About

Sue Wagner joined the Huntsville Botanical Garden as Chief Executive Officer in  October 2019. She came to the Garden from the Morton Arboretum, a 1,700-acre botanical garden 25 miles west of Chicago in Lisle, Illinois, where she served as Vice President for Education and Information for 10 years. Her extensive experience includes leading public engagement initiatives that inspire people to connect with nature, providing vision and strategy for long-term mission-based impact, and supporting organizational growth and sustainability. 

 Before joining the Morton Arboretum, Sue served as Vice President for Exhibits and Programs at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, where she developed strategy to inspire the next generation of explorers by directing the development of regional school and teacher programs and leading the master planning for state-of-the-art exhibition and planetarium show production. She began her career as an educator, teaching K-8 science, math, and language arts with an emphasis on problem-based learning. During that time, she was presented with the National Science Foundation's Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, among other accolades. 

 Sue is actively involved in the American Public Gardens Association and Botanic Gardens Conservation International. She has been an international keynote speaker on topics such as designing mission and strategy for impactful programming and creating experiences that catalyze people to take action on behalf of plants. Additionally, she has been featured in professional publications, podcast interviews, and industry research throughout her career.  She is passionate about conservation, education, collaboration, and connecting people to plants.