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• Leader of the Arts

Mary Pat Matheson

September, 2005

Executive Director, Atlanta Botanical Garden

Mary Pat Matheson, a true visionary, joined the Atlanta Botanical Garden in July 2002 with more than 20 years combined horticultural and management experience. She is leading the Garden in new directions and delivering big numbers. As Executive Director for the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Matheson directs all operations for the 30-acre facility in Midtown Atlanta including fund-raising, education, marketing, business administration and horticulture, while supervising a staff of more than 75 people. Additionally, the Smithgall Arboretum in Gainesville, Ga. will be developed as a public arboretum under Matheson’s leadership.

This year has been one of personal achievement for Mary Pat Matheson. Because of her proven leadership and administrative skills, she was asked to join two international advisory committees: for Limbe Botanic Garden in Cameroon, and for the proposed Nankang Botanic Garden in China. She was named 2005 Professional of the Year by the American Horticulure Society, and Lexus Leader of the Arts by Public Broadcasting Atlanta.

This summer, Matheson introduces Locomotion in the Garden, Trains Across Georgia, presented by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a spectacular summertime exhibit of miniature landscaping and recognizable Atlanta landmark buildings sculpted from natural materials, designed by renowned landscape architect Paul Busse. Children, families, adults, landscapers, architects and train enthusiasts will be enthralled by this display of more than twenty-five architecturally accurate buildings and scenes in a 3,200 square foot area.

In 2004, Matheson secured the most prestigious exhibit in the Garden’s history, Chihuly in the Garden. This exhibit featured more than 50 spectacular glass sculptures from renowned artist Dale Chihuly interacting with the Garden’s lush plants. Hailed as Atlanta’s cultural event of the year, Chihuly in the Garden opened to the public May 1 and an extended run was scheduled through December 31, 2004. “Chihuly in the Garden startled visitors’ expectations stretched their imaginations and offered a new way of experiencing plants and art,” said Matheson. The unique exhibition was only one of its kind in the Southeast and it attracted a record numbers of visitors from all over the country. Garden visitation in 2004 doubled to 380,000; Garden gift shop sales increased by 400 percent and Garden membership reached an all time high with 19,000 member households. Matheson is a firm believer and one of the earliest proponents of exhibition marketing as an effective way to attract new interest and visitation to botanic gardens. Chilhuly in the Garden also benefited the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau Director of Cultural Tourism, Jo Ann Haden-Miller has publicly recognized this achievement, and estimated Matheson’s Chihuly in the Garden exhibition brought in between $50-$60 million and approximately 1,000 hotel nights for the City of Atlanta during its nine month run. “This is a conservative estimate, based on the formula for computing economic impact that is endorsed by the Travel Industry Association of America,” said Haden-Miller.

Some of Matheson’s earlier smash hit ideas to bring visitors to the Garden include the annual Scarecrows in the Garden exhibit every October, Holidaze in the Garden during the holiday season, Orchid Daze each winter, summertime Concerts in the Garden on the great lawn and TREEmendous TREEhouses exhibit in 2003. Matheson also introduced Cocktails in the Garden another innovation aimed at bringing young professionals to the Garden to relax and mingle.

Prior to joining the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Matheson was Executive Director of the Red Butte Garden and Arboretum in Salt Lake City. At Red Butte, Ms. Matheson helped to establish a cultural sales tax in Salt Lake County to support botanical institutions in the county and initiated a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to open adjacent National Forest lands for environmental education programs. While there, she raised more than $15 million for the design and construction of eight display gardens, a children’s garden, four miles of nature trails, an orangerie and a visitor center. During her tenure as Red Butte’s director, she increased annual revenue by more than 600 percent.

Originally a horticulturist, Ms. Matheson earned her M.S. in public administration from the University of Utah. In addition, she currently serves on the board of directors for the Midtown Alliance and the Piedmont Park Conservancy, and is a past president of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. Her most recent appointment as a key volunteer member of MAACC — Metropolitan Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition — is handling the task of exploring a regular source of annual funding for the metro arts group. She resides in Dunwoody with her husband, Bri, and her son, Conor, and enjoys horseback riding.