In mid-August, WOC will welcome new executive director Mark Preiss to Lander, where he will work with outgoing ED Dan Heilig for a hit-the-ground-running transition.

Mark comes to WOC from the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) in Taos, New Mexico, where he directed the organization’s southwest office. At WELC, Mark managed staff attorneys and oversaw legal cases and grassroots campaigns in seven states — including Wyoming, Montana and Colorado — to protect clean air and water, defend endangered species, safeguard wild and scenic rivers, promote responsible oil and gas development and craft land-use plans to help rural governments protect their natural heritage.

Hiring Mark is the culmination of an intensive five-month executive search process, during which WOC board and staff reviewed dozens of applications and interviewed five highly qualified candidates.

Mark brings to WOC a wealth of experience directing conservation and historic-preservation programs, managing staffs and budgets, developing organizational and campaign strategies, and crafting comprehensive fundraising and communications programs for organizations including WELC; Robert Redford’s Sundance in Utah; the Historic Fourth Ward School, a National Historic Landmark, museum and cultural center in Virginia City, Nevada; the Nevada Arts Council and Western States Arts Federation; and the Utah Arts Council.

Mark is no stranger to Wyoming. WELC has tackled a number of complex legal issues surrounding energy development in the Red Desert and the Powder River Basin, helping the conservation community hold government and industry accountable to our environmental laws and regulations. And, in the late 1980s, Mark worked for one winter as a snowmobile guide on the Bridger-Teton National Forest and in Yellowstone National Park, and for three summers as a wrangler for horse packtrips into the Teton Wilderness.

"I have a strong memory of coming over Togwotee Pass and seeing the Tetons for the first time," Mark recalls. "I felt very much at home guiding guests on horseback in the summer and on snowmobiles during the winter into some of the West’s most spectacular wild country. I will always treasure those Wyoming experiences."

Working in the West for 15 years has given Mark a broad understanding of the interconnectedness and complexity of the region’s natural, cultural, political and economic landscapes.

"At WELC," notes Mark, "I worked with lawyers and activists to protect endangered species, with ranchers and farmers to encourage sustainable land use, and with the Hispano Chamber of Commerce to defeat Wal-Mart’s efforts to build a Superstore in Taos. Through these experiences, I’ve learned that as well as winning in court, we must win our cases in the court of public opinion."

Driven by "a passion for community and a commitment to building broad coalitions for uncommon achievement," Mark believes that one of the most important challenges facing WOC is "finding innovative ways to reconnect to local citizens and communities so that we can more effectively reflect the values of the people we work with."

He looks forward to strengthening WOC’s efforts to reach out to and find common ground with traditional and non-traditional allies, including tribal members, outfitters and guides, business and industry groups, local Chambers of Commerce, the University of Wyoming, area land trusts, and ranchers and other landowners.

"The agriculture and livestock industries historically share with us a love of the land, they acknowledge that we need to be better land stewards and agree that we have a responsibility to leave both public and private lands in better shape than we found them," Mark observes. "Genuine and effective alliances with landowners are critical to the success of long-term protections for the landscapes we all treasure." Mark has a broad working knowledge of and an infectious enthusiasm for the complex and multi-faceted responsibilities of an executive director.

"First of all, I want to do all I can to empower WOC’s staff and board to accomplish extraordinary work," he says. "I relish working with talented staffers, dedicated board members, foundations, large donors, active members and potential supporters to exceed WOC’s already ambitious goals. And my experience has taught me how to effectively wear all the hats required of a good leader: mentor and motivator, strategic planner and program director, administrator and financial manager, fundraiser and communicator, counselor and humorist." Wyoming and WOC are exciting prospects for Mark.

"Returning to Wyoming to join WOC’s excellent staff and help local residents protect this great state’s natural heritage and traditional ways of life is a rare privilege," says Mark. "It’s the culmination of my growth as a citizen of the West, and a true homecoming."

While Dan Heilig is, of course, irreplaceable, we have found an excellent successor in Mark Preiss. We look forward to welcoming Mark and his wife Kathryn to Lander, and to working with Mark as he builds on Dan’s prodigious accomplishments, expanding WOC’s capacity and bolstering the effectiveness of our work.

Nancy Debevoise
Board President