55th Annual Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference

Adam Schwerner
Director, Horticulture and Resort Enhancement
Disneyland Resort


As director of Horticulture and Resort Enhancement in Anaheim California, Adam is responsible for designing and maintaining the living beauty of the resort, overseeing the landscaped and flower-filled lands, as well as the holiday, building and attraction décor teams at the Resort. Previously, Adam was the Director of the Chicago Park District’s multidisciplinary Department of Cultural and Natural Resources, where he spearheaded the Park District’s initiatives to forge bold, inclusive connections between the arts and Chicago’s neighborhoods by increasing arts presence - in all its permutations - throughout Chicago’s parks. One major project under way is “Art from the Ashes”, in which wood from ash trees dying from Emerald Ash Borer infestation is utilized by artists to create sculpture, performance and other public art. Since 2005, as Director of the Department of Natural Resources, he orchestrated the overhaul of landscape management operations for the Park District’s 8,300 acres of parkland and transformed the Park District’s two major conservatories into internationally acclaimed facilities. He frequently gives presentations to national and international audiences on topics including contemporary public garden design and the integration of art into public parks and gardens. Adam was past President of the Chicago Parks Foundation, founder of the Lincoln Park Conservatory Council, a former member of the Chicago Wilderness Executive Committee, and was the Chicago Park District liaison to Chicago’s seven world-class museums and Lincoln Park Zoo. He has served as a board member and co-chair of the APGA Program Committee and as a member of the Chicago APGA Conference Host Committee. He has a degree in ornamental horticulture from Rutgers University and spent 12 years working at the NY Botanical Garden in NY prior to coming to Chicago nineteen years ago to serve as the Chicago Park District’s Deputy Director of Conservatories.

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