Board of Directors

Tom Boldt

CEO, The Boldt Company

Nina Leopold Bradley
Founder and Director, Aldo Leopold Foundation

Susan L. Flader
Professor of History, University of Missouri
Leopold Biographer

Forrest Hartmann
Boardman Law Firm, Baraboo, WI

Estella B. Leopold
Ecologist and Palynologist, University of Washington
Founder and Director, Aldo Leopold Foundation

Madelyn D. Leopold
Partner, Boardman Law Firm, Madison, WI
Former Trustee, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Inc.

Gene Likens
Former Director & President, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
2001 National Medal of Science Laureate

Carol Skornicka
Senior Vice President-Corporate Affairs,
Secretary and General Counsel, Midwest Airlines, Inc.
Former Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations

Trish Stevenson
Metalsmith, Black Earth, WI

Jerry Smith
President & CEO, First Business Financial Services

Legal Counsel
Anne E. Ross
Foley & Lardner

Advisors

Richard C. Bartlett
Vice Chairman, Mary Kay Inc.
Chairman, National Envirnmental Education & Training Foundation

Don Brown
President, Albion Wealth Management

Kathe Conn

Executive Director, Aldo Leopold Nature Center

Peter Dunwidde
Director of Research Programs, The Nature Conservancy

Stan Temple
Professor Emeritus, Wildlife Ecology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Jerry Smith
President & CEO, First Business Financial Services

Director Biographies

Tom Boldt is chief executive officer of The Boldt Company. As a fourth generation leader, Boldt is very active in overseeing the diverse operations of The Boldt Company and its subsidiary companies: Boldt Consulting Services, Boldt Technical Services, and Oscar J. Boldt Construction. Oscar J. Boldt Construction is a family-owned firm which has been in operation since 1889. Boldt is headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, and has thirteen offices throughout the country. The company operates throughout the country with the heaviest concentration of activity in the Midwest, South, and East. Boldt earned his BA degree from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, and studied at the L’Universite de Paris III and Institute Catholique in France.

Dr. Nina Leopold Bradley, eldest daughter of Aldo Leopold, has undertaken ecological research throughout her life, established two family planning clinics (Columbia, Missouri and Bozeman, Montana), and currently lectures widely on Leopold and the land ethic. Nina and her husband Charles have directed research and ecological restoration at the Leopold Memorial Reserve since 1978. She received an honorary doctorate degree in environmental sciences from the University of Wisconsin in 1988 and has received many awards, including The Wilderness Society's Bob Marshall Award in 1995.

Susan L. Flader is professor emerita of U.S. Western and environmental history at the University of Missouri - Columbia. She holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison (1963), an M.A. from Stanford (1965), and a Ph.D. from Stanford (1971). In addition to numerous articles she has authored or edited eight books, among them Thinking Like a Mountain: Aldo Leopold and the Evolution of an Ecological Attitude Towards Deer, Wolves, and Forests (1974; 1994); The Great Lakes Forest: An Environmental and Social History (1983); The River of the Mother of God and Other Essays by Aldo Leopold with J.B. Callicott (1991); Exploring Missouri's Legacy: State Parks and Historic Sites (1992); and Toward Sustainability for Missouri Forests (2004). She is past president of the American Society for Environmental History and serves on many other professional and environmental boards and committees.

Dr. Gene E. Likens, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Ecologist, Founding Director and President Emeritus of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies* (institutional name change in 2007 to Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies), Ph.D., 1962, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Dr. Likens' research focuses on the ecology and biogeochemistry of forest and aquatic ecosystems, primarily through long-term studies at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He was the co-founder of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study in 1963, which has shed light on critical links between ecosystem function and land-use practices. He and his colleagues were the first scientists to discover acid rain in North America and to document the link between the combustion of fossil fuels and an increase in the acidity of precipitation in North America. His findings have influenced politicians and policy makers, guided and motivated scientific studies, and increased public awareness of human-accelerated environmental change.
On 29 April 2006, Dr. Likens was elected to be a member of the American Philosophical Society, having previously been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1981) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1979). On 11 June 2003, the Asahi Glass Foundation announced that Dr. Likens was a co-recipient of the 2003 Blue Planet Prize for outstanding scientific research that helps to solve global environmental problems. Dr. Likens was awarded the distinction along with Dr. F. H. Bormann, his long-term collaborator in the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study in New Hampshire. The Asahi Glass Foundation aspires for the Blue Planet Prize to be recognized as the environmental equivalent of the Nobel Prize. In 2002 he was awarded the 2001 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest science honor, for his contributions to the field of ecology.

