Jill Barry, President & CEO, Houston Botanic Garden

Invest: spoke with Jill Barry, president and CEO of Houston Botanic Garden, about the organization’s growth, how it is using data to guide decisions, and its role in advancing sustainability and biodiversity in Houston. “Running a nonprofit is running a business,” Barry said.

How have the past year and the start of 2026 shaped Houston Botanic Garden, and what trends have had the biggest impact on the organization?

The Garden turned five at the end of 2025, and I equate that to a child getting ready to go off to kindergarten. We are growing, and we’re stable, and we’re excited about the future.

In our first five years, there was a lot of testing and trial, and now we are seeing what is landing with our audience. We are getting positive responses and seeing growth with many of the things we have implemented. We try to be responsive to our audience and our visitors, so it is nice when they respond positively by buying tickets, coming to events, and engaging with what we are doing.

As the garden continues to scale, how are your strategy and priorities evolving?

There are three principles we are using as we look ahead and evaluate programs: are they replicable, scalable, and profitable? Running a nonprofit is running a business. It just has different end measurements than a for-profit business.

We are also harnessing data in new ways. The information age is moving quickly, so we are working with partners to help us gather and interpret data so we can make informed decisions. That includes looking at our own operational data and our visitors’ data to guide how we plan for the future.

How are visitor expectations changing, and how is that influencing your programming and overall experience?

Our visitor base is growing up with us. People expect to come and see change, though not dramatic change. They want to understand what they are seeing when they come in, so we focus on making incremental and sustainable changes.

We are positioning ourselves to be Houston’s Garden. Houston has many green spaces, but we are unique in how we tell the story of plants and gardening. We focus on the importance of plants and connect that to the science behind what people experience visually.

We also want visitors to understand that what they see at the garden can be applied at home and can contribute to improving our ecology, helping with stormwater mitigation, and supporting better decisions as the environment continues to shift. A big part of our role is helping people understand resilience and the role plants play in that.

Houston’s climate can be challenging. How has that influenced your planning and investment decisions?

In the five years since we opened, we have experienced a hurricane, a derecho, snow, several freezes, a heat dome, and droughts. Events that used to happen occasionally are now happening more regularly, and that has changed how we operate.

It affects our plant palette and the choices we make. There are things we have decided are not viable in Houston anymore because conditions have changed. Texas is tough, and we focus on identifying what truly thrives in our environment.

We also share that information with the public. It is not enough for us to know it. We want visitors to learn something they can take home and apply, and we try to present that in a way that is engaging and accessible.

What role do festivals, events, and partnerships play in driving attendance and growth?

They play a significant role. We have developed a series of festival days that highlight different parts of the Garden and connect them to broader themes.

For example, in March, we host Bayou Blues, which is a blues music festival tied to the bluebonnet bloom and the Louisiana iris. In April, we have Flower Power, when the Garden is at its peak in terms of color, and we highlight our Hippeastrum collection, which blooms annually and includes thousands of bulbs.

Later in the year, we host events such as Go Bananas in September and Monarchs and Marigolds in October. In 2026, we are adding Standing Tall, a tree festival including the pecan, the Texas state tree.

Partnerships are essential to making these programs successful. We work with organizations like Audubon, local businesses, artists, and institutions such as Texas A&M. Volunteers also play a key role, including corporate groups that participate in done-in-a-day projects at the Garden.

How are current economic conditions affecting your operating model?

We rely on about 50% earned income and 50% contributed income. Earned income includes ticket sales, events, rentals, and programming, while contributed income includes memberships, donations, and grants.

The economy has been somewhat uncertain, so we are focusing on the value of a visit. Our pricing is designed to be accessible, with tickets at $12 for adults and $8 for children. We also provide scholarships to ensure that cost is not a barrier for visitors.

Accessibility is important to us, and we want to make sure people can experience the garden regardless of financial constraints.

What role can a botanic garden play in addressing challenges such as biodiversity and sustainability?

That is central to what we do. A simple illustration of the importance of diversity is that we used to be a municipal golf course, mainly grass and a few trees, and at that time, bird diversity was limited. Since transforming the site with more diverse plantings and environments, bird counts have increased threefold.

That demonstrates how biodiversity can be enhanced through thoughtful design and planting. We want people to understand that even small changes in their own spaces can support biodiversity and environmental health.

How are your talent needs evolving as the organization grows?

Talent is always a challenge in the nonprofit sector. We benchmark positions locally and nationally to remain competitive while managing resources responsibly.

It is also important that Houston is a place where people want to live. A job is only one part of a person’s life, so the broader environment matters. We see the Garden as part of what makes the city attractive for residents and employees.

Looking ahead, what are your top priorities for the next two to three years?

Growth is the priority. We have a growing staff, a growing audience, and expanding needs. We need to build more gardens, enhance programming, and add infrastructure to support that growth.

The focus is on growing thoughtfully and strategically. We do not want to grow too quickly and risk instability, but we also do not want to hold back. It is about continuing to build in a way that supports the Garden’s long-term development.