About Us

Prior to joining the Foundation, Steve was the president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) from 2001- 2007. As president, he led the organization into a truly global presence, capable of leveraging its resources to achieve tangible lasting results at a scale that will really make a difference, for nature and for people. During his tenure, he oversaw an operating budget of over $500 million, and a highly distributed staff of over 3,000.  Under Steve’s leadership, revenues from all sources increased significantly, hitting an all-time high of $1.2 billion in 2006.   

 

Prior to his role as president and CEO of TNC, from 2000-2001 Steve was a partner at Resources Law Group, a firm based in Sacramento, which provides transactional and consulting services in land-use and natural resources law and policy, and creates innovative opportunities for conservation philanthropy.

 

Steve began his career with TNC in 1976 as Western Regional Legal Counsel, and rose through the ranks to spend 16 years as executive director of the California state program. In that role he led an organization-wide effort that created Conservation by Design, the strategic framework that now guides all of TNC’s work in 29 countries and every state in the US.

 

Steve has also served on several boards, including the Advisory Board of the UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources, and the Advisory Board of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative.

 

Steve has a B.S. Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of California at Berkeley (1973), where he graduated with honors, and a J.D. Degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law (1976). He also attended the Stanford Executive Program in 1993.