Board

Christopher Kerns, Esq., Chairman
Chris Kerns is an attorney and founding partner at Kerns, Frost & Pearlman in Chicago. His professional expertise is in litigation, with a concentration on professional liability insurance and reinsurance. He was educated at Fairfield University and John Marshall Law School (J.D., 1981) and is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, American Bar Association, International Bar Association and Association of Defense Counsel.

Edward K. Chandler, Co-Vice Chairman
Ed Chandler is a professional venture capital investor, active in technology based start-ups in business services, medical technologies and life sciences. He is a founder and managing director of Portage Ventures based in Northfield, Illinois. Prior to forming Portage, he was a founder and managing principal of Prairie Capital. He has served as a director of numerous public and private companies. Mr. Chandler holds an M.B.A from Harvard University, where he graduated with High Distinction as a Baker Scholar. He earned a B.A. in economics, magna cum laude, from Yale College. He serves as a director of Lake Forest Open Lands Association, and is a trustee of the Otho Sprague Memorial Institute, which supports innovative programs in medical research and care.

Steven M. Ryan, Co-Vice Chairman
Steve Ryan is a managing director at City Capital Advisors, LLC.  Steve has more than 22 years of experience advising public and private middle market companies. For the past nine years Mr. Ryan has focused on assisting middle market Private Equity Funds in merger and acquisitions as well as private and public equity raises. He also spent 13 years as an Institutional Equity Salesman advising Public Equity Funds in the small and middle capitalization markets. Prior to joining City Capital Advisors, he was a principal at William Blair & Company, an investment officer for the Northern Trust Company from 1982 to 1987, and a financial analyst for Motorola, Inc. from 1979 to 1981. He has served on numberous boards, including Illinois Nature Conservancy (treasurer), Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, Seabury Western Theological Seminary, Lincoln Park Zoological Society Auxiliary Board, and the Lawrence Hall Youth Services Board. His club memberships include Indian Hill Club, Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, the Racquet Club of Chicago, the Casino and the Anglers’ Club of Chicago. Steve received a BBA from Loyola University of Chicago in 1979.

Richard T. Schroeder, Secretary
Dick Schroeder spent 27 years in the banking industry, retiring in 1994 as president and CEO of Boulevard Bancorp, a publicly traded multi-bank holding company with $1.5 billion in assets.  He is a former executive with the Delta Waterfowl Foundation, an organization specializing in waterfowl research and education. Mr. Schroeder has a B.S. from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University.

Carl R. Yudell, Treasurer
Carl Yudell is principal of Carl R. Yudell Law Firm and Yudell and Associates, Ltd., which provides consulting services for profit sharing and pension plans. Both firms are in Northfield, Illinois. He is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois CPA Society, Northbrook Historical Society (general counsel) and the Princeton Club of Chicago (president and chairman of four class reunions).  He is a graduate of Princeton University (A.B., economics), the Chicago-Kent College of Law (J.D.), and the University of Illinois (CPA).

Bruce M. Becker
Bruce Becker is a family wealth director at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. With over 25 years of experience, Mr. Becker has built a practice dedicated to assisting a select group of families to navigate the complexities of wealth management through advanced financial planning. He serves as a founding board member of Children Outreach & Community Empowerment (COCE), a charity dedicated to the education and empowerment of disadvantaged children of northwestern Tanzania. Mr. Becker is also a member of the Endowment Committee of the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund and the Corporate Advisory Committee of the Nature Conservancy. He was educated at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Paul R. Botts, ex officio
Paul Botts is executive director of The Wetlands Initiative. Previously, Paul served as Director of Chicago Programs at the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, responsible for programming and grantmaking in pursuit of both land conservation and artistic vitality goals across northeastern Illinois, northwestern Indiana and southeastern Wisconsin. Prior to his work at the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Paul served in operations and development roles at The Nature Conservancy of Illinois for 8 years and was an executive director in professional theater for four years. He began his nonprofit career as a communications officer for the Center for Great Lakes. He has a B.A. in history from Yale University and a certificate in Non-Profit Management from University of Illinois at Chicago.