Forrest Hartmann specializes in Trusts and Estates, Business Law, Estate Planning at Boardman Law Firm's Baraboo office. Forrest is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Wisconsin and Sauk County Bar Association. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School after having received a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance. Forrest is an old Wisconsin farm kid. Some say that he still has the smell of manure on his shoes. His father did not think that he had what it took to become a farmer — so he became a lawyer. Besides being a lawyer, he is a deeply committed environmentalist and was a co-founder of the International Crane Foundation.

Dr. Estella Leopold, youngest daughter of Aldo Leopold, is Emeritus Professor of Botany and past director of the Quaternary Research Center at the University of Washington. Dr. Leopold was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and American Philosophical Society. Her research interests and publications focus on paleobotany, forest history, restoration ecology, and environmental quality. She studies fossil pollen and seeds to reconstruct ancient vegetation and climate in Alaska, China, and the western U.S. Her conservation activites

Madelyn D. Leopold is a Partner at Boardman Law Firm in Madison, Wisconsin. Ms. Leopold focuses her practice in the area of estate planning, with additional interest in business and taxation, including business succession issues. She has served as a speaker for the State Bar of Wisconsin, Continuing Legal Education of Wisconsin and many private groups. She is a graduate of Boston College Law School, where she published a law review article on corporate tax. Madelyn entered the legal profession after a number of years in college textbook publishing, including three years as a traveling sales representative based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Madelyn also serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Arboretum,

Jerry Smith is Chairman and Founder of First Business Financial Services, Inc. Founded in 1990, First Business Financial Services has assets in excess of $1 billion as of December 31,2008. First Business Financial Services has subsidiary companies specializing in business banking, equipment finance, asset-based commercial finance, trust and investment services. He serves on numerous boards of directors and committees including SECURA Insurance and CTI Paper Company.

Carol N. Skornicka is recently retired Senior Vice President-Corporate Affairs, Secretary and General Counsel at Midwest Airlines, Inc. She joined Midwest Airlines in May of 1996 as Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel. She was responsible for the airline’s legal and Board affairs functions; corporate security; corporate communications, media and public relations functions as well as government affairs. Ms. Skornicka serves on numerous boards, including Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Regal Beloit Corporation (NYSE:RBC). She is past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Wisconsin (Madison) Memorial Union Building Association and the Wisconsin Glass Ceiling Commission. She has previously served on the Boards of Acuity (a mutual insurance company), Johnson Financial Group, Blue Cross Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin Foundation, Ten Chimneys Foundation and Wisconsin Historic Sites Foundation (Circus World Museum). Other current affiliations include: the Florentine Opera Company's Advisory Committee and Milwaukee Women, Inc. Prior to joining Midwest Airlines, Ms. Skornicka’s experience included 5 years of service in Governor Tommy G. Thompson's cabinet as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations, now the Department of Workforce Development. Ms. Skornicka was engaged in the private practice of law for 14 years, including 10 years with the firm of Michael, Best & Friedrich, where she was a partner. She received her undergraduate degree (1963), a master's degree (1965) and a J.D. (1977 cum laude) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ms. Skornicka has been honored as a University of Wisconsin Distinguished Alumna, received the Sacagawea Award for leadership and was recognized by the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee as a 2003 Outstanding Woman of Achievement.

Trish Stevenson knew when she was 12 years old that she wanted to be a metalsmith. As a child, her nearest neighbor was a classically trained English metalsmith, and from her, Stevenson learned the true value of craftsmanship. Today, her jewelry designs subtly and almost unconsciously evoke, but do not overstate, botanical and geologic forms. Stevenson considers herself a collector of techniques and has acquired mastery of many of them: raising, forging, stone setting, and construction. Her work is defined by the evocative nature of her designs and an abiding insistence on impeccable craftsmanship.