2024 ANNUAL REPORT
A Message from the Chair of the Board and the President & CEO
When you tell people about the Chicago Botanic Garden, what do you say? Maybe you mention seeing hundreds of tulips in spring, or the excitement of our annual Orchid Show, or taking a peaceful winter walk around our grounds.
We prize and cultivate those experiences, and our impact goes even further. When you tell people about the Garden, we hope you also talk about the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action, which last year worked internationally to help prevent plant extinctions, and locally to restore the Chicago area’s native landscapes. Or the Regenstein School, which reached more than 44,000 people through learning programs in 2024—from Nature Preschool to adult education classes in areas like garden design and cooking. And Windy City Harvest, our urban agriculture program, which significantly increased distribution of fresh produce boxes to people with dietrelated diseases.
There’s a lot to tell. We are a global leader in plant conservation science, education, urban agriculture—and, of course, horticulture. In 2024 we were selected to co-host
the 9th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in 2027 with the Morton Arboretum, the first time this event will take place in the United States in 27 years.
We also ranked as the sixth-most-visited museum in the Chicago area with 1.3 million visits, a record for the Garden.
We’ve spent more than five decades building all of this, led by President and CEO Jean Franczyk for the last ten years.
Now, as Jean prepares to retire from the Garden in March 2026, a search is underway for someone to guide us in our next chapter.
We live in uncertain times, and in instances like these, we know what we have to offer: Moments of joy and tranquility in our blossoming gardens. Hope in the form of seeds. Food that nourishes the body, and lifelong learning that nourishes the soul. Now more than ever, plants can help people, and planet, thrive.
So much grows here. In this report, we invite you to explore it for yourself.
Michael R. Zimmerman Chair of the Board
Jean M. Franczyk President & CEO
We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life.
WE GROW WONDER.
On our 385-acre main campus, we connect people to the power of plants with fresh perspectives on the natural world. In 2024 we had 1.3 million visits—the most since we opened in 1972, reflecting our identity as one of the world’s most renowned botanic gardens. On free admission days we welcomed more than 125,000 visitors.
Last year’s Orchid Show set an attendance record at 88,500 in the Show’s tenth year. Our summer exhibition, Lost & Found, explored plant conservation stories through art, workshops, and performances highlighting native prairies and the importance of plant genetic diversity. Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns and Lightscape saw 45,000 and 196,000 attendees respectively.
Seven of our collection’s corpse flowers (Amorphophallus titanum) bloomed in 2024, tying our 2022 record. This phenomenon highlights our horticultural expertise and commitment to conserving endangered species—and draws significant public interest.
And our Plant Evaluation program, one of the largest in the nation, maintained 6,900 plants and 26 comparative trials. The program was featured twice in Fine Gardening magazine, sharing information about best-performing plants for horticulturists and gardeners.
The Garden in 2024
1.3 million visits
2.73 million plants in permanent collection
141,000 seasonal annuals grown
124,000 bulbs planted in fall
WE GROW HOPE.
In 2024, Garden scientists with the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action traveled to Hawaii, Ecuador, and to the 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Singapore to share with other scientists the plant studbook approach they helped develop. The plant studbook tracks information about individual rare plants so that institutions can breed between their collections—maintaining genetic diversity and preventing extinctions.
Closer to home, our science team is helping the Forest Preserves of Cook County restore 30,000 acres of land by co-developing their Native Seed Nursery and training its staff. We grew 50 pounds of native seed for the Forest Preserves in 2024, only our seed bed’s second year. Our Plant Production team also grows 14,000 plants for Forest Preserves restoration efforts each year.
And at the Garden’s main campus, 17 restoration technicians participated in the Stewardship and Ecology of Natural Areas (SENA) program, learning from Garden ecologists to become the next generation of conservation leaders. In 2024, the program’s second year, SENA expanded beyond the Garden’s shorelines, prairie, and woods to include stewardship of the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s Turnbull Woods.
The Negaunee Institute in 2024
1,800 species in our Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank
260 people in science education and training programs
60 percent of the Garden’s main campus is comprised of natural areas managed by the science team
WE GROW CURIOUS MINDS.
Last year our Regenstein School provided field trips for more than 32,000 students and chaperones to explore our landscapes and participate in nature-based workshops. We also expanded seasonal homeschool field trip events, engaging students and families in a variety of activities from experimenting with plant-based dyes to investigations of live insects.
Adult education programs like cooking and wellness classes grew in popularity in 2024, responding to our audience’s increased desire since the pandemic for sensory, in-person experiences that grow community as well as healthy minds and bodies; 975 people participated in our cooking classes alone.
