After four decades of dedication to The Nature Conservancy in Washington, both as an employee and a trustee, Kate transitions to the next stage in her leadership career.
Native American Heritage Month
This month, Tribal Nations across the United States are celebrating National Native American Heritage Month, honoring their sovereignty, traditions, languages and stories. We acknowledge and elevate this month, and every month, alongside Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities. Indigenous Peoples are the original caretakers of nature—their longstanding relationship with the land has culminated in extensive knowledge and practices, which are vital to successful, reciprocal conservation outcomes.
Jennifer Lee Clinchy: Fostering Collaborative Efforts for Ocean Conservation as a Dedicated Public Servant
Cody Desautel: Preserving the Heritage of Washington State’s Forests for Seven Generations Into the Future
Reflecting on Two Movements: What Environmentalists can learn from the LGBTQ+ Movement
Speak Up for Building Back Better
New Trustees for The Nature Conservancy in Washington
Advocates & Ambassadors: Trustees Visit the Legislature
A shining star for nature
Hiking the Hill: Speaking up for Nature in Washington, DC
Q&A With Jenette Ramos, a Force of Nature and Woman of Influence
Q&A with Kate Janeway, a Force of Nature and Woman of Influence
All on Board: Testing Fish Toxicity With Our Trustees
Hundreds of Conservancy Trustees and Staff Descend on D.C.
Our Trustees Get Down and Dirty to Replant a Burned Landscape
Meet Kate Janeway
Written by Kate Janeway, Board of Trustees Member, Leadership and Transition Coach
Editor’s note: Kate Janeway is a long-time friend of The Nature Conservancy and joined the board in 2015. We asked her to share a little about her passion for nature and people
Working on environmental issues became my mission when I was 13. That year, my hometown - Santa Barbara, California - experienced the first catastrophic oil spill in the US. It was caused by the blow-out of an oil rig positioned off the coast in an area riddled by geologic faults. Platform A is still leaking nearly 50 years later.
For me the spill was a galvanizing event. I joined Junior Statesmen of America - a YMCA program - and we organized to Get Oil Out of the coastal waters of California. The movement was a furious uprising of the entire community incited by the corporate cynicism of Union Oil - whose solution was to cover the oil with a layer of sand - and the ineffectiveness of government to address the problem because there were almost NO environmental laws at that time.
The Santa Barbara oil spill was a major force for the first federal environmental laws: the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act and the numerous land, and eventually species, protection efforts that followed.
So to me, the path that seemed clear, if I wanted to make a difference, was to become a lawyer.
Early in my law practice I saw that what the law does best is: assign blame and assess damages. This is important work, but not the work that motivated me.
To redefine myself, I got a degree in environmental policy and natural resource management from the Evans School.
Shortly after I finished I landed my dream job - as Assistant Director of the Washington and Alaska Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
I was employee #10 at TNC in 1984. I was hired because we were about to launch our largest campaign ever -- to preserve Washington Wetlands. This four-year campaign set out to raise a staggering $4 million – a goal we achieved in two years. In the process, we nearly doubled our membership and significantly raised our visibility and garnered the support that resulted in the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. A well-run campaign has impacts that continue to feed your work far into the future.
In 1988 my husband and I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for his job. I quickly found my small tribe of environmentalists and joined the Ohio Board of The Nature Conservancy. When we made our way back to Seattle 5 years, later I joined the board of the Alaska Chapter of TNC.
The focus at TNC has expanded – in my time - from protecting land-based jewels of all sizes, like peregrine nests and endangered orchids, to landscape-scale projects - which arose out of the realization that mega fauna migrate, and they can't survive in small islands of habitat.
While I was on the Alaska Board we pushed TNC’s national office to take on marine issues - as nature is Alaska is largely marine dependent. Today the ocean is a critical part of TNC’s strategy in Washington and around the world.
I came back to the Washington chapter when Mike Stevens joined as the new state director. I was pleased and surprised by the aggressive evolution of The Conservancy which had led to TNC’s clear commitment to address marine environments, challenges to sustainability in our growing cities, and the ultimate trump card - global climate change.
I joined the Board last December so I am a relatively new board member, but my history with TNC is a long one.
Because I feel that our work is important and urgent, I have jumped in with both feet.
My husband and I are co-chairing Washington's campaign along with two other couples: Scott and Jenny Wyatt and Steve and Heather Singh. Together we will have an impact on our state and world that goes far beyond the span of the five year campaign.
Three New Trustees Join Washington Board
Order of Portraits (L to R): Kathleen Hebert, Mary Marshall, Kate Janeway
We are thrilled to announce three new trustees have joined our state board.
Kathleen Hebert, Seattle, former vice president of Software Divisions at Microsoft, has focused on early learning initiatives since she left the company where she worked from 1988 to 2003.
Mary Marshall, Seattle, is an experienced CEO, small-business coach and trainer currently serving as the president of CEO Global Network Western United States, an executive peer-group networking organization.
Kate Janeway, Seattle, is an executive coach and trainer with long history with The Nature Conservancy. She was the Washington chapter’s assistant director in the 1980s, and has also served on the board for the Alaska chapter.
Washington Trustee John Rose receives Oak Leaf Award
Champion for Eastern Washington Forests and Conservation across the state
John Rose is passionate about Washington’s great outdoors. It’s a passion that he has carried his whole life, has fostered in his family, and celebrates with his friends. The Evergreen State’s signature landscapes have been the backdrop for some of the most exciting and momentous times in John’s life – from childhood trips in the San Juan Islands, to exploring forests of the Cascades, to courting his wife, Patty in the fragrant sage desert of central Washington. John cares about maintaining our state’s beauty and health for all who live here. But there is one thing that John cares about even more than the great places of Washington and the Northwest- conserving those places for future generations.
John’s commitment to conservation here and around the world was honored this week at a global gathering of trustees where John was recognized with the Oak Leaf Award for his tireless leadership and hard work.
A member of The Nature Conservancy since 1975, John has served on the Board of Trustees of the Washington Chapter since 2000. During that time, has been Board Chair as well as chaired the Board’s Philanthropy, Nominating & Governance, Executive, Campaign and Conservations Committees.
John is a leader amongst our trustees and an anchor of the Board. He has a deep understanding of the Conservancy’s work and is relied upon by his fellow trustees to bring a balanced, insightful and probing perspective to our work. He deeply supports the staff. He works indefatigably on our behalf. He has an infectious passion for our work and the people with whom we work. And he has backed up his passion and his work with major philanthropic commitments.
A thought leader for the Conservancy, John has led the Board in moving from a preserve and Washington focus to an embrace of our global mission and the role of the Chapter in advancing our Global Challenges/Global Solutions approach. He has traveled to Central America and across the Pacific Northwest and Canada to learn about our work. He has galvanized Board support and engagement in our next-generation projects such as marine fisheries conservation and the Emerald Edge as well as large-scale forest conservation and restoration in the Cascades.
John’s tangible, lasting contributions to our mission, to the region and to the Chapter are extraordinary. John has demonstrated a remarkable ability to inspire giving in others. John is the kind of trustee that enables us to change the world.
It is a sign of John and his wife Patty’s exemplary leadership and their deep commitment that receiving the Oak Leaf Award is not only a highlight for them, but also a moving and joyous moment for all of us at the Washington Chapter.
