Washington, D.C. – The Architect of the Capitol announces the selection of Susan K. Pell, Ph.D., as Executive Director of the United States Botanic Garden (USBG).

“Dr. Pell brings a powerful combination of plant science and leadership experience into this position,” said J. Brett Blanton, Architect of the Capitol, who oversees and supports the U.S. Botanic Garden. “She will lead the U.S. Botanic Garden to new heights in demonstrating the importance of plants while diversifying its offerings and visitorship in the Garden’s third century.”

As a botanist and an educator, Pell has spent her career at public gardens and has traveled the world to collect plants for scientific study. She joined the U.S. Botanic Garden in 2014 as the Science and Public Programs Manager and most recently served as Deputy Executive Director.

“I am thrilled to be selected to steward the U.S. Botanic Garden,” Pell said. “I am excited to work with the USBG team to leverage our expertise and diverse plant collections to build on the Garden’s success and continue to engage people from the D.C area, across the nation, and around the world.”

Prior to joining the USBG, Pell worked at The New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where she taught a diversity of plant science topics to students from toddlers to retirees, developed interpretation for the public, and directed molecular research and plant taxonomic studies using samples she collected on her expeditions and from gardens and parks in New York City. Pell moved to Washington, D.C. in 2013 for an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the National Science Foundation.