Matt Rader, president of one of Philadelphia’s premier nonprofit organizations, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), has been selected as a recipient of the highly coveted Eisenhower Fellowship. The Eisenhower Fellowship program identifies, empowers, and connects innovative leaders through a transformative fellowship experience and lifelong engagement in a global network of dynamic change agents committed to creating a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world. As an Eisenhower Fellow, Rader will join other outstanding professionals to showcase PHS’s mission, vision, and organizational values with a new, global audience.
Eisenhower Fellowships is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit international leadership organization with a distinguished history of awarding exceptional U.S. leaders from all professional fields a four or five-week fellowship abroad. Matt Rader’s selection as an Eisenhower Fellow will aid in creating valuable, global connections for PHS, build on the organization’s reputation for excellence, and expose new audiences to the valuable, impactful work PHS does in the Greater Philadelphia region.
As PHS’s 37th President, Rader has focused PHS on using horticulture to advance the health and well-being of local Philadelphia communities and has led more than 100 PHS team members to deliver transformational projects that increase horticulture’s impact. He has led efforts to engage people to work with PHS to positively impact their neighborhoods and the region, expanding PHS’s work to serve more than 250 neighborhoods. In 2019, PHS adopted Vision 2027, an innovative strategy to unlock the potential of plants and gardens to improve health and well-being by positively impacting four social determinants of health: building meaningful social connections, creating more livable environments, expanding access to fresh food, and increasing economic opportunity.
During the Eisenhower Fellowship, Rader will travel to Germany and Spain to meet with thought leaders to further deliver on PHS’s plan for Vision 2027, as well as its work through collaborative learning. Ultimately, he intends to design a program to create a national community of gardeners working together to deliver collective social and environmental impact. With 74% of U.S. households participating in lawn or garden care, Rader believes converting even a small share to PHS’s ethos of “Gardening for the Greater Good” would yield significant positive social impact.
“I am extraordinarily honored to have received the Eisenhower Fellowship, and I am so excited for this opportunity to convene with other outstanding professionals doing impactful work in their respective fields. I’m looking forward to this global experience where I can learn more about the cutting-edge solutions others are developing to solve the complex, nuanced problems of today’s world, while sharing and showcasing the amazing work PHS has done to increase health, well-being, and equity through horticulture.”
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society100 N. 20th Street