WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) announces the addition of four new members to its board of directors: Mike Fitzgerald, Jr., of Wexford, Penn.; Kirk Otey, of Charlotte, N.C.; Mills Schenck, of Chicago; and Eric Washburn, of Washington, D.C.
“The new members of the TRCP board have distinguished themselves not only by their professional accomplishments, but through their personal dedication to advancing the cause of fish and wildlife conservation,” said interim board chairman Dr. Rollin Sparrowe. “Adding their combined experience and perspective to our board provides an infusion of new ideas and a wellspring of passion.”
“The remarkable growth of the TRCP follows from a number of sources, including the absolute need for our mission and the tenacity of our recently deceased co-founder and board chairman Jim Range,” said TRCP President and CEO George Cooper. “But the contributions of the entire board cannot be understated. Every time it assembles, I am struck by the breadth of business acumen and conservation knowledge they bring to the table. I also find myself wondering how much quarry they have brought to hand collectively. These guys flat-out know the intricacies of fish and game – they are a tremendous resource.”
The new board members include:
Mike Fitzgerald Jr., of Wexford, Pa., first mixed business with pleasure in between his junior and senior years of college working for his parents’ Frontiers Travel and as an Orvis flyfishing guide on the historic chalk streams in Hampshire, England. After graduating from Duke University, Mike joined Frontiers Travel full-time. Now the company’s president and co-owner, he works closely with the American West, Saltwater and South Pacific departments, and he has used his personal interests in flyfishing and bird hunting to handle a number of trips tailored to those activities.
Kirk Otey, of Charlotte, N.C., is no stranger to volunteering for conservation groups. A 20-year Trout Unlimited volunteer, first volunteering at his local chapter, Kirk served on TU’s executive committee for 10 years. His most recent positions were Chair of the National Leadership Council and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. When Kirk is not volunteering or working at his title insurance agency or with his new “tech” startup firm, he is usually doing something outdoors, whether it’s bird hunting, flyfishing for trout or hiking and camping.
Mills Schenck, of Chicago, harbored his interest in conservation not on his favorite trout stream, but in the plains of Zimbabwe. Mills grew up hunting and fishing in his native Charleston, S.C., and he has taken an active role in his family’s safari business-establishing a game ranch as part of an innovative wildlife conservancy in Zimbabwe. Mills, a strategic consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, enjoys hunting for big game and birds and all types of fishing, particularly fishing off the shores in the Carolinas for red drum and trout.
Eric Washburn is no stranger to the TRCP, having served as the organization’s first Executive Director. Now a principal at Bluewater Strategies, LLC, he works mainly on providing federal legislative advice to industry, non-profit and philanthropic foundation clients on a broad range of natural resource and energy issues. Eric has been working to positively affect environmental policy in D.C. for more than 15 years, working in various policy-making and management capacities in the U.S. Senate and as a private advisor and consultant. Eric holds a masters degree in forest science from Yale University, and enjoys hunting big game out west, particularly in his native state of Colorado.
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.
