Brian was, quite simply, a visionary force of nature.
His energy lit up the Denver Botanic Gardens. Under his leadership, the Gardens flourished. More than a million and a half visitors come each year.
His love for research advanced food security, tackled climate change solutions, and worked to protect endangered plant species.
But Brian never kept knowledge locked away—he opened the Gardens wide open.
Brian believed the Gardens should serve as a gathering place for all:
During his tenure, the Gardens mentored interns, graduate students, colleagues, and veterans. Groups as diverse as those creating space for the first-ever meeting to address domestic violence in the Hmong women’s population, to the gala for the African Leadership Group, to an organization we know so well—the Garden Club of Denver.
Brian also believed in community. He built more than 250 community partnerships, forging connections within our city, our state, our region, and even the world. I remember attending a DBG Board retreat a few years ago in Grand Rapids. MI at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. I was green with envy when I learned their endowment was about 70 million dollars. But do you know what their trustees wanted to talk about? Not fundraising, but how Denver Botanic Gardens had built such a robust community outreach program.
Brian’s Gardens offered courses in everything—from horticulture to sustainable landscaping. I even taught a dim sum–making class a number of years ago.
DBG school programs reached more than 30,000 students, not just from local schools but from as far away as Alaska, Texas, and Arizona. With donor support, special-access programs were made possible for more than another 7,000 students. Adult education reached 7,093 participants through 776 classes.
Brian’s relationship with the Garden Club of Denver was close and treasured. The same is true for The Garden Club of America. In 2024, he was honored with Honorary Membership in the Garden Club of America—a significant distinction, as only four such honors were awarded nationwide that year. And in 2019, the GCA recognized him with the Cynthia Pratt Laughlin Medal of Honor for outstanding achievement in environmental protection and the maintenance of the quality of life.
Every year, Brian beamed with pride when the Garden Club of Denver president presented its report at the Board of Trustees meeting. He didn’t just listen—he knew how special the work was, and he made sure we all knew it too.
Brian built deep friendships along the way. I will always regret that I, as Board Chair, will not have the same opportunity for closeness he shared with Nancy Schotters during her chairmanship. And likewise, that Amy, our current GCD president, will not have the same closeness he shared with Cindy Scott.
Brian’s leadership ensured not just growth, but financial stability.
It is important to note that under Brian’s leadership, Denver Botanic Gardens was the only SCFD Tier 1 organization to complete the 2024 fiscal year in the black. The Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Nature and Science, the Denver Zoo, and the DCPA all had to lay staff off or close on certain days. This is a testament to Brian’s skills as both manager and leader.
At York Street and Chatfield Farms, Brian safeguarded historic structures while also advancing new facilities through the Chatfield Master Development Plan—ensuring the Gardens’ mission of education and outreach would thrive. The Chatfield plan was very important to him. On the weekend before he passed, staff were able to bring him the completed design plan, which he was able to see. And as we know, these historic and new facilities alike require ongoing care. So despite our enviable financial situation, continuing our outreach and education programs requires ongoing support.
After Brian passed, a Denver Post reporter asked me what qualities he had. I started listing so many that I could feel her skepticism—could one person really embody all of them? But Brian did. So many values come to mind, but three defining values stand out.
Integrity.
Brian didn’t just have great ideas—he lived his values. He believed deeply in the good we could do together.
Inclusiveness. He believed in making space where everyone felt welcome. I remember chairing the Diversity table at a strategic planning session. Afterwards I said to Brian that it should be a standing committee. He immediately said “yes.” When I began to explain why, he reassured me, “It’s a yes.” He explained that his default answer was usually yes. That openness is one reason staff felt so empowered—they knew he would consider their ideas and try to make them feasible. His guidance in diversity, equity, and inclusion also helped the GCA launch its Common Ground Committee.
Joy.
Joy infused everything Brian did. He lived with gratitude, with kindness, and with a joy that lifted everyone around him.
After doing the hardest thing I have ever done—telling 320 staff members that Brian had passed—I spoke with many of them. Each wanted to share their personal stories of time spent with him.
Russ, one of the security guards, told me about being in a special club with Brian—the “66 Club.” Brian had just sent him a birthday card, saying they were both in that very exclusive club of turning 66 and very few at the gardens were members.
Two other employees told me how sad they felt. When I asked if they had anything joyful to share, their faces lit up: “Yes,” they said. “Pond mucking is next week—and it’s so much fun. You should have seen Brian in waders, mucking alongside us.” I promised I would try it next year, though given my short stature, I may end up in the pond up to my neck.
And so I invite you—please feel what Brian created here:
The joy; the peace;
the quiet reminder that this place belongs to all of us.
Brian left us an extraordinary gift—
a Garden that welcomes everyone.
And we honor Brian’s spirit best by building on that gift together— by guiding the Gardens he loved to even greater heights. It is truly fitting that the Garden Club of Denver hopes to build a lasting legacy to Brian’s spirit of education and sharing of knowledge by creating a Teaching Garden at Chatfield Farms. Amy will share more in the future about this initiative.
The result will not only serve as a testament to the extraordinary impact he made, but will also reflect the extraordinary man he was.
-Story by Mary Lee Chin. Photos courtesy of Mary Lee Chin
