Terry Courtney Nicholls joined the US Botanic Garden in 2001 after working for nine years for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations in the field of occupational safety and health.  One of the city agencies which he advised was the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, making his experience at the Mayor’s Office, where he dealt with many unique safety challenges, well-suited to the needs of the Botanic Garden.  He holds a master’s degree in environmental and occupational health sciences from Hunter College, City University of New York and he strives to use that knowledge to both implement safety and health measures and motivate Garden staff to achieve positive safety outcomes.

In his spare time he enjoys listening to music, particularly Caribbean music. While he gave up playing in a steel drum band, which he learned to do in Trinidad many moons ago, his love for reggae -- which started with his attendance at several Bob Marley and the Wailers concerts as an undergraduate at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica -- continues to this day.