Gwen L. Stauffer has been named the new Executive Director of Ganna Walska Lotusland. Ms. Stauffer comes to us from her position as the Executive Director of the New England Wild Flower Society, the oldest plant conservation organization in the country, headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. She will officially begin her directorship on May 15. Ms. Stauffer says "I fell in love with Lotusland during my first visit to the gardens, years ago. It will be an honor and pleasure to lead this fine organization through a new era of growth and progress." Lotusland's Search Committee worked long and hard to identify and select the ideal candidate. The chair of the Search Committee and new Board President Mason Farrell said "Gwen's obvious leadership skills, wide-ranging experience and passion for gardens make her the perfect choice to lead Lotusland." Ms. Stauffer was the Deputy Director of Gardens and Physical Plant for Hillwood Museum and Gardens in Washington, DC and in 2001, she was appointed Director of the Gardens and Preserve for Callaway in Pine Mountain, Georgia. She became the New England Wild Flower Society's Executive Director in 2005. The Society's botanical garden, Garden in the Woods, is New England's premier wildflower garden with its more than 1,500 native plant species and cultivars including many rare and endangered native specimens. Ms. Stauffer earned a Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture and a Master of Science in Public Horticulture Leadership and Administration through the prestigious Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware.