Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Appoints
Thomas D. Saunders as New President and CEO

(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) announces the selection of Thomas D. Saunders to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the 75-year old nonprofit land and water conservation organization.  Mr. Saunders’ started full-time on July 5.

The appointment was approved by a unanimous vote of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Board of Directors.  Mike Boyle, Board Chairman and Interim President, said: "I am very pleased to welcome Tom Saunders and his family to WPC. With his return to western Pennsylvania, Tom brings his compassion for the landscape and resources we all enjoy, along with a passion for the conservation mission of the Conservancy. His leadership and management skills are a strong fit with WPC as we carry the great successes of our 75 year history into the challenges brought by the 21st century." Saunders succeeds Dennis McGrath, who served as CEO until December of 2006.

Thomas Saunders comes to the Conservancy from Gainesville, Florida where he was Community Development Director for the City of Gainesville for the past ten years.  In that role, Saunders directed planning, growth management, redevelopment, housing, historic preservation, neighborhood planning and other duties.  His approach to planning is noted for its careful growth management, protection of tree canopies and environmental qualities, and enhancement of public and open spaces in areas needing revitalization.  Gainesville has adopted land use plans that protect the city’s significant ecological open space areas and is remediating former brownfield sites for open spaces.  Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the third largest university in the nation.  Saunders also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida School of Law.

Prior to that, Saunders was director of the Maryland Environmental Trust, a statewide land trust that also serves as the parent organization for 40 local land trusts across the state.  As one of the largest conservation and voluntary preservation easement-holding organizations in the country, the Maryland Environmental Trust works with property owners across the state on planning and conservation efforts.

"I look forward to leading such an extraordinary organization and working with WPC's board of directors, many supporters and volunteers.  The Pittsburgh area and western Pennsylvania region are unique in their remarkable beauty, and their scenic and natural resource values," says Saunders.  "The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy does such important work in conserving and enhancing the best of the region.  The natural resource conservation and land protection work provides an ongoing legacy of open spaces for habitat protection and for open space recreation.  The preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is a tribute to both the beauty of nature and one of the most superb examples of architectural innovation. The urban and community gardens contribute to the unusual beauty and livability of Pittsburgh and the region's other communities."

Saunders’ distinguished career also includes a visiting professorship at the University of Maryland in Urban and Regional Studies and Public Affairs as well as positions at law firms in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.  He holds a J. D. from Stanford Law School and a Masters in Public Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University.  He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Economics.

As president and CEO, Saunders will be based at WPC’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa.   With an annual operating budget of approximately $14,800,000 and a staff of nearly 200, WPC also has regional offices in Blairsville, Indiana County; Clearville, Bedford County; Ligonier, Westmoreland County; Middletown, Dauphin County; Mill Run, Fayette County; Ridgway, Elk County and Union City, Erie County.  

Since its founding in 1932, WPC has protected more than 212,000 acres of natural lands throughout western Pennsylvania, nearly half of all land protected by land trusts in the state.  The Conservancy continues to advance its conservation mission through regional activities that focus on ecological science, land conservation, watershed restoration, community greening initiatives and fostering environmental awareness.  As the steward of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpiece in Mill Run, Pa., WPC is working to expand and enhance financial support of Fallingwater® in order to meet preservation and programming goals.  WPC’s Community Gardens program in 19 counties has evolved and expanded “greenscapes” work to reflect and advance the Conservancy’s conservation priorities.

Mr. Saunders spent part of his childhood in the Pittsburgh area.  He resides in Pittsburgh with his wife, Lisa Auel, and their children, Caroline, 12, and Carter, 8.

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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:
Since its founding in 1932, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has protected more than 212,000 acres of natural lands in Pennsylvania, restored watersheds and saved natural habitats for a diversity of life and uses.  The Conservancy has been responsible for the founding of six state parks, including Ohiopyle, Laurel Ridge, McConnell’s Mill, Moraine, Oil Creek and Erie Bluffs.  In addition, WPC created the 300-acre Wildflower Reserve at Raccoon Creek State Park, and added land to Blue Knob State Park.

The WPC also preserves Fallingwater®, the masterpiece home designed in 1935 by Frank Lloyd Wright for Edgar J. Kaufmann in Mill Run, Pennsylvania.  In 1963, Edgar Kaufmann jr. (sic) entrusted Fallingwater to the Conservancy.  Today, WPC continues its award winning preservation efforts and offers a wide variety of educational programs to more than 135,000 annual visitors.  The preservation of Fallingwater is a symbol of living in harmony with nature. 

Each year, WPC also partners with 5,000 volunteers and dozens of community organizations and businesses to plant and maintain more than 135 gardens and greening projects in 20 western Pennsylvania counties.

A high resolution photograph is available upon request.