Missouri Botanical Garden names new president

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The Missouri Botanical Garden announced Monday that they have name Dr. Lucia G. Lohmann as the garden's next president. Lohmann becomes the first woman ever to hold the position and the eighth president in the history of the Garden.

"After a rigorous, international search, we are looking forward to introducing Dr. Lohmann to the St. Louis community," said Michael Stern, Chair of the Garden’s Board of Trustees. "She is accomplished and engaging and will continue to elevate the Garden both as a cultural landmark and as a leader in science and conservation."

Lohmann will step into her new role as Garden President and Director on Jan. 2, 2025. Lohmann currently serves as Director of the University and Jepson Herbaria and Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Lohmann is a native of Brazil, earning her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of São Paulo, where she documented the biodiversity of the Amazon Basin. However, she has ties to St. Louis as she earned her master’s and PhD degrees in Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics from University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), where she studied the biogeography and evolutionary history of the trumpet-creeper plant family.

"I relate deeply to the Garden’s mission ‘to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life,’ as this reflects my own purpose in life," Lohmann said. "Assuming the presidency at the Garden is a homecoming for me, full circle. I lived around 300 feet from the Garden for eight years during graduate school and obtained an exceptional botanical education here."

Lohmann will succeed the current Garden President Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, who will transition to President Emeritus on Jan. 2. Wyse Jackson has served as the Garden’s president and director since 2010.