It’s not the beginning of a joke…It’s what happened last week at our Dickson-Murst Farm as we welcomed three new members to our Board of Trustees.
Nancy Hopp of Aurora is a former board commissioner with the Fox Valley Park District. Now retired, Nancy’s professional background is in marketing and public relations and she recently published a children’s book. She is a long-time member of The Conservation Foundation. “I want to do volunteer activities that I enjoy and that make a difference in the future,” Hopp said. “I’d like to be as involved as I can in programs for children, things that get kids outside. I love the partnerships and collaborations. We can do so much more if we work together.”
Ben Schwarz of Elgin has been a lawyer since 1971 and has served on the Review Board of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission since 2011. He is also active in the Kane County and Illinois State Bar Associations where he has held several committee positions. Ben is also an active volunteer at the Elgin Boys and Girls Club and has already made arrangements with The Conservation Foundation to form a Boys and Girls Club Mighty Acorns group at the former Fox River Country Day School.
Lois Vitt Sale of Downers Grove brings her expertise in sustainable architecture to our Board. Lois is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Wight & Company, and in her 25 years as an architect has completed more than 70 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects, including Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook and the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago. Lois is also the lead architect of the brand new Knoch Knolls Nature Center, located just across from our McDonald Farm in south Naperville with a Grand Opening set for this Thursday. And to add to her list of accolades, Lois is a LEED Faculty member with the U.S. Green Building Council and teaches sustainable construction as adjunct faculty at Northwestern University.
We are grateful to these three distinguished individuals for contributing their professional expertise and personal passion to our work to save nature in your neighborhood.