A. I grew up in Massachusetts, in a suburb of Boston. The most memorable part of my childhood home was the undeveloped hill behind our small ranch house. My twin sister and I had many adventures – big and small – on that hill. 

  

A. I did my undergraduate work at Antioch College in Ohio. It was a very progressive curriculum with no grades and rotations between on-campus academic quarters and off-campus quarters, where your education was a cooperative work experience. I really got to tailor my education and travel all over the North American continent. After college, I worked as a veterinary technician for a year before attending a graduate program in ecology at SUNY Syracuse. For my graduate research, I studied birds on an uninhabited island in Alaska for a year and a half with another graduate student – who, by the way, is now my husband of 18 years!

 

A. I always felt a connection with nature growing up and I recognized at an early age that my life would be far less rich and meaningful if I was not able to connect with nature.  What would life be like if I could not tune out of the stress and bustle of the “daily grind” and tune in to the joyful, life affirming beauty of a wren singing his heart out at dawn? I personally find strength in frequent reminders that the world is a much bigger and richer place than the small sphere of my daily experience. Encountering a deer in the woods or witnessing a hawk on the wing going about their business helps keep my perspective in check. 

 

I started out my career thinking I wanted to be a wildlife biologist but ultimately, I came to the belief that the most fundamental thing that needs to be in place before conservation and environmental sustainability can happen is that people need to value nature. If nature is not personally meaningful or relevant to the vast majority of people, then there will not be enough will or drive or interest in doing the hard work and making the difficult choices we face in protecting it. The good news is that nature really has something of value to offer everyone. That is the truly remarkable thing about the natural world in all its dynamic complexity and stability – nature has a knack for meeting you where you are and giving you what you need, if you’ll let it. 

 

A. My days are incredibly varied, although there are a couple constants. The first is that I spend a lot of time talking and engaging with people, whether it be my staff, our board of directors, residents, community partners, donors…you name it. The second is that I try to have lunch with my staff every day. We all break for a big communal lunch where we get to talk, eat and enjoy each other’s company.  This brings me such joy and is a big part of setting the tone for the kind of culture I want at the office.   

 

A. I have been incredibly fortunate to work with some really top-notch, smart and talented people and they are what motivate me every day. I have learned so much from my teams at the Schuylkill Center and at the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association and it is my interactions and relationships with them that fuels me and keeps me going.  They really are remarkable people who are passionate about making the world a better place.

 

A. Marilyn Nyman is an incredibly successful entrepreneur, leader, and woman whom I admire. She inspires me to grow and challenge myself and she is a model for the kind of leader I want to be. Whenever I spend time with her, she gives me something interesting to think about, chew on, and try out. I am incredibly grateful for that.

  

A. I think women can define a new leadership model for executives and organizational leaders, one that focuses on building community, collaboration and empathy.

 

A. The environmental field is low-ranking in terms of our culture’s priorities. It seems we have very little influence politically and socially compared to business, health and education, for example. In my role as Director of Education at the Schuylkill Center, I could see this play out in how parents tended to prioritize the experiences and opportunities they are providing their children. I spent a lot of time educating parents that giving their children unstructured opportunities to play outdoors are really important to their growth and development.  

 

A. Fewer organizational silos, more within-sector and cross-sector collaborations. I think cross-sector collaborations are essential to increasing our cultural influence. 

If we want to grow a larger constituency of people who value nature, than we need to start the “conversation” or approach with an emphasis on other people’s values, rather than on our environmental values.  It’s about connecting with what motivates the people you are trying to reach. That’s the starting point. We need to find more of those places where our values intersect with broader, cultural values.