TRUSTEE SPOTLIGHT
Meet Joel Pugh
Joel Pugh is a self-described continuous learner with an obsession for Wikipedia. He recently joined the board of The Nature Conservancy in Missouri and has already made lasting impacts and lots of new friends. Growing up in Altoona, a small rural town in the middle of Pennsylvania, Joel says he was always playing outside and was an energetic child. After high school he and a group of friends backpacked across the U.S. from Altoona to San Francisco. “It was really a foundational trip for me,” says Joel. “Growing up in a small town was great, but I didn’t really get to experience the world outside of Altoona until that point.” When he returned home, Joel served in the AmeriCorps for a few years before earning a degree in political science and public policy from Washington University in St. Louis. After that, he went on to earn an MBA in social justice and business from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. It was there that Joel was introduced to The Nature Conservancy. “While at Brandeis, I was given the opportunity to participate in a board fellows program,” says Joel. “I searched the list for available environmental organizations and that’s where I found TNC.” After graduation, Joel found himself— along with his wife, Morgan, and newborn, Evelyn—back in St. Louis and reconnected with TNC. “I’m really impressed with everything The Nature Conservancy has going on in Missouri
Joel hopes to instill his love for learning and inquisitive nature in his daughter who has already begun bird watching, learning about snails and yelling at squirrels. “We love squirrels, too,” laughs Joel. “Just not the ones trying to infiltrate our bird feeders.”
and I wanted to be a part of it,” he says. The levee setback project on the Missouri River, the Cities Program and Missouri’s expressive greater prairie- chickens were just some of the things that drew him in. Recently, Joel and his family made another commitment to TNC in the form of a planned gift. In fact, they were the 400th Legacy Club member in Missouri. The Legacy Club is TNC’s recognition society for members who have included the Conservancy in their estate plans or who have established a life-income gift with TNC. “Legacy gifts have a two-fold effect for us,” says Adam McLane, Missouri state director. “The funds provide support at critical times that help drive our work. But also, it’s the spirit behind the gifts—that we’ve been entrusted to be a part of someone’s legacy. It’s just a boost to our energy and fuels our passion for this work.”
WANT TO KNOW MORE? Head over to nature.org/MoPodcast to stream the entire conversation between Joel and State Director, Adam McLane.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Legacy Club, please contact Mona Monteleone at (314) 501-1521 or at mona.monteleone@tnc.org.
THIS PAGE TOP Joel with his wife, Morgan and daughter, Evelyn © Courtesy of Joel Pugh THIS PAGE BOTTOM Joel Pugh recording podcast episode © Route 3 Films
NATURE.ORG/MISSOURI 15
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