Management Team

Art Gallagher
Interim Executive Director
gallagher@dsbg.org

Arthur Gallagher – Interim Executive Director

Arthur Gallagher was appointed Interim Executive Director of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, NC in September of 2020.

Art has served as Interim Executive Director for a number of non-profit agencies and one religious organization over the last five years. Prior to this assignment Art served as Interim Executive Director for The Nevins School in Charlotte which supports individuals 13 years and older who have an intellectual or developmental disability, Temple Beth-El, a 1200-person reform congregation located at Shalom Park in Charlotte, Charlotte Family Housing and A Child’s Place. Art has also enjoyed a distinguished career in higher education serving Brown University for 24 years, Johnson & Wales University for 15 years, and served as Vice President for the Foundation and Community Engagement at Novant Health from 2014 to 2017.

Art and his wife Alice moved to Charlotte in 2003. They have two grown children and two granddaughters.

Debra Plosky
Director of Visitor Experience
plosky@dsbg.org

Debra's bio

Debra Plosky – Senior Manager of Operations, Programs and Visitor Experience

My name is Debra Plosky, and I am the Director of Visitor Experience. I am a native of New Jersey but truly call Belmont, NC home. My family moved here in 1978 and I attended Belmont Central, Belmont Junior High, and South Point High School. After high school, I attended North Carolina State University where I studied Sociology, Anthropology, and Chemistry. The one thing I did not study, although I should have, was business.

I have always had a knack for problem solving and numbers, so it was not a huge surprise when I managed the local Subway in Belmont when I was only 17. In my 30+ years in the work force, I have worked in large department stores, like the Belk in SouthPark to small Mom and Pop retail operations, like If It’s Paper. In 2009, I became the Store Manager of a nonprofit fair trade retail store in Greenville, SC and my passion and commitment to nonprofits and volunteerism started there. In 2017, I took over as the Director of Sales at The Children's Museum of the Upstate. 2020 saw a lot of change for many of us, including myself so I made my way back home. I enjoy volunteering within my community and sometimes outside my community with groups that have a shared interest. I joined Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden as Garden Store Manager, then transitioned to Guest Services Manager to my most recent job title. The thing I love most about my job is working with, and engaging with people. I enjoy seeing new faces visit the garden and take in the beauty. I enjoy talking to members and hearing their take on the garden, past, present, and future. I enjoy working with an amazing staff and volunteer base, that bring it all together.

Jason Bonham
Director of Horticulture
bonham@dsbg.org

Jason's bio

Jason Bonham - Director of Horticulture

Hello everyone, my name is Jason Bonham and I have been interested in plants for as long as I can remember. My older brother and I used to spend every day in the woods exploring, building tree forts and searching for salamanders and frogs. When I went to college at Ohio University I knew I wanted to do something with plants. It wasn’t until accepting an internship in Hawaii at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens that I knew I wanted to focus on Public Gardens. After graduating with a degree in Botany I interned at Longwood Gardens and then moved to California to work at Lotusland in Santa Barbara and then the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley.

My job here at the Garden encompasses maintaining and enhancing the outdoor gardens. That involves everything from caring for the gardens extensive plant collections to making sure the fountains are up and running. My main task though is to help support the horticulture staff so that they can continue to do the amazing work that they were doing before I arrived.

The best part of my job here at the Garden is that every day there is something new and exciting. It may be building straw bale mazes one day and learning how to hang holiday lights the next. One of my favorite parts of the garden is the allee of Burr Oaks, Quercus macrocarpa, that line the front entrance. They have just dropped their large acorns that are topped with a cupule or cap that is covered in shaggy scales.

