Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring our member, Lincoln Ferris, President of the Board of Directors of the Seattle Chinese Garden.
The program will be presented in-person and on Zoom on Thursday morning. The formal meeting including the program runs from 7:30-8:30 a.m. No registration is required, and the program is free.
- The in-person meeting will be at the North Seattle Church (2150 N 122nd St, Seattle). Doors open at 7:00 a.m. and the program begins at 7:30 a.m.
- Click here to join the meeting on Zoom. The line will open shortly after 7:00 a.m.
The City of Seattle and the mountainous Chinese Municipality of Chongqing became sister cities in 1983. In their first agreement, they undertook to create a Sichuan-style Chinese Garden in Seattle. A citizen’s committee chose a site at the north end of South Seattle College, high on a plateau overlooking the Seattle harbor. The Seattle Chinese Garden Society was formed in 1989 to lead the effort to build the Garden as Seattle’s symbolic bridge of friendship to Chongqing and China.
Since its beginning in 1999, the garden has seen the completion of many key projects, including the Song Mei Pavilion and bamboo grove, the Chan Education Center, the Knowing the Spring Courtyard and Chongqing Entry Gatehouse, and the Luoyang Peony Garden.
Lincoln Ferris is the President of the Board of the Seattle Chinese Garden and a senior administrator at Seattle Colleges, actively involved in promoting Chinese culture and guiding fundraising initiatives for the Garden. In this role, he plays a leading part in strategic planning, governance, and oversight of the Garden’s operations. He has been publicly involved in significant fundraising campaigns, including a $30 million capital campaign to expand and build out the Central Garden with new facilities such as a teahouse, tower, scholar’s studio, ponds, and Mirror Lake.
Outside of the Garden, Lincoln Ferris holds a prominent position in higher education. He is Vice President of Administrative Services at Seattle Central College, part of the Seattle Colleges District, and has also served as a Consultant to the President of the college. His responsibilities involve executive administrative functions, advising on institutional operations, and participating in governance through the President’s Cabinet.
Under Ferris’s guidance, the Seattle Chinese Garden has celebrated milestones such as its 35th anniversary, hosted community events like the Peony Festival, and strengthened ties between Seattle and Chongqing through collaborative projects. His role underscores the Garden’s mission to serve as a living bridge of friendship and cultural exchange, while promoting public awareness and appreciation of Chinese culture in the region.