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The University of Texas at Austin

Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs

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Event: Full Circle: From the LBJ School to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Speaker(s): Susan Rieff, Executive Director, Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Date: February 19, 2007

Length: 55 minutes

Event Series: LBJ School Alumni Association Speaker Series

Description: Susan K. Rieff, executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and a graduate of the LBJ School, was the first guest of a new lunchtime speaker series cosponsored by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and the LBJ School Alumni Association. The inaugural event was held on February 19, 2007 in the LBJ Student Lounge. Ms. Rieff talked about her work at the Wildflower Center and about the changes the center is undergoing after its September 2006 acquisition by the University of Texas at Austin as well as the relationship of the center to the LBJ School.

Located in Austin, the Wildflower Center is dedicated to educating people about native plants and to preserving and restoring the nation's natural beauty and biological richness. The center has more than 14,000 members nationwide, and its award-winning architecture and 279 acres of gardens and nature trails attract 70,000 visitors annually. Ms. Rieff was named executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in July 2004. Her responsibilities include oversight of the Wildflower Center's landscape restoration program, plant conservation work, and professional and family education programs.

Before joining the Wildflower Center, Ms. Rieff served as policy director for Land Stewardship for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the nation's largest member-supported conservation group. Ms. Rieff has also served as deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of the Interior, director of environmental policy for Texas Governor Ann Richards, assistant commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, the first director of resource protection for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and an environmental legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas. She has been a part-time visiting professor of environmental policy at the LBJ School.

Introduction by LBJ School Alumni Association President Steven Niemeyer.

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Movie: Full Circle: From the LBJ School to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center: Susan Rieff Movie: Full Circle: From the LBJ School to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center: Susan Rieff

The statements made here represent the speakers' own thoughts. Neither the LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin, nor any organization providing support for this effort necessarily endorses the views and statements included here.