Chris became a Friends Board member in 2012. She’s a native of Michigan, with a B.S. in biology from the University of Michigan. Chris arrived in California in 1974 to start work at UCSF, then moved to Davis in 1979 to work on a Master’s degree in reproductive physiology.

After working in several research labs at UC Davis, she retired in 2011 and began volunteering on the curatorial team in the Arboretum. Chris is involved in cash management for the plant sales but could not do it without staff member Judy Hayes and fellow board member Chuck Foster, plus  group of dedicated volunteers ensconced in the “Cash Shed.”

Chris’s spare time activities include grassroots political activism, birding, bicycling, and travel. She and her husband feel fortunate to have both of their adult children living in the area. If forced to choose a “favorite” Arboretum plant, Chris might say Concha ceanothus. She’s particularly fond of the Mary Wattis Brown Garden and the Oak Grove, but loves that there are so many diverse Arboretum areas to choose from.