President's Circle
Bob Wick
You belong to an extraordinary group of people who help protect our wild.
Making a Difference for Wilderness
Bound by a shared commitment to The Wilderness Society, our President’s Circle members represent the organization’s most generous philanthropists and ambassadors. Your exceptional commitment to our mission sets the standard for giving and sustains our work, enabling The Wilderness Society to protect wild public lands for all people to enjoy for generations to come.
Our Vision:
A future where people and wild nature flourish together, meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing planet.
Collective Impact Results:
These are the five key results we aim to achieve by 2030 along with partners. Learn More
Contact Us
As a member of the President's Circle, you have a team of staff members at your service. Please feel free to reach out to us anytime:
Leadership Giving and Benefits
Insider Updates for the President's Circle
Read the latest from TWS President
Recent Events
June 26, 2025 - Public Lands Sell-Off: 250+ Million Acres at Risk
On Thursday, June 26, our Giving and Impact team's Ryan Trachtenberg led a conversation with The Wilderness Society colleagues who are on the front lines of protecting public lands.
Marty Schnure, The Wilderness Society’s Deputy Director of Cartography and Spatial Analysis, and Dan Hartinger, The Wilderness Society’s Senior Director of Agency Policy, discussed the recent proposal from Senator Mike Lee of Utah that would have opened the door to a massive sell-off of public lands across the West. Thanks in part to your support—and swift action by our team and partners—an earlier version of that proposal was struck from the Senate’s budget bill. Later, Chase Huntley, The Wilderness Society’s Vice President for Federal Policy, joined the conversation and talked about the Rapid Response Fund.
May 21, 2025 - Grounded and Resilient: Meet The Wilderness Society and Action Fund's New President
On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, The Wilderness Society and The Wilderness Society Action Fund hosted a virtual event introducing new president Tracy Stone-Manning. Native Lands Partnerships Program Senior Director Starlyn Miller introduced Governing Council member Faith Briggs Rose, who led a lively conversation with Tracy Stone-Manning.
See Event Here:
https://youtu.be/UZ7nVmYECLU?feature=shared
March 11, 2025 - Science and Stewardship: 90 Years of Research at The Wilderness Society
On March 11, 2025, The Wilderness Society's Deputy Vice President of Science, Dr. Travis Belote, offered insight into the organization's history, introduced our science team and discussed their cutting-edge research that empowers local and national level advocacy efforts.
This webinar was facilitated by Ryan Trachtenberg, Senior Membership Manager, as part of a three-part series emphasizing the importance of science and stewardship in celebration of The Wilderness Society's 90th anniversary.
See Event Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtBVhOl7Jrw
December 9, 2024 - Steadfast in Changing Winds: The Election, TWS and the Road Ahead
On Monday, December 9, The Wilderness Society (TWS) held a conversation with its stakeholders about the protection of public lands during the Biden administration and the progress made to protect lands, waters and climate for future generations. TWS staff leads from litigation, agency policy, and conservation strategy joined TWS's board co-chair Rue Mapp to discuss anticipated threats to public lands with the incoming administration. The interim president of TWS, David Seabrook, joined Rue Mapp, guests and staff experts to draw attention to the organization's conservation track record and its expertise at local and national advocacy levels.
See Event Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvFW-51H2U0
March 12, 2024 - Insider Talks on Conservation
On Tuesday, March 12, Insider Talks on Conservation series hosted The Wilderness Society (TWS)’s New Mexico Director Michael Casaus and Action Fund Executive Director Maria Handley joined the President of TWS Jamie Williams for a conversation that explored how the conservation efforts in the Land of Enchantment are paving the way to TWS’ national work. The New Mexico’s unique position to advance community-led solutions in protecting public lands and making outdoor experiences accessible to all in 2024 and beyond are replicated by other states. Michael Casaus showcased the state’s deep cultural and multi-generational ties and talked about both the positive outcomes and significant challenges in environmental justice and energy development projects. Maria Handley emphasized the importance of grassroots advocacy efforts, and successful momentum that’s supported by Action Fund, 501(c)4 advocacy organization. A hugely successful Outdoor Equity Fund that drives and influences have started in New Mexico and now is implemented across the country, Maria Handley emphasized.
