The Conservation Foundation’s president and chief executive officer, Brook McDonald, is being awarded Nonprofit Executive of the Year by West Suburban Philanthropic Network which recognizes individuals, foundations and corporations for their philanthropic leadership.
McDonald joins nine other honorees this year in various categories. The awards will be presented at a luncheon in May.
Under McDonald’s leadership since 1996, the private nonprofit land and watershed conservation group has organized successful open space referenda campaigns to raise more than $750 million to preserve 30,000 acres of land in the counties of DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will.
He was named one of the top 10 most influential environmentalists in DuPage County by the Daily Herald newspaper, and in 2010 was named a Lincolnland Legend by the Dollars for Scholars Program in Springfield for being a role model for youth.
Presently, McDonald is overseeing a $1.5 million donation from the Hamill Family Foundation that includes land acquisition and improvement projects along the Fox River, expanding The Conservation Foundation’s Conservation@Home program, engaging communities in cleaning up local rivers and streams, and reaching more children through environmental education programs.
McDonald received his master’s degree from Ohio State University in Natural Resources and a bachelor in science degree from Otterbein College in Life Sciences.
The Conservation Foundation is one of the region’s largest and oldest private conservation organizations — with more than 4,000 members and donors, and more than 500 volunteers who contribute 20,000 hours per year.
Work is focused in DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties to preserve and restore nature in your neighborhood.
The Conservation Foundation is located at 10S404 Knoch Knolls Road in Naperville.
For more information, visit theconservationfoundation.org.
News release and photo courtesy Sandy Kaczmarski at The Conservation Foundation.
