Jim attended St. Francis High School, Benedictine University, and then earned an MBA in Marketing from National University. Anyone that knows Jim knows of his passion for the environment.

Jim began his relationship with The Conservation Foundation as a volunteer. In his volunteer efforts, Jim helped organize the annual DuPage River Sweep since its inception in 1991. In fact, he was organizing DuPage river clean ups in Warrenville prior to the Foundation’s involvement. Since then, he has worked on prairie and wetland restoration projects at Warrenville’s Johnson School and on several educational endeavors of the Foundation. Jim is also the recipient of the 1999 Paul Butler Memorial Award presented by The Conservation Foundation for outstanding volunteer service.

In 2004, Jim joined the staff becoming the Land Preservation Specialist for The Conservation Foundation. He developed the Conservation@Home and Conservation@Work programs to reach home and business owners, getting them going on a more eco-friendly approach to landscaping. The program is unique, in that it offers on site help and advice. He lectures all over the region on local environmental issues, and works with other staff to cover a six county region of Illinois. The program has spread to 10 other organizations across Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. His current title is Conservation@Home Program Director.