See Event Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbEQtFXKI6E
December 14, 2023 - Insider Talks on Conservation
The Wilderness Society hosted a virtual gathering to share about the incredible work of the America the Beautiful for All Coalition. This one-of-a-kind coalition that is advancing a shared policy agenda to make major progress towards nation climate, conservation and equity goals. This gathering featured Mark Magaña, Founding President and CEO of GreenLatinos, and Jamie Williams, President of The Wilderness Society, will be moderated by Amanda John Kimsey, The Wilderness Society’s Strategy and Innovation Senior Manager.
By uniting an inclusive group of land, freshwater, ocean, wildlife, community, recreation and equity advocates across the nation, the America the Beautiful for All Coalition is helping to connect, restore and conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030—the largest and most ambitious conservation goal in American history.
May 24, 2023 - Insider Talks on Conservation
On Wednesday, May 24, The Wilderness Society hosted a virtual gathering with Rue Mapp, founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro and Vice Chair of The Wilderness Society’s Governing Council. Rue held the audience spellbound with a reading from her book, Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors, followed by a conversation with TWS President Jamie Williams.
Rue Mapp is an inspirational leader, speaker, public lands champion and author. She was a National Geographic 2019 Fellow, Heinz Awards Honoree, and National Wildlife Federation Communication Award recipient (received alongside President Bill Clinton), among many other recognitions. Rue’s work as a trailblazing leader in conservation and connector of people to one another and outdoor experiences began on her family’s ranch near Oakland, California, and has since grown to garner international headlines.
See Event Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbEQtFXKI6E
February 23, 2023
The Wilderness Society is aiming to create once again via a national policy to conserve old growth and manage mature forests to allow them to become old growth. The policy will have far-reaching implications, including in the Pacific Northwest (including the Tongass in Southeast Alaska) and in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The forests in these regions of the country are extremely productive at capturing and storing carbon and are some of our best natural solutions to combat climate change. And so, any policy that conserves older forests in these regions would be an important contribution to combating climate change.
On Thursday, February 23, we talked to Josh Hicks, who directs our national forest policy campaign, and Jill Gottesman, who, as director of our Southern Appalachian Landscape, is on the front line of regional forest protection. They have shown us the science behind the ecologically sensitive areas and talked about the critical work both at the national and local levels.”
Jill Gottesman, Director of the Southern Appalachian Landscape and
Josh Hicks, Director of Conservation Campaigns
Hosted by Jamie Williams, President, The Wilderness Society.
See Event Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_WIONadmNw
Events Archive
Explore our collection of past events in our archive.
Member Events
Click here to access member events.
Read Stories From Members Like You
Your generosity helps preserve and protect the places you love, from the remote wilderness of Alaska's Arctic to the serene lakes and rivers of Maine's north woods. With your commitment, you follow in the footsteps of giants like Bob Marshall, Margaret "Mardy" Murie and Aldo Leopold to protect wilderness and inspire others to care for our wild places. Thank you for being a significant partner in our work.
“I want to ensure that wild places will
always be available for my grandchildren, for us, for
plants and animals—no matter what.”
— Marsha McMahan Zelus
Read stories from other donors in our latest Annual Report
The Look of Wilderness Protection
We all know how compelling great visual elements can be and our program staff often employs extraordinary visual elements to make powerful statements and convey complex messages succinctly.
Photographs
Often going where few have ever been, landscape photographer Mason Cummings brings to life some of our nation's most remote wildlands. His ability to capture the beauty of wilderness inspires us day after day; so we've made a few highlights available for anyone to use as computer desktops, or backgrounds for video calls. You can take a look here. We’re delighted to find the backgrounds were featured in a recent Washington Post story.
Film
Through the immersive experience of film, stories come to life. They are not only a highly effective means of communication but can create understanding and empathy in ways no other media can. Take for example a trio of short films Where Life Begins, Welcome to Gwichyaa Zhee and We Are Abel offering insights on the Gwich'in people and the importance of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
