Children & Nature network

Three National Leaders Join C&NN Board of Directors

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Santa Fe, NM, March 31, 2010. — Cheryl Charles Ph.D., co-founder and President, has announced the addition of three new members to the Board of Directors, Fran P. Mainella, Dr. Howard Frumkin, and Betsy Townsend, marking the fourth anniversary of the Children and Nature Network (www.childrenandnature.org) and the second annual Children & Nature Network (C&NN) Children & Nature Awareness Month in April.

“The addition of these incredibly talented people supports our ambitious agenda and helps us reach new audiences in communities everywhere,” said Dr. Charles. “These three outstanding individuals, added to the existing members of the Board of Directors, will help achieve the goal of reconnecting children and nature.”

Richard Louv, C&NN Chairman and co-founder, welcomed the new board members. “In the four short years since The Children and Nature Network was formed, the work and advancement of our mission to reconnect children and Nature has grown exponentially. However, much work remains to be done. We’re delighted to add these wonderful people to our Board at this important moment in the children and nature movement.”

Fran P. Mainella, currently a Visiting Scholar at Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, is the former National Park Service Director, the first woman to have held this position. Among her numerous awards are Clemson University’s prestigious Walter T. Cox Award for Faculty Excellence; Sheldon Coleman Great Outdoors Award from the American Recreation Coalition; William Penn Mott. Jr. Award for Excellence by the NSPR; and the 2007 Pugsley Award, the highest award given by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. She is also the Metcalf Lecturer for SUNY-Cortland and the first ever Ralph Steele Lecturer for East Carolina University. Clemson University named an award in her honor, encouraging women to pursue conservation careers. Previously, Fran Mainella has served on the C&NN Board of Advisors. She brings state and national experience within the public lands communities to the important place-based dimensions of the children and nature movement.

Dr. Howard Frumkin is Special Assistant to the Director For Climate change and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Frumkin received his A.B. from Brown University, his M.D. from University of Pennsylvania, his M.P.H. and Dr.P.H. from Harvard; Internal Medicine training at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania and Cambridge Hospital and Occupational Medicine training at Harvard. Deeply rooted in the medical and health care fields, he is one of the leading spokespeople for the importance of direct experience with nature for people’s health and well-being. Dr. Frumkin directed the National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) at the CDC from 2005 to 2010. During his tenure, NCEH/ATSDR created its Climate Change and Healthy Community Design programs; launched training programs for college students, doctoral students, and post-docs; expanded its Biomonitoring and Environmental Health Tracking programs; and launched its National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures. Previously, he was Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Emory Medical School.

Betsy Townsend is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Leave No Child Inside Greater Cincinnati (LNCIgc) a collaborative of individuals and organizations in Cincinnati, Ohio that was inspired by Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. In addition, she served for the past two years as Founding National Chair of the Grassroots Leadership Team for C&NN. Betsy Townsend is on the Board of Directors of the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati and represents LNCIgc on the Cross Boundary Leadership Team for Community Learning Centers in Cincinnati. A successful business person and community leader for decades, she brings a wealth of practical community-based wisdom and insights to the children and nature movement. LNCIgc has served as an important model for regional campaigns across North America. Her advice is often sought by cities and states, public officials and members of the business community in the development of these campaigns.

The three new Board members join Richard Louv, C&NN Board Chairman; Martin LeBlanc, National Youth Education Director, Sierra Club, and C&NN Vice President; Dr. Martha Farrell Erickson, Ph.D., former Founding Director, University of Minnesota Children, Youth and Families Consortium, Board Secretary; Brother Yusuf Burgess, Family Intervention Specialist, Green Tech High Charter School, Albany, New York; Amy Pertschuk, C&NN Managing Director and Treasurer, ex-officio; and Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., President and CEO, ex officio.

The mission of the Children & Nature Network is to build a worldwide movement to reconnect children and nature—for their health and well-being. C&NN builds awareness, provides access to state-of-the art resources, supports the grassroots with tools and strategies, develops publications and educational materials, synthesizes the best available research, and encourages collaboration to heal the broken bond between children and nature. C&NN is a 501c3 non-profit organization.


For more information, please contact Jackie Green at: Jacqueline Green Public Relations, Inc., Los Angeles, Ca. Phone: 323 512-3050; Fax: 323 512-3090; E-mail: Jackie@jgprinc.com

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