Administrative Staff

Gary Outenreath

Director, Landscape Planning and Management

As the Director of Landscape Planning and Management, Gary plans and manages landscaping efforts for Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, including plant selection. He also plans and provides consultation for general landscape efforts for all other properties owned by the Stark Foundation and all venues for Stark Foundation programs, including the Lutcher Theater, The W.H. Stark House, and the Stark Museum of Art, and he supervises planning, management and function of all greenhouses located at Shangri La.

Gary joined the Stark Foundation in December 2003. He previously served as the horticulture manager at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, where he was involved in the development of the Rainforest Biome and other areas. He was also involved in research programs at Moody Gardens in the areas of medicinal plants and biological controls of damaging plant pests. His other experiences include working for a landscape architectural firm in Houston, Texas, managing a 54-acre wholesale nursery, working as the horticulturist at the 5,000-acre Las Colinas Development near Dallas, writing on horticultural and landscaping issues for both the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth Home and Garden magazines, and co-authoring the Houston Garden Book. He has made numerous plant collecting trips to Central and South America, focusing on plants of ethnobotanical interest.