trust’s impact and effectiveness continue to grow.

Nancy shares, “I’m thrilled to be joining the Trust and I extend my sincere appreciation to Tom Daniel for his stellar service as Grants Director. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve the nonprofit horticulture sector, embracing and upholding Stanley Smith’s commitment to research and education specific to ornamental horticulture. This focus on ornamental horticulture is unique in the philanthropic world and provides critical support for the good work of public gardens and horticultural societies in the United States and abroad.

“Coming from the public garden world, and being an avid gardener, I bring to the role of Grants Director empathy and respect for grant seekers. I understand how a successful grant proposal often results in benefits to the grantee organization beyond the success of the funded project, offering validation, momentum, and encouragement for the staff and volunteers at these organizations. Serving them through this role is the pinnacle of a lifelong love of horticulture.”

We are delighted to have Nancy join us and look forward to seeing how her perspective, passion, and experience will inspire the Trust’s efforts to advance the field of ornamental horticulture.

Please feel free to reach out to Tom and Nancy with well-wishes or questions:

nkartes@smithht.org

tdaniel@smithht.org

Ruth M. Collins, Thomas F. Daniel, and Bruce J. Raabe

Trustees