Jessica Collins
Orchid Conservatory Manager
collins@dsbg.org

Jessica's bio

Jessica Collins - Orchid Conservatory Manager

I have loved gardening since I was a child. Because of my early love of nature, I had a keen interest in studying natural science. I ultimately majored in environmental science at Lehigh University. My horticulture experience is diverse: I’ve worked at botanical gardens, coordinated a horticulture education program, and acted as a project leader for a public display garden. However, my most memorable experience was early on. While completing my degree, I studied abroad in Central America, which enabled me to have an up-close look at tropical ecosystems. I later studied at the San Luis Biological Station in the midst of the Monteverde cloud forest, a place that boasts the highest diversity of orchids in the world. The experience had a lasting impression on me, and makes me appreciate my unique role in the Orchid Conservatory.

As Orchid Conservatory Manager, I care for our extensive collection of orchids and tropical plants and am responsible for our rotating displays and exhibits. Although our orchid collection consists of thousands of specimen plants, I’m always excited to acquire new orchids for our collection. I love designing the displays and making the environment feel natural, but awe-inspiring.

I look forward to visitors getting to experience our newly renovated conservatory and exploring some of our highlights. These include our silk floss tree, our living wall, and our resident chocolate tree, but there are so many other fascinating sights as well!

Scott Bradley
Facilities Manager
bradley@dsbg.org

Scott's bio

Scott Bradley- Facilities Manager

My name is Scott Bradley. I retired in 2021 from York County Government in South Carolina after 28 years in Facilities Maintenance, the first two years as a maintenance technician and the last 26 of those as the supervisor. I was responsible for planning and designing, as well as overseeing improvements of company projects.

After I retired, I was looking for a job that would challenge me and introduce me to new opportunities. I found that when I was hired by Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden as the Facilities Manager. The responsibilities are similar, but on a smaller scale. The repairs here must be done in a timely manner to keep the gardens safe for the visitors and the employees.

I had never experienced the Christmas lights at Daniel Stowe until I started working here. I enjoyed watching the visitors and their families as they strolled through the gardens viewing the lights.

Taylor White
Private Events Manager
privateevents@dsbg.org

Taylor's bio

Taylor White - Private Events Manager

My name is Taylor White and I am the Manager of Private Events at the Garden!

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved planning, organizing, making lists, and coordinating. This passion led me into the event industry after graduating from East Carolina University (Go Pirates!). After living in North Myrtle Beach, SC and Greenville, SC, I ventured back to my hometown of Charlotte in 2019. Having worked in hospitality and events for 8 years, I have worked or planned almost every type of event ranging from weddings, rehearsal dinners, and birthday parties, to fundraisers, galas, trade shows, and festivals.

With weddings being a main portion of private events at the Garden, you may have witnessed a wedding setup on the Four Seasons Lawn, a ceremony in the White Garden, bridal portraits in the Orchid Conservatory, or had your own wedding with us! The best part of my job is getting to help couples utilize our beautiful spaces to make their dream day become a reality.

Faith Bezant
Garden Store Manager
bezant@dsbg.org

Kylie Solis
Membership and Engagement Manager
solis@dsbg.org

Kylie's bio

Kylie Solis - Membership and Engagement Manager

Hi, this is Kylie the Membership and Engagement Manager. I have been working at the Garden since 2020. I have loved nature since I was a baby, when my mom used to strap me into one of those adorable baby backpacks and take me on long hikes. This inspired a childhood of wandering around in the woods and inspired me to pursue an environmentally focused degree in college.

My first job at a botanical garden was at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington D.C. I have worked at a variety of other nonprofits, and at a lovely public library.

It’s hard to pick my favorite part of my job here at the Garden. I love writing in depth articles for the Member Newsletter, but I also love capturing images of the Garden and sharing those on social media with our followers. It always makes me smile when people share their Garden photos with us!

My favorite plants in the Garden are our trees. We have so many beautiful decorative trees from all over the world, as well as trees that are native to the area. The Japanese Flowering Apricot trees are incredible. We have two, and each one is gorgeous and wonderfully fragrant. You smell them before you see them!

Stop by and visit! Summer is my favorite season here, everything is so lush, but I also love watching the first flowers peak out in winter.

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