New members have various types of expertise
Three new members have joined the board of trustees of the Big Waters Land Trust, which is headquartered in Osprey, the nonprofit has announced: Carol Carter, Michael Knupp and Joseph Lieberman.
“An accredited land trust, Big Waters’ mission is to protect land and water for the benefit of people and nature,” a news release explains. The new trustees join Chair Robert W. Brown, Vice Chair Sherry Davis, Secretary David Crawford, Treasurer Mario Bernardis, Patrick Carlton, Elizabeth Moore, Eileen Scudder-Zimmermann and Daniel Vigne “in guiding the not-for-profit’s urgent work,” the release adds.
A former advancement officer, Carter spent nearly 40 years serving colleges and major universities, including Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne University, the release notes. Her professional career culminated at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was vice chancellor for institutional advancement, responsible for fundraising, communications and alumni relations, the release says.
“Her ‘retirement’ career” included 10 years as a commissioner with the City of Anna Maria, the release adds, noting that Carter considers herself a “lifelong believer in being a good steward of the land.”
A native of western Colorado, Knupp previously served on Big Waters’ board, the release continues. During summers in college, the release says, Knupp worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a firefighter and replanted forests destroyed by fire and logging operations.
“After graduating from Colorado State University, he was hired by the first environmental consulting firm in the world,” the release points out. “Knupp dedicated his career to helping industrial companies solve their legacy environmental problems,” the release adds.
Lieberman, who is a Florida native, is vice president and trust adviser for Regions Private Wealth Management, the release notes. Before joining Big Waters’ board, he served as a pro bono adviser when he worked as an estate planning attorney, the release says. “He believes everyone deserves access to clean drinking water and unspoiled natural spaces, and he hopes to connect more people to land conservation for the benefit of future generations,” the release points out.
Big Waters Land Trust, formerly the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, has protected more than 20,000 acres with support of its growing conservation community, the release adds.