And in the fall our Nature Preschool began a partnership with TrueNorth, a special education cooperative, to engage children with special needs in nature-based learning. This nationally unique program is a model for inclusion in nature preschools, encouraging access to the outdoor world for children of all backgrounds and abilities.
The Regenstein School in 2024
44,000+ total program participants
1,800+ classes & programs
227 new adult education classes
WE GROW HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES.
The Garden’s urban agriculture program, Windy City Harvest, grew its impact in 2024 as Chicagoans continued to seek fresh, local produce—and the health benefits and job opportunities that come with local food systems.
VeggieRx, our prescription produce program, had its most successful year, with 36 percent more boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables distributed to 24 percent more people with diet-related diseases. VeggieRx was featured in the New England Journal of Medicine with an article about the program’s positive impact on patient health outcomes.
As part of our commitment to building a stronger workforce in urban agriculture, Windy City Harvest trained 91 program participants, including 26 Corps members, 17 apprentices, 41 adolescents in Youth Farm, and seven people in the Veteran Internship Program. And the Windy City Harvest team expanded its therapeutic horticulture programming, working with veterans, seniors, and patients in rehabilitation facilities to help them reap the healing benefits of growing plants.
Windy City Harvest in 2024
25,600 VeggieRx boxes distributed
67,400 pounds of produce grown
81 Horticultural Therapy sessions
CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY Board of Directors
Officers
Michael R. Zimmerman
Chair
Lois. L. Morrison
Vice Chair
Jean M. Franczyk
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fred Spicer
Executive Vice President and Director
Paul Rafac
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Ivan A. Adames
Chief Development Officer
Jennifer Schwarz, Ph.D.
Vice President, Learning & Engagement
Aida Z. Giglio
Vice President, Human Resources
Kayri Havens, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist & Negaunee Vice
President for Science
Gwen VanderBurg
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Carmen Vergara
Vice President, Community Development
2024 Board of Directors
Dora Aalbregtse
Jake Amsbary
Dana Anderson
Ann Balusek
Matt Banholzer
Carol A. Barnett
Russell F. Bartmes
Heather Lowe Becker
Martha D. Boudos
Terrence R. Brady
James Brooks
John H. Buehler
Suzanne M. Burns
Robin Colburn
Jill M. Delaney
Michael S. Drory
Timothy A. Dugan
Diana S. Ferguson
Eileen Figel •
Robert F. Finke
Jean M. Franczyk •
Steven J. Gavin
Nancy Gidwitz
Christopher E. Girgenti
Ellis M. Goodman *
Joseph P. Gromacki
William J. Hagenah
Kathleen Hagerty
Julie Hayes
Joanne Chun Hughes
Barbara J. Irwin
Samuel S. Jacobs
Gregory K. Jones
Peter Keehn
Lydia R. B. Kelley
Ryan Kelley
Barbara Malott Kizziah
R. Henry Kleeman
Anne Leventry
Diane vS. Levy
Laura M. Linger
Anne S. Loucks
Michael J. McMurray
Christopher Merrill
Britt M. Miller
Gregory A. Moerschel
Henry Munez
Craig Niemann
Lauren Oakes
Jane S. Park
Toni Preckwinkle •
Bob Probst
Mary B. Richardson-Lowry
Shawnelle Richie
Alan J. Rouse
Ryan S. Ruskin
Anita M. Sarafa
Richard Sciortino
Robert E. Shaw
Andrew Sinclair
Maria Smithburg
Pam F. Szokol
Glena Temple
Nasrin Thierer
Ernest W. Torain, Jr.
Jean Z. Tsai
Anita M. Tyson
Catherine M. Waddell
Wanjiku J. Walcott
Melvin F. Williams, Jr.
Nicole S. Williams
Ernest C. Wong
Life Directors
Neville F. Bryan
Barbara Whitney Carr
David R. Casper
Gary P. Coughlan
Peter R. Crane
James W. DeYoung
Thomas A. Donahoe *
Peter B. Foreman
Caryn L. Harris
John L. Howard
William H. Kurtis
Thomas E. Lanctot
Donna La Pietra
Benjamin F. Lenhardt, Jr.
Daniel I. H. Linzer
Josephine P. Louis
Mary L. McCormack
Jeanine McNally
William E. Moeller
William A. Osborn
Homi B. Patel
Susan L. Regenstein
Anne O. Scott
David Byron Smith
Susan K. Stone
Richard L. Thomas
Ernest P. Waud III
Susan A. Willetts
Arthur M. Wood, Jr. • ex officio * deceased
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois 60022 U.S.A. chicagobotanic.org (847) 835-5440
To view our Annual Report online, please visit chicagobotanic.org/annual_report
Cover: An early fall evening casts its glow on the Heritage Garden. Photo by Donna Baiocchi
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