Board
Melanie Davies
Board Member
Melanie first encountered the Dunn Gardens at a lecture on its history and the role of the Olmstead Brothers in its design and evolution. As a landscape architect in the Pacific Northwest, the impact of the Olmsted legacy has always been a major interest of hers. Like everyone else who initially visits the gardens, it was love at first sight, with its stately trees, extensive plant collection and open space. She holds a BA in political science from Vassar College and an MLA from Cornell University.
Melanie has practiced landscape architecture in the PNW and the Seattle area for over 40 years. Her work has focused on public campuses, parks, streetscapes, green infrastructure and affordable housing. She brings a keen interest in creating open spaces that provide accessible and inclusive experiences, and enhance the understanding and appreciation of natural ecosystems.
Gail DiRe
Board Member
Gail first became acquainted with Dunn Gardens by attending some of their events and from helping promote a local book at one of their Books and Beer events.
For 32 years, she owned and operated a Northwest-based media book publicity company that provided public relations, consulting, media connections, logistics, scheduling management, and setting up and assisting at book events. Along with helping promote non-fiction books for two local publishers.
For the past 7 years, she also worked at Seattle’s NPR, radio station, KUOW, as an administrative assistant and event coordinator.
Gail lives in Kirkland and enjoys gardening, reading, movies, skiing, weekend getaways, and outings with friends and family. She enjoys cooking with friends and also enjoys baking treats. She volunteers for a nonprofit called Community Loaves, which makes nutritious bread and energy cookies that are donated to food banks.
She looks forward to helping plan and assist in Dunn Gardens events and volunteer work.
Susan Dunn
Board Member
In 1983 Susan was invited to a party at the home of Ginna Dunn and her son, Patrick, who she had met a few weeks earlier. She and Patrick married in 1986 and purchased the property from Ginna in March 1991. She enjoyed living next to Uncle Ed Dunn during the last six months of his life. The rest is history.
Susan served in the 10-99 Foundation and Behind the Badge Foundation as Board Member and Treasurer. She chaired the Construction Committee for the Law Enforcement Memorial on the Capitol campus in Olympia. She was an advisor/staff director for many state level boards while in state service.
She co-owned two small retail businesses in the 1970s and early 1980s while also employed in state government. She held management or staff consultant roles from Olympia headquarters for 25 of her 30 years in state government before she retired in 2001. Since then she has served as Vice-President of the public affairs consulting firm she owns with Pat Dunn.
Katherine Dunn
Vice President
Katherine grew up in Seattle, WA in the Dunn Gardens playing on the Great Lawn. She went to Wheaton College in Massachusetts and graduated with a major in Economics and minor in Hispanic Studies. After graduation, Kat moved back to Seattle and began working for Nordstrom. She currently works for the Nordstrom Rack Merchandising Group as an Assistant Buyer in Women’s Shoes. Kat says, “In my spare time I enjoy trying new Seattle restaurants as well as old favorites!”
Janet Egger
Secretary
Janet Egger comes to Dunn Gardens after retiring from an extensive career in horticulture. She holds a B.S. in Botany and an M.S. in Horticulture from UC Davis. Her most recent job was as head plant breeder for Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. in Canby, Oregon from 2000 to 2018. Plants Janet bred for Terra Nova Nurseries include Heuchera, Heucherella, Tiarella, Sedum, Kniphofia, Agastache, Penstemon, Phygelius among others. She wrote and managed their plant patents and plant data base as well. Her email address includes the word orchid, a reflection of her long standing interest in plants. Dunn Gardens is delighted to have such an accomplished horticulturalist join our board.
Connor Hood
Board President
Originally from Bellevue WA, Connor moved to Seattle after attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, where he studied Economics and Math. Since graduation he’s worked as a Software Engineer at several local tech companies, most recently Redfin.com.
Connor is an avid home gardener who enjoys designing & implementing permaculture systems in his yard in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. He is particularly interested in the challenges and opportunities afforded by our native biome, and how to create robust small-scale ecosystems.
Outside of gardening, Connor is an avid musician and runner. He also coached youth soccer for his childhood club for 6 years.
Connor joined the board in the Summer of 2023. He plans to draw on past experiences in event planning and organizational advisory to help vitalize Dunn Gardens’ event calendar & membership experience.
Gil Joynt
Board Member
Gil became acquainted with Ed Dunn from the early 1980s at garden parties hosted by Ed’s childhood friend and First Hill neighbor Webb W. Trimble. Webb and his wife Elizabeth were long time friends of the Joynt family. After the E.B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust was established in 1993 Gil became an early member. The Trust’s mission to protect and interpret the historic Olmsted-designed landscape was a good fit with Gil’s durable support for local heritage organizations such as Historic Seattle and MOHI as well as the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, which he served as board president. Since his retirement after thirty-three years in procurement contracts and audit at The Boeing Company he enjoys travel far and wide, playing tennis and serving as a docent at Dunn Gardens.
Ruth Kagi
Board Member
Ruth Kagi’s mother was a good friend of Dort Bailey, whose home she now lives in. She remembers coming to the garden with her mom and spending time with Pat Dunn. Ruth is a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 32nd district. She holds a BA from the University of Washington and an MPA from Syracuse University.
Ruth served as the Chair of the Center for Human Services Board in Shoreline; Vice-President of the League of Women Voters of Washington, Chair of the Washington Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Chair of the Seattle Commission on Children and Youth. She also served on the Boards of Treehouse, the Shoreline Community College Foundation, and numerous other local human services commissions and boards. Prior to running for the legislature Ruth operated her own public policy consulting business. She also owns and manages a commercial property in Lynnwood.
Wistar Kay
Board Member
Wistar became a member of Dunn Gardens in 2020 and soon became a volunteer in the gardens and then a Docent. She has been fascinated to learn more about Fredrick Law Olmsted and the Olmsted legacy of Dunn Gardens and is an avid gardener.
Wistar was born in Japan and has lived in many places and studied in Japan and France. She landed in Seattle in 1980 and has been happily settled here ever since. She holds a BA in Art History from Mount Holyoke College. Her work in Seattle included sales positions with Four Seasons and Westin Hotels and the Bell Harbor International Conference Center. She also served as the Executive Director of the Japan America Society for the State of Washington and as an international trade advisor for the Washington State Department of Commerce managing trade missions for the tech industry.
Langdon Miller
Board Member
Langdon Miller, past-president, learned about the Dunn Gardens when he and his wife joined the Dunn Gardens tour of New Zealand where they got to know members of the Dunn Garden community. Langdon’s appreciation of plants and gardens dates to his adolescence His principal avocational interest remains gardening and he is delighting in the opportunity to learn new plants and a new climate zone in Seattle where he moved with his wife in 2010. Langdon was born in the Midwest, spent his early childhood in the Washington, DC area, and has been educated at institutions across the US and in the UK. His past work positions have taken him to Maryland, Michigan, and New Jersey. Langdon, a physician, has worked as a pharmaceutical drug developer designing clinical trials for new therapies to treat cancer and genetic disorders. In the course of his work he has held senior leadership or company officer positions in government and in large and small biopharmaceutical companies. Currently, he consults for several biotechnology and venture capital companies. He has authored multiple regulatory documents, scientific publications, promotional presentations, and grant applications.