GLENCOE, Ill. (April 2, 2007) – Sophia Siskel has been named president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Botanic Garden, William J. Hagenah, chairman of the board of directors,  announced today.   The appointment is effective August 15.

     As president and chief executive officer, Siskel will direct the operation of the 385-acre Chicago Botanic Garden -- 23 display gardens and three native areas, plant conservation and research initiatives, the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, and public and educational programs that attract almost 800,000 visitors annually.

     Siskel succeeds Barbara Whitney Carr, who announced her retirement last October after 12 years of stewardship of the Garden.  During the next four months, Siskel and Carr will work together to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

     “The Chicago Botanic Garden is a unique museum for gardeners, nature-lovers, and solace-seekers.  But the Garden also plays another equally important role.  As the earth faces profound environmental challenges, the Garden provides solutions and hope through its renowned plant science, plant conservation, and education programs,” Siskel said.

     “As a life-long Chicagoan, I am honored to become a guardian of one of the world’s most beautiful and diverse living plant museums,” she added.  “I look forward to working with the Garden’s staff, board, partners and Cook County Forest Preserve District Commissioners to further the Garden’s relevance and impact.”

        Siskel has served as the Garden’s vice president of visitor operations since February 2006.  During that time she led a team of more than 100 employees overseeing all aspects of the visitor experience at the Garden, open 364 days a year.                                                             

     “During the past four months, the Garden has conducted an international search that included some of the most talented people in the botanical garden and museum fields,” Hagenah said.   “Sophia has been selected to lead the Chicago Botanic Garden because of her extensive experience in museum management.  Her leadership will advance the Garden’s mission as a public display garden and strengthen our role as a world leader in plant conservation, education and horticulture.”

     “This is another step forward to ensure that this Cook County treasure continues to serve all of the people of Cook County, the state of Illinois, the nation and the world,” said Todd Stroger, president of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

     Siskel joined the Chicago Botanic Garden from The Field Museum, where she served as vice president of exhibitions and education and was responsible for all of the museum’s permanent and temporary exhibitions and public, student and teacher education programs, oversaw the 275,000-volume library and directed catalogue publication.

     Prior to The Field Museum, Siskel was a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art. She coordinated the 1995 Claude Monet retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago and directed exhibitions at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Chicago.

     She is a graduate of Wellesley College, with a bachelor’s degree in art history and economics.  Siskel received her master’s degree from University of Chicago, Department of Art History, and her master’s of  business administration degree in accounting and finance from J.L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She was named one of Crain’s “40 Under 40” in 2002.

     She serves as a director of the Arts Club of Chicago and is a member of the Joseph H. Winterbotham Collection Committee at the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and is a Mentor at the Harris Center of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago.

     She resides in Evanston with her husband, Jon Siskel, and their two sons.