Short Hills Public Garden Selects Five New Board of Trustees Members

Peter P. Blanchard III, chairman of the board of trustees at Greenwood Gardens, a public garden in Short Hills, announced the appointment of five new members of its Board of Trustees: Henry Johnson, Cynthia (Cynnie) Kellogg, Susan Lowry, Andrew Permison and Alexa Scordato.

According to a release, Henry Johnson is president and chief executive officer of Fiduciary Trust Company International, a global investment manager headquartered in New York. Johnson is also a trustee of Vassar College and of the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation. He is a Bryant Fellow of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a member of the New York Public Library’s Financial Services Leadership Forum and a member of the advisory board of the New York Botanical Garden, where he serves on the horticulture committee. Johnson is the Garden Conservancy’s appointee to the board of Greenwood Gardens.

Cynthia “Cynnie” Kellogg is a lifelong resident of Short Hills and has been a member of the Short Hills Garden Club for 30 years. She served for 20 years on the board of the NJ Conservation Foundation. Kellogg and her husband Peter are longtime supporters of Greenwood Gardens, and have a long history of supporting land conservation efforts.

Susan Lowry has returned to Greenwood’s board after formerly representing the Garden Conservancy on Greenwood’s board for two years. Lowry was a television journalist before switching fields and earning a diploma in landscape architecture. She lives in New York City and works as a freelance landscape designer. She is also the co-author, with Nancy Berner, of Garden Guide: New York City, Gardens of the Hudson Valley, and Garden State Gardens. Lowry has lectured widely on public gardens and written for publications such as Garden Design magazine.

Andrew Permison is a long time resident of Short Hills with a life-long dedication to conservation and historic preservation. He began his professional career as an art dealer in New York City where he was a founding member of the Guggenheim Museum’s Young Associates Committee. Subsequently, he moved into sales and marketing of luxury brands, including Wedgwood and Mont Blanc North America. Active in his community, Permison was a founding member of the Millburn-Short Hills Art Advisory Committee and served as a trustee and past president of the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society.

Alexa Scordato is a digital marketer with has over eight years of experience helping companies big and small leverage social media for business objectives. Currently she is Director of Product Marketing at Stack Exchange. Prior to joining Stack Exchange, she spent four years as Senior Director of Marketing for 2U, an education company that helps top-tier colleges and universities deliver quality online degree programs. Scordato also worked at Porter Novelli, a global PR agency where she designed digital campaigns on behalf of Fortune 500 brands. A native of the Philippines, Scordato graduated from Barnard College in 2007 with a B.A. in American Studies.

Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills is comprised of 28 acres of gardens, meadows, and woodland, with eleven historic buildings constructed between 1912 and 1950. The board of trustees and staff are dedicated to preserving the history and enhancing the beauty of the property for the benefit of the public.

The Garden will open to the public on Sunday, April 19. Open hours and days are Saturday through Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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