Mary Brinegar in 2019. Photo by Danny Fulgencio.
Mary Brinegar, the president and CEO of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, is retiring within the next year.
Brinegar has held the position for 27 years, and she will remain there until a new president and CEO is named, the arboretum says in a press release.
The arboretum will form a committee to do a national search for Brinegar’s replacement.
“Mary shared with leadership more than two years ago that this was her plan,” Dallas Arboretum Board Chair Jim Ryan said in a statement. “She stayed through the pandemic and its financial challenges, all the while strengthening her internal team to provide outstanding support for an incoming CEO.”
During her tenure, the garden developed 60% of its property, reworked the original gardens, and education and trial-research programs were added. Many structures were added, including the Trammell Crow Visitor Education Pavilion, the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden and the complex at A Tasteful Place. Several gardens were installed, and renovations of parking lots and garden areas were also completed.
In addition, popular exhibits such as the Pumpkin Festival and The 12 Days of Christmas were put in place under Brinegar’s leadership.
Among the awards she has received are the SMU Distinguished Alumni Award, and she has been named the Junior League Sustainer of the Year, a Hall of Fame Awardee from Woodrow Wilson High School and an honorary member of the American Association of Architects in Dallas and later in the State Association.
However, Brinegar’s time at the arboretum has not been without its challenges. Several years ago, the arboretum got a lot of media attention when word got out that there were considerations about building a parking lot at Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake. In the end, no parking lot was built at Winfrey Point, but the arboretum did construct a parking garage on the other side of Garland Road.