Christopher B. Burke, Ph.D.
Christopher Burke is president of Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., based in Rosemont, Illinois.  The firm, founded in 1986, serves as consulting engineer for numerous municipalities in Illinois and provides engineering services in civil, transportation, drainage, mechanical, environmental and water resources fields.  Dr. Burke has authored numerous technical papers, articles and presentations and has conducted many seminars.  Dr. Burke earned a bachelor’s, a master’s, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University and received the President’s Lifetime Award, Purdue Engineering Alumni Association in 2001, Distinguished Engineering Alumnus in 1998 and an Honorary Doctor in Engineering in 2010.  He is Past President of the Illinois Section of the American Society of Engineers, the American Council of Engineering Companies-Illinois, and the Western Society of Engineers.  He is a professor of practice at the University of Illinois-Chicago where he has taught water resources related classes for the last ten years.

George M. Covington
George Covington practiced law for 25 years with the Chicago law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas and since 1995 has practiced law in Lake Forest, Illinois, specializing in land use issues, including conservation easements.  He is currently on the boards of directors of Lake Forest Open Lands Association and Little Traverse Conservancy, and is the founder and a current officer and director of the Les Cheneaux Foundation.  He is also a member of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.  He formerly served on the boards of the Illinois chapter of The Nature Conservancy (chair), Corlands (president), Chicago Academy of Science (chairman), and Openlands Project.  He is a graduate of Yale College and the University of Chicago Law School.

Allen Grosboll
Al Grosboll is a senior policy advocate and co-legislative director for the Environmental Law and Policy Center, working on clean energy, transportation and natural resources issues before Congress, state legislatures and public agencies.  Mr. Grosboll helps lead ELPC’s policy advocacy and rural coalition-building work on the Farm Bill-Clean Energy Development Project. He served as the deputy chief of staff and senior advisor on environment, education and natural resources issues to Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and as chief of staff for the Illinois secretary of state. He also worked as a policy staff member in the Illinois legislature.  He has a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University.

Becky Bair Hurley
Becky Hurley is the principal of Becky Bair Hurley, P.C., a commercial real estate law firm, which she founded in 1994. She specializes in land use, acquisitions and leasing. She is an active community volunteer with strong experience in governance and community engagement. Ms. Hurley chaired the 2007-08 Winnetka-Northfield Context Sensitive Solutions Study for the Enhancement of Willow Road, was a member and two-term president of the District 36 School Board, and has held leadership positions with the Winnetka Historical Society and the Winnetka Caucus. She currently chairs the Winnetka Plan Commission. Ms. Hurley is a former legal writing instructor for Loyola University School of Law and is a member of Lambda Alpha Epsilon, an international land economics honor society. Ms. Hurley is a graduate of Colgate University (B.A., international relations/political science) and Northwestern University School of Law.

Mark D. Maffei, Ph.D.
Mark Maffei is president of Androck Hardware Corporation, Rockford, Illinois.  Prior to joining the family business in 1995, Dr. Maffei had a distinguished career as a wildlife biologist, serving with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. In Rockford, he has served as president of the board of the Natural Land Institute, a member of the Rotary Club, and the board of directors of the Rock River Valley Council, Girl Scouts of the USA.  He earned a B.A. in biology from the University of Illinois, a M.S. in zoology from Western Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in zoology from Southern Illinois University.

Brent Manning
Brent Manning has 25 years’ experience managing public and private natural resources throughout Illinois. He currently is Executive Director of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.  Previously, he spent 12 years as Director of Illinois Department of Natural Resources (and its predecessor, the Illinois Department of Conservation).  From 1985 to 1991 he was Director of Field Operations for Ducks Unlimited.  He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental biology and zoology from Eastern Illinois University.

Marilyn Pearson
Marilyn Pearson is an attorney and partner at DLA Piper US LLP, with an extensive practice in labor and employment law. Ms. Pearson represents clients on a broad range of issues including collective bargaining and all aspects of contract administration, strategic planning, communications and corporate campaigns, strike preparedness and employee job actions. Ms. Pearson advises clients on management policies and employee handbooks, transactional due diligence, downsizing, bankruptcy, and employment contract, including restrictive covenants. Ms. Pearson is skillful in assisting clients in investigations of employee misconduct. She has been admitted to the bars of Illinois, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. She has a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Charles T. Pick
Charlie Pick is senior vice president at National Realty Network, a commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in Chicago area industrial, retail, and office leasing and sales. He also co-founded and managed BB Central America, Inc., which controls several real estate investment partnerships along the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Before entering the real estate profession, Mr. Pick spent nearly two decades starting and managing organic recycling and landscape supply companies. He is an active volunteer with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Yale College and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Albert E. Pyott
Albert Pyott is co-founder and chairman emeritus.  From 1987 until 1993, he was executive director of the Illinois chapter of The Nature Conservancy, following his lifelong interest in conservation. He previously was general manager of sales at Inland Steel Company, a $3.5 billion steel manufacture and distribution company, where he was responsible for nationwide sales of all steel mill products. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Nature of Illinois Foundation, OpenLands Project, and Wetlands Research, Inc., and on the advisory boards of the Cook County Forest Preserve and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission. Mr. Pyott has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and attended the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Thomas I. Rodhouse
Tom Rodhouse spent 51 years in the steel industry, including serving as president, CEO and Chairman of the Board at J.H. Roberts Industries and president and COO of Alliance Mid-West Tubular Products.  He has served on the board of the following organizations: the Scot Forge Co., PTC Alliance Corp., J.H. Roberts Industries, Glen View Club, Steel Tube Institute (president), YMCA Camp Manito-wish (director emeritus), Friends of Ryerson Woods, Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest, and the Presbyterian Church of Northbrook (board of elders). He earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in economics and business from Grinnell College.

