Skip Stiles, Founder & Senior Advisor

I became an environmentalist in the wetlands of Back Bay in Virginia and the New River in North Carolina.  As a child, hunting and fishing with my father, I saw many sunrises and sunsets over mid-Atlantic marshes.  I had many quiet conversations with my dad learning about the habits and habitats of marsh wildlife and the wonders of our wetlands. 

In my first career, I spent a couple of decades working in Congress on national-level environmental and science policy, thinking it made a difference. I now know that progress is measured on a different scale as communities rediscover their connections with nature.

Today I can’t take a breath of the rich, salty air around a tidal wetland without being transported back to those wonderful days.  That is what drives me to keep these lands protected and open, so my children and grandchildren can have the same experiences.