This is a Jan. 17, 2006, press release from the Peninsula Open Space Trust:

(Menlo Park, Calif.) – Karie Thomson has been named the new chair of the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST).

Thomson, whose term as Board Chair began on January 1, has been a member of POST’s Board since 1996. She is succeeding Susan Ford Dorsey, whose term as Board Chair expired at the end of 2006 and who will continue to serve as the Board’s Vice Chair.

Thomson is an active philanthropic supporter of environmental causes around the globe. She serves on the board of directors of the Kinship Foundation, a family foundation based in Northbrook, Illinois, that administers the Searle Scholars Program in biomedical research and the Kinship Conservation Fellows program in environmental leadership. She is a former member of the board of directors for Ecotrust, a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit that restores and preserves salmon fisheries and rainforests in the western United States and Canada. With her husband, David, she is also a generous supporter of the African Wildlife Foundation.

Closer to home, Thomson has served as Chair of POST's successful Saving the Endangered Coast campaign, which raised more than $200 million for the protection of the San Mateo Coast. A resident of Woodside, she is also a former president of the Woodside School Foundation.

"As POST enters its thirtieth year as a land trust, the threats to open space on the San Francisco Peninsula are greater than ever. I can’t think of a better person to help us meet these challenges head on than Karie Thomson,” said POST President Audrey Rust. “Karie’s inspiring leadership in POST’s record-breaking coastal campaign pulled our community together behind an urgent cause -- the protection of fragile, vulnerable lands in our region. Her demonstrated devotion to POST’s mission, her depth of experience in environmental matters, and her infectious enthusiasm for our natural local landscape will greatly benefit POST as we deepen our land-saving work on the Peninsula.”

Originally from Chicago, Thomson earned a bachelor's degree in French and art history from Tufts University. She moved to Woodside with her husband and three sons in 1985.

"It’s been so thrilling to work with POST’s Board. They’re a terrific group of people, with great vision and a profound commitment to the Peninsula’s rural lands,” said Thomson. “The success of POST’s coastal campaign has proven that when people come together, they can do remarkable things on behalf of local land protection. As Board Chair, I intend to keep that momentum going strong as POST completes its 20,000-acre land protection campaign goal and continues to save the open landscapes that are so precious to this region.”

POST is a leading private, nonprofit land trust dedicated to preserving the beauty, character and diversity of the San Francisco Peninsula landscape. Since its founding in 1977, the organization has been responsible for saving nearly 60,000 acres as permanent open space and parkland in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Contact: Nina Nowak, Staff Writer/Editor; Phone: (650) 854-7696; e-mail: nnowak@openspacetrust.org; Web Link