John W. Sentell
John Sentell is president of Lake Forest Open Lands Association, a land trust in Lake County, Illinois.  From 2006 to 2010 he was on staff at the Wetlands Initiative, most recently serving as executive director. John previously served as vice chairman of the MCDC Corporation, a public tax corporation serving the residents of Collin County, Texas.  Prior to his work in the nonprofit sector, Mr. Sentell had a career in Fortune 500 marketing and branding for Campbell-Ewald, Inc. and the Leo Burnett Company, as well as independent consulting for Trillium Group, LLC.  A passionate conservationist and fly-fisherman, he serves on the board of the Biodiversity Project and is secretary of Camp Ginger Quill (MI). He earned a B.S. in business administration from Miami University, Oxford, OH.

Douglas F. Stotz, Ph.D.
Since 1994, Doug Stotz has been a conservation ecologist in the Environment, Culture and Conservation Division at the Field Museum in Chicago. His field studies on birds have taken him through Mexico and most of South America, particularly Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. In North America, he has done research on the ecology of birds in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois. His research interests focus on diversity patterns, biogeography, ecology, and conservation of birds.  He has taken part in several Rapid Biological Inventories in Peru, Bolivia, and Cuba and is part of the Illinois Rapid Assessment Program at the Field Museum. He is co-author of Neotropical Birds:  Ecology and Conservation (University of Chicago Press, 1996). In Illinois, his research focus has been studying migration and breeding birds along the Chicago lakefront, in the Lake Calumet area, Palos, and Midewin. He earned his B.S. from the University of Arizona and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Richard P. Toft
Dick Toft has been a leader in Chicago's business and philanthropic communities for three decades. He was president and chief executive officer of Chicago Title and Trust Company from 1981 to 1994, and was president and CEO of Alleghany Asset Management, Inc. from 1996 to 2000. He had been a director of the following corporations: Chicago Title Corporation; Alleghany Asset Management; Fidelity National Financial, Inc.; Peoples Energy Corporation of Chicago; Capitol Transamerica Corporation; Cologne Life Reinsurance Company; Dominion Life Insurance Company; Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.; and Alleghany Underwriting Holdings (London, England). An active leader in the Chicago civic community, Mr. Toft is a former director and chairman of the United Way of Chicago, and a life trustee of the Endowment Committee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival, and Mather Lifeways. He is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and a former chair of the board of trustees of Kenilworth Union Church. A retired U.S. Army Reserve captain, he participated in the National Security Seminar at the Army War College in June 2008. Mr. Toft earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri.

Directors Emeriti

Paul F. (“Pete”) Cruikshank Jr.
Pete Cruikshank, after graduating from Yale, served the railroad industry for 35 years in areas of operations, marketing and management.  Since retirement in 1995, he has been active in Winnetka Village (Illinois) government and the local elementary school board.  He now lives in the Hartford, CT area.

Clark L. Wagner
Clark Wagner was one of the early directors of the Wetlands Initiative and served on its board for 13 years (1996-2009).  He retired in 1994 from Inland Steel Industries, Inc., Chicago, as corporate secretary and deputy general counsel. He has been active in Chicago civic affairs, as a former member of the board of directors of the Union League Club, a former president of the Chicago Literary Club, and as a former trustee and vice president of Provident Hospital. He is a life trustee of the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation. Mr. Wagner is a graduate of DePauw University (B.A., economics) and Harvard Law School.