These generous people give their time, talent and creativity to help give life to the Center for Nature and Leadership.
Our Leadership Team
BEVERLY WINTERSCHEID, PH.D.
Founding Partner, Board Member
Beverly is a mentor and motivator for women who want to change the world through passionate commitment to their ideas, families, organizations, and communities.
After 20 years of a successful business and academic career that included a Ph.D. in Business Strategy, a post-doc at the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, positions as VP, Strategy and Organization for Manco-Henkel, Inc. and Director of Strategic Initiatives for Stratton Corporation. she had a profound awakening. After investing two decades in change management with a large systems focus, she came to the conclusion that change happens one person at a time.
Acting on her discovery, she began training in ecopsychology and nature-based guiding with the Animas Valley Institute. In 2008, she joined Marlboro College’s Sustainability MBA, launching a 2-year nature-based leadership development course, where she stayed for the next seven years.
Also in 2008, she founded the Center for Nature and Leadership (CNL) to blend traditional leadership development with scientific findings on the beneficial effects of Nature on humans. The Generative Council is CNL’s keystone program, designed to provide diverse women leaders the time & space to develop their personal impact, meeting in places of wild magnificence three times/year, and supported by an ongoing community of previous participants.
Creating and achieving bottom-lines of all sorts, and helping others see the wisdom of Nature at work in their own lives is what she loves to do. Cultivating fearless leaders, those who stand firmly on authenticity and truth, who strive to bring new visions into reality in concert with others is her passion and expertise.
And, when she’s not working with members of the Center for Nature and Leadership community, you’ll find her in the backcountry of her home in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, or sailing in the Bahamas.
BEVERLY WINTERSCHEID, PH.D.
Founding Partner, Board Member
Beverly is a mentor and motivator for women who want to change the world through passionate commitment to their ideas, families, organizations, and communities.
After 20 years of a successful business and academic career that included a Ph.D. in Business Strategy, a post-doc at the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, positions as VP, Strategy and Organization for Manco-Henkel, Inc. and Director of Strategic Initiatives for Stratton Corporation. she had a profound awakening. After investing two decades in change management with a large systems focus, she came to the conclusion that change happens one person at a time.
Acting on her discovery, she began training in ecopsychology and nature-based guiding with the Animas Valley Institute. In 2008, she joined Marlboro College’s Sustainability MBA, launching a 2-year nature-based leadership development course, where she stayed for the next seven years.
Also in 2008, she founded the Center for Nature and Leadership (CNL) to blend traditional leadership development with scientific findings on the beneficial effects of Nature on humans. The Generative Council is CNL’s keystone program, designed to provide diverse women leaders the time & space to develop their personal impact, meeting in places of wild magnificence three times/year, and supported by an ongoing community of previous participants.
Creating and achieving bottom-lines of all sorts, and helping others see the wisdom of Nature at work in their own lives is what she loves to do. Cultivating fearless leaders, those who stand firmly on authenticity and truth, who strive to bring new visions into reality in concert with others is her passion and expertise.
And, when she’s not working with members of the Center for Nature and Leadership community, you’ll find her in the backcountry of her home in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, or sailing in the Bahamas.
KIM SLACK
Executive Director, Board Member
I am an engineer-turned-science educator and nature-based leadership guide. My 12 years of water resources and remediation work as a civil/environmental engineer in the U.S., Kenya, and Haiti bring a practical and culturally responsive lens to my work as an educator, guide, and servant leader. I am wholeheartedly committed to nurturing healthy relationships between humans and nature through immersive, nature-based, experiential education that is accessible to all learners. I believe in amplifying marginalized voices through education, and I believe that Paolo Friere was right when he said, “education is radically about love”.
I am most alive when I’m wandering wild spaces of all sorts, from glorious expanses of wilderness to the overgrown back alleyway behind my house. I am humbled and honored to serve this community of visionary, radical, and powerful women.
KIM SLACK
Executive Director, Board Member
I am an engineer-turned-science educator and nature-based leadership guide. My 12 years of water resources and remediation work as a civil/environmental engineer in the U.S., Kenya, and Haiti bring a practical and culturally responsive lens to my work as an educator, guide, and servant leader. I am wholeheartedly committed to nurturing healthy relationships between humans and nature through immersive, nature-based, experiential education that is accessible to all learners. I believe in amplifying marginalized voices through education, and I believe that Paolo Friere was right when he said, “education is radically about love”.
I am most alive when I’m wandering wild spaces of all sorts, from glorious expanses of wilderness to the overgrown back alleyway behind my house. I am humbled and honored to serve this community of visionary, radical, and powerful women.
HOLLY BRAