The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) dropped the news (via press release) that President Drew Becher is resigning on June 1st.

Becher has been with the PHS since 2010 and is leaving for San Francisco, where his partner Eric Lochner accepted a position of President and CEO of Achievers, largest cloud-based employee success platform companies in the world.

His accomplishments include (according to the press release):

Sadler noted that under Becher’s leadership, PHS membership surged from 20,000 to 75,000, with a strong focus on attracting young members; PHS Pop Up Gardens have become an iconic brand in Philadelphia; Plant One Million, the nation’s largest multi-state tree-planting campaign, was initiated and will hit the 500,000 mark this year; the PHS City Harvest community garden program was expanded; a master plan was initiated for Meadowbrook Farm; the Hamilton Horticourt and interactive elements were added to the Philadelphia Flower Show; and the PHS magazine,GROW, was relaunched with exciting new content and design. During Becher’s tenure, PHS also secured $4 million in funding, including major grants from the William Penn Foundation and the sponsorship of Bank of America and other partners, to support the organization’s programs and services.

Margaret McCarvill, a PHS Board member and the Board President of the Neighborhood Gardens Trust, will serve as Interim Executive Director of PHS as of May 1, while a national search for a new President is underway.

Good luck Drew! At least we got a few words in with him while he was here.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher