The Board of the Sacramento Botanical Garden

Bruce Ritter, O.D. grew up on Long Island, New York.  An early love of plants and gardening led him to become a volunteer for the orchid collection at Planting Fields Arboretum, in Oyster Bay, NY.  He then joined the greenhouse staff, where he worked for several years, followed by a stint at Seabreeze Orchids in Bayville NY.  Dr. Ritter received his undergraduate degree in botany at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton, and went on to obtain a doctorate in optometry at  SUNY College of Optometry in New York City.   He is currently a consultant to the Folsom Chinese Heritage Museum's Chinese Garden, now under construction.

Dr. Ritter has been growing orchids for 45 years, and served on the board of the Sacramento Orchid Society for two years.  He has travelled around the world, drawing inspiration from over forty botanical gardens and arboreta that he has visited in Hawaii, Central America, Europe, and even down under, in New Zealand and Fiji.  He plans to use this experience and his love of beautiful gardens to create a botanical garden on par with the best in the world.    

Dr. Ritter is delighted to be returning to his "roots" as the co-founder of the Sacramento Botanical Garden.

Linda Ching, O.D. was born and raised in Sacramento, and graduated from John F. Kennedy high school. She attended UC Berkeley as an undergrad, before she moved to New York City, where she received her doctorate in optometry from the SUNY College of Optometry. 

Dr. Ching’s super-power is her ability to creatively resource ideas and connect people, motivating them to break down their barriers.   She is the founder of SUNY Optometry’s Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity organization, which for thirty-three years has been delivering eye care worldwide to underprivileged communities. This legacy continues to be the largest student organization on the campus.  

A co-founder of the Sacramento Botanical Garden, she met Bruce Ritter on the corner of 24th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan, NY.  After decades of practicing as an optometrist, she changed careers to become a life coach, which is how Bruce’s dream of creating a Botanical Garden in Sacramento was born. Dr. Ching is an avid cyclist, yoga instructor, proud mother of two young adult children, and a twenty gallon blood donor.  She is a member of Toastmasters organization where she has achieved the status of "Advanced Communicator Bronze". 

Dr. Ching is a consultant for the Folsom Historical Society's new Chinese Heritage Museum Project, which is  "dedicated to telling the rich and complex history of the Chinese in Folsom and in California." She is particularly thrilled with the idea of  creating a Chinese garden, similar to the  Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, which will recognize the great contributions of the Chinese to our city and state.

Lisa Bodemeijer, a resident of Sacramento for over 34 years, is the Treasurer of the Board who brings 17 years of experience in accounting in and around the Sacramento area.  She leads the finance and accounting functions for the Sacramento Botanical Garden.

After graduating from Sacramento State with her degree in accounting, she pursued a career with Franklin Templeton Investments, a global investment firm.  In 2005, Lisa created her business, Double-Check Bookkeeping Services and now services businesses in Sacramento, Placer, and Yolo counties. She has been the Treasurer for Soroptimist International of Sacramento North, a non-profit for over two years.

In her free time, Lisa loves to spend her time outside either in her yard gardening or strolling the American River with her chocolate lab, Athena.  She enjoys attending theater and seeing the next upcoming Marvel movie with her daughter.

 Derrick Lim, Boardmember, Public and Community Service

After a wide-ranging public service career with the City of Sacramento, Derrick has continued to engage in once-in-a-lifetime community service projects like establishing a signature botanical garden in Sacramento and a Chinese heritage museum in Folsom, ensuring equity for wok-cooking and Asian cuisine, and being on the board of Gifts to Share, Inc.  

Derrick's public service started at City Hall with the late City Councilmember, Lynn Robie. He returned to City Hall to staff Councilmember Heather Fargo. The culmination of nearly 25 years of continuous city service including major initiatives with other departments concluded as a manager in Neighborhood Services.  

A history of community service, advocacy, and non-profits has also been integral to the Sacramento native - Chinese artifact exhibit at the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse; historic land ownership in Locke; senior housing; Chinese American Council of Sacramento; Perceptions public affairs program at KCRA-TV; home improvement with Rebuilding Together; Pacific Rim Street Fest; Sacramento County Grand Jury; Leadership Sacramento; Asian Resources, Inc.; Asian Community Center; and commissioned essays in Neighbors and Sacramento Lawyer. 

The Cal Bear and UCLA Bruin alum considers kayaking, biking, and hiking as his other offices. The YEEBREW brand of community, culture, and history suits him best.  

 Renee Taylor is a near-lifelong Sacramentan who bring decades of community leadership to the Sacramento Botanical Garden. She headed her PR firm Forma Communications for 15 years and served in the numerus community leadership roles including Executive Director of the Fulton Avenue Association, nine years as an elected member of the SMUD Board of Directors, and CEO of the Northern California World Trade Center. She served multiple terms on the Arden-Arcade and Fair Oaks Planning Councils. Additionally, she has served on numerous non-profit boards including Sacramento Metro Chamber, Sacramento Region Community Foundation, Roberts Family Development Center, St. John’s Program for Real Change, League of Women Voters. Renee has a Political Science degree from UC Berkeley. She is a passionate Francophile who enjoys cooking and boating in Tahoe. She gets a ton of joy from her hydroponic garden that supplies her family with fresh picked salad throughout the year.  

Cielo Sichi, PLA, is the owner of Landfour Landscape Architecture. He has been professionally designing and building landscapes since 2003. He has extensive experience with landscapes of all types, including single and multifamily residential, commercial, institutional and recreational projects. 

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Mr. Sichi received his degree in Environmental Horticultural Science, focusing on landscape design and construction, from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2003. For the next eight years, he worked in the Bay Area as a Landscape Designer, acting as lead designer, estimator, and general manager. His skills in designing, budgeting, and building landscapes were developed and honed by working with hundreds of landscape projects. 

 Mr. Sichi  founded Landfour Landscape, Inc. His firm works with clients throughout the northwest, 

 
Mr. Sichi served as guest lecturer on landscape and design related subjects at several colleges and universities. In 2015 he had the opportunity to teach horticulture part time at Merced College. He is currently the Department Chair of Horticulture at American River College where he teaches the Landscape Design and Construction courses.

Mr. Sichi has designed gardens throughout California.  He is currently involved in the design of a fifty acre garden in Florida, as well as a thirty acre garden in the foothills of northern California.

Marlene Simon is a popular contributor to Good Day Sacramento, appearing bi-weekly on the highly rated weekend edition. Her fans affectionately know her simply as “The Plant Lady.” 

Her home away from home is the magical UC Davis Botanical Conservatory in Davis, California where she is the staff Horticulturist. Here Ms. Simon grows and cares for over 3,000 species of the world’s most exotic/rare plants and flowers. In her spare time between appearing on Good Day Sacramento and work at the Conservatory, she guest lectures on all topics of organic gardening. She also writes for the Sacramento Bee, in the home and garden section on Saturdays. As a fervent animal lover, Ms. Simon has donated her expertise to establish a wildlife garden at a regional non-profit wildlife center. 

While an undergrad student at UC Davis, she worked as an intern at the Conservatory, and targeted working there professionally as her ultimate dream job. This goal setting, stepwise planning to accomplish, and daily drive to attain success of the plan is a pillar theme in Ms. Simon's message to her followers. Her 1930’s farmhouse sits on 40 acres of walnut orchards in Northern California’s agricultural heartland. This setting often acts as a backdrop for her digital presence on Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Live and YouTube.