Gala for the Gardens

Gardens of Golden Gate Park

Saturday, May 20, 2023

11am - 2pm

San Francisco Botanical Garden, Celebration Garden

with special guest speaker

Gary Kamiya

and with honorees

Annette Huddle and Delle Maxwell

Thanks to All Who Made our First Gala for the Gardens a Success!

Thank you to everyone who helped make our first Gala for the Gardens a marvelous success! Together we raised $535,000 for the Gardens of Golden Gate Park: Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, and San Francisco Botanical Garden. Your support will ensure the advancement of these three historic garden treasures and places of community, our extraordinary plant collections, lifelong learning programs, and access to these public gardens for all.

It was wonderful to gather in the beautiful Celebration Garden. Our special guest speaker Gary Kamiya ignited generosity, learning, and a shared love of the city of San Francisco and Golden Gate Park. Our honorees Delle Maxwell’s and Annette Huddle’s remarkable contributions to the Gardens and our community were a moving inspiration for all.

A special thank you goes out to our incredible Presenter Sponsors Delle Maxwell & Pat Hanrahan, Champion Sponsors Margot & Steve Kerr, Conservator Sponsors Don Baldocchi & Julie Chase Baldocchi, Anki & Larry Gelb, Sarah & Stuart Ryan, Ruth & Ken Wilcox. We thank all our generous sponsors, event co-chairs Don Baldocchi and Cristina Jones, and the event committee, all of whom have contributed considerably; thank you.

We are grateful to our staff and the more than 36 volunteers who gave their valuable time to this event! We deeply appreciate everyone's contributions!

Here is a link to the event photo gallery by Drew Altizer Photography

With your amazing support, the Gardens of Golden Gate Park connect people to plants, the planet, and each other. See you in the Gardens soon!

Photos from This Year's Event

Courtesy of Drew Altizer Photography

Here is a link to the full event photo gallery by Drew Altizer Photography

Special Guest Speaker

Gary Kamiya

Author, journalist and historian Gary Kamiya is the author of the bestselling books Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, which won the 2013 Northern California Book Award for creative nonfiction, and Spirits of San Francisco: Voyages Through the Unknown City, with artist Paul Madonna. His long-running history column, “Portals of the Past,” appears in the San Francisco Examiner. He was a co-founder and longtime executive editor of Salon.com and the former executive editor of San Francisco Magazine.

Honorees

Annette Huddle

Celebrating her 25th Anniversary with the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, Annette Huddle is a leading voice for environmental education in the Bay Area and beyond. As Director of Education, Annette is focused on developing and implementing experiential programs that reach thousands of youth and adults each year. The Gardens buzz with Annette’s passion for life-changing life-long learning in and about the natural world. Previously, Annette worked at Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum. Annette received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and earned a Master of Environmental Studies degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Delle Maxwell

Delle Maxwell began volunteering with the Gardens of Golden Gate Park more than 20 years ago and this year marks the conclusion of her term as an outstanding board chair, the completion of the new plant nursery of which she is the lead donor, and the fulfillment of the transformational twenty million dollar Maxwell-Hanrahan Endowed Fund for the Gardens. Delle, a philanthropist and retired award-winning computer animator and her husband, Pat Hanrahan, a computer science pioneer and recent A.M. Turing Award recipient, co-founded the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation in 2018 to support individual scientists, teachers, conservationists and creators whose diverse perspectives enable us to discover new things about ourselves and our world.

Gala Committee

Co-Chairs

Don Baldocchi

Gala Co-Chair

Don Baldocchi is owner and President of Pacific Nurseries, a wholesale supplier of plant materials to the trade throughout the Bay Area and the oldest continuously operating nursery in California, since 1869. Don is also CEO and Vice President of Livestock Management for Gabilan Cattle Company, a family owned and managed ranch that has been a cattle operation since the land was settled early in California’s history. Gabilan Ranch is managed holistically, using practices developed through Holistic Resource Management that mimic the natural tendencies of wild herding animals and work to ensure the health of the grasslands. The property has been preserved in perpetuity with The Nature Conservancy as open space. Don has served the Gardens board since 2006 and was Board Chair from 2011-2016.

Cristina Jones

Gala Co-Chair

Cristina Jones is an intentional storyteller with a focus on action, impact, and culture. Cristina and her team use world-class storytelling to reach new audiences, spotlighting Salesforce.org as the technology platform built to power purpose. She believes that when people and communities thrive, business thrives. Her team integrates customer advocacy, media partnerships, and influencer strategies to build lasting relationships. In 2020, Cristina was named to the Ebony Power 100, and was featured in the World Woman Foundation’s #ShesMyHero campaign. Cristina currently serves on the Gardens of Golden Gate Park board of directors and is chair of the rebranding committee guiding the future of the Garden's brand set to launch in summer 2023.