News Release: McKnight names Ron Kroese to direct environment program
April 2, 2010 - The McKnight Foundation has named Ron Kroese to direct environment grantmaking program.
Contact information and related link
The McKnight Foundation has named Ron Kroese as environment program director. Since 2005, Kroese has served as program officer for the Foundation's environment program, which seeks to restore the water quality and resilience of the Mississippi River; and to mitigate climate change globally and help the Upper Midwest provide a significant portion of the nation's renewable energy supply. In 2009, the Foundation directed about $26 million toward these goals.
"In a national search, Ron emerged as the ideal candidate to direct McKnight's environment program," said Kate Wolford, president of the Foundation. "As a valued colleague, both at McKnight and before, Ron has devoted more than 30 years to environmental issues, public policy, and philanthropy. I am delighted that he will lead our environment program."
Before coming to McKnight, Kroese served four years as executive director of Minnesota Environmental Partnership, a nonprofit alliance of environmental and conservation organizations that work to protect the state's natural resources. Prior to his work at Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Kroese was executive director for the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Montana; director of the St. Croix Valley Foundation of Hudson, Wisconsin; and program officer for the environment at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in Flint, Michigan.
Kroese began his environmental work in 1982 by co-founding the Land Stewardship Project, a Minnesota-based sustainable agriculture organization, which he directed for 11 years. Prior to that, Kroese also served stints as a press aide in the U.S. Senate; a reporter for daily newspapers in South Dakota and Hawaii; and the director of the American Farm Project, a leadership development program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He graduated in 1970 from South Dakota State University with a degree in Journalism and English.
Among his current board and committee service, Kroese serves on steering committees for the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders and the Science Museum of Minnesota's St. Croix Watershed Research Station; and also serves on the Environment Commission of the City of Falcon Heights. Past professional affiliations include board or advisory participation with Fresh Energy, the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Oklahoma, Land Stewardship Project, the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. He has also served on editorial advisory committees for Organic Farmer, Earth Ethics, and E Magazine.
In the coming weeks, The McKnight Foundation will post a position opening for an environment program officer. For details as soon as they are available, please keep an eye on the Employment Opportunities section of our website.
ABOUT THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION
The McKnight Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grantmaking, coalition-building, and encouragement of strategic policy reform. Founded in 1953 and independently endowed by William and Maude McKnight, the Minnesota-based Foundation had assets of approximately $1.8 billion and granted about $98 million in 2009.
Contact
Tim Hanrahan, Communications Director, 612-333-4220
Related link
McKnight's environment program