Patrick MacRae is the Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve, a nonprofit organization stewarding 1,400 acres of historic gardens, cultural landscapes, natural lands, carriage roads, and woodland trails on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The Preserve’s properties include the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Asticou Azalea Garden, Thuya Garden, Little Long Pond, and Hunters Cliffs. Since joining the Preserve in 2024, Patrick has led an organizational evolution from a traditional maintenance model toward one centered on long-term stewardship, cultural landscape preservation, scholarship, and institutional resilience. His work focuses on strengthening the Preserve as both a locally cherished and internationally significant cultural institution, while carefully balancing public access, ecological stewardship, historic preservation, and organizational sustainability.

Prior to joining the Preserve, Patrick served as Doolittle Family Director of Gardens & Horticulture at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, where he oversaw the stewardship and interpretation of the museum’s historic Shipman-designed gardens and living collections. He also served as Director of Public Programs and Education at The Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit dedicated to preserving exceptional American gardens and advancing garden stewardship. Earlier in his career, Patrick managed research initiatives for the Cornell University Urban Horticulture Institute.

Trained as a professional horticulturist with a background in plant research, Patrick’s leadership today sits at the intersection of horticulture, preservation, public gardens, philanthropy, education, and nonprofit governance. He is an alumnus of the Longwood Gardens Fellows Program, a nationally recognized leadership program for public garden professionals.