Adkins Arboretum Appoints New Board Members

Adkins Arboretum Appoints New Board Members

Adkins Arboretum recently appointed Jack Sullivan of Easton, Bill McAvoy of Pennsylvania, Jim Brighton of Cambridge, and Andrew Miller of Preston to the Board of Trustees.
 

Jack Sullivan is a licensed Professional Landscape Architect (PLA) in Maryland and Massachusetts. As an associate professor in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at the University of Maryland, he has taught lecture, seminar, and studio design courses in landscape and garden history, graphic communication, community development, and the design and construction of sustainable urban landscapes.

On the Eastern Shore, he worked with the City of Cambridge on its Working Waterfront Implementation Plan at the Choptank River and Cambridge Creek waterfronts and on the master plan for Sturgis Memorial Park in the Town of Snow Hill. His current research and design projects focus on integrating nature with urban environments in Baltimore and Washington, DC, and investigating the benefits and healing power of nature.

Sullivan states, “As a licensed landscape architect, long-time educator, and advocate for the use of native plants, I am thrilled to be working with the team at Adkins Arboretum. I hope I will add half as much value to the organization as I know I will receive in knowledge, friendship, and community engagement.”
 

Bill McAvoy retired after a 35-year career as a botanist for the state of Delaware, where he documented the state’s flora, with an emphasis on the conservation of threatened and endangered species. He is the primary author of the online database Flora of Delaware. After years of conducting botanical fieldwork throughout the Delmarva Peninsula, McAvoy published several papers on the flora and plant communities of the Delmarva. He now lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Teri.

“I have always enjoyed hiking and botanizing at Adkins Arboretum and really appreciate the events and classes that they offer to members and the public. As a new member of the Board, I look forward to helping to advance the goals and mission of the Arboretum,” McAvoy comments.
 

Jim Brighton is a native of the Eastern Shore, having studied contemporary literature at Salisbury University. He decided, however, to follow his family’s tradition of working on boats and has spent the past 27 years working at Campbell’s Boatyards in Oxford. Brighton also co-founded the non-profit Maryland Biodiversity Project (MBP) and serves as its president, documenting Maryland’s flora and fauna and managing many of MBP’s field projects. Through his work at the Maryland Biodiversity Project, he helps promote community science and education by building a vibrant community of nature study.

Brighton also works for the University of Maryland, performing plant surveys. He was awarded the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Champion in 2017 and the Maryland DNR Conservationist of the Year in 2019.

“I am honored to serve on the Adkins Arboretum board. The arboretum’s focus on education and conservation aligns with my commitment to preserving Maryland’s biodiversity. l look forward to working with the Adkins team to strengthen their vision of environmental stewardship,” Brighton states.
 

Andrew Miller returns to the Adkins Arboretum Board of Trustees after serving in the past as its Chair and Treasurer. After growing up in Baltimore, he was first introduced to Maryland’s Eastern Shore in 1970, as a boy visiting his grandparents’ home on Leadenham Creek in Bozman. His love of nature and appreciation of environmental stewardship were fostered by experiences on the waters of the Chesapeake and in the marshes, woods, and meadows of the Shore. He has over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate development and investment, both in privately held companies and in the corporate sector. Currently, he manages a commercial real estate portfolio for a family office. Since 2008, Miller has lived in Preston, where he and his wife, Jackie, also own and operate Horses in Harmony Farm, a dressage training facility. Miller became acquainted with Adkins Arboretum by purchasing plants through its native plant sale to create native plant rain gardens at Horses in Harmony. Upon learning Adkins Arboretum’s mission and the wide-ranging programming, he became a member and supporter. He has served on the Adkins Arboretum Board of Trustees since 2018, first as Treasurer and since 2022 as Chairman.

“Adkins Arboretum has always been a special place of connection for me—not just to nature, but to our community. I am thrilled to return to the board at such an exciting time for the organization, and I am eager to advocate for the sustainable growth and beauty of this unique local treasure,” Miller shares.

“We are grateful to have the expertise of these four board members to help guide our organization as we move forward with our Master Plan. Their experience in conservation at both the national, statewide, and local levels elevates the experience we are creating here for our visitors,” states Ginna Tiernan, Executive Director of Adkins Arboretum.

For further information about Adkins Arboretum, visit https://www.adkinsarboretum.org/.