Meade Krosby2019

Wilburforce has been partnering with Meade since her 2009 post-doc days at the University of Washington. Over the past decade, she has done an extraordinary job to advance biodiversity conservation under climate change through innovative, rigorous, and highly regarded assessments of climate impacts and adaptation responses for species and ecosystems. Through her current role with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, Meade has helped Wilburforce and its partners like the Cascadia Partners Forum advance our shared goals of planning for conservation in a changing climate.

Meade’s efforts over the last ten years have shown that she is not only a top-notch scientist, but also an excellent communicator and collaborator. A 2015 Wilburforce Conservation Science Fellow, she is a stalwart champion of sharing her knowledge in the public discourse and decision-making.  A great example of her dedication to connecting science to the climate change conversation is her 2018 op-ed in the Seattle Times about moving from despair about climate change to action. And Meade’s choice to work with the Climate Impacts Group shows an understanding that fostering long-lasting collaborative relationships leads to enduring conservation action. Meade’s impressive and highly relevant body of science scholarship and her dedication to the art and science of collaboration is why we are proud to honor Meade with our Conservation Leadership Award.

Thank you, Meade, for your contributions to climate adaptation science and your dedicated service to our partners.

All bios are from the year the award was presented.

 

Susan Jane Brown2019Susan Jane Brown and Wilburforce Foundation have a long-standing partnership. We began funding her work in 1999 when she was the Executive Director of the Gifford Pinchot Task Force (now Cascade Forest Conservancy), working to protect Cascadia’s old growth forests, wildlife, and wild rivers. She left the Task Force to serve as Natural Resources Counsel for Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) in Washington, D.C, and then as a staff attorney with the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, Lewis and Clark Law School’s environmental law clinic. In 2009, Susan Jane joined the Western Environmental Law Center as a staff attorney, and is now their Public Lands Director. A nationally recognized expert on forest law, she has been appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to co-chair the Federal Advisory Committee on the National Forest Management Act. Susan Jane graduated from Vanderbilt University and earned her law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School. More importantly, we rely on her counsel, her judgement, her leadership, and her insight in helping us develop smart conservation strategies that are not only based on firm legal ground, but also help drive our grantees’ efforts forward in a collaborative, durable manner. There are also mountains full of old forests in the Cascades, thanks to her smart engagement with local communities, decision-makers, and conservationists. Congratulations, Susan Jane! All bios are from the year the award was presented.

Robyn King2019Connecting, restoring, and protecting the Yaak Valley’s lowland temperate rainforests through collaboration is the Yaak Valley Forest Council (YVFC) mission and that of its dynamic leader, Robyn King. A thirty plus year resident of the Yaak Valley, Robyn helped organize YVFC and now manages its community-based programs: a forest health monitoring effort, a partnership endeavor restoring the Yaak watershed, and conservation education outreach/engagement. As Executive Director, she coordinates several collaborative groups in the region---Three Rivers Challenge, the Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition (KFSC), the Kootenai Initiative, and the Lincoln County Resource Advisory Council (LCRAC) currently chairing the KFSC. Robyn believes the most effective conservation strategy is one grounded in common ground dialogue, sound science, and a strong boots-on-the-ground presence in rural communities. She is a passionate believer in collaboration, and community building, embracing the challenges of regional politics, isolation, and economics. Robyn calls her collaborative work “democracy in action” and attributes YVFC’s success to “persistence and continuing to show up.”  It is that and more. Robyn and her team have an authentic concern for the social and ecological well-being of the region and an instinctual understanding of how to connect with people despite divergent views. Wilburforce has partnered with Robyn and YVFC since 2002 and is proud to present Robyn with its Conservation Leadership Award.

All bios are from the year the award was presented.

Andrew Thoms2019“Small place, big impact” is a favorite Andrew Thoms phrase and a vision he has brought to life as Executive Director of the Sitka Conservation Society. Andrew came to Sitka, Alaska in 2006 bringing with him a decade of experience in sustainable development in Latin America and a Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in conservation and economics. He has since built his life and career in the Tongass National Forest and become one of the most respected and dedicated leaders shaping Southeast Alaska’s conservation movement. Whether building diverse non-traditional partnerships, designing and leading programs that show how Southeast towns can thrive in a sustainably managed forest, or working with the Forest Service, Andrew is applying his unique genius in ways that honor the vitality of the Tongass and its communities. His leadership has influenced the conservation of a national forest, a federal agency’s forest management, and the futures of many young conservationists. For his deep community work, organizational leadership, and determination to protect the ecological integrity of the Tongass National Forest, Wilburforce is delighted to give Andrew Thoms a 2019 Wilburforce Conservation Leadership Award.

All bios are from the year the award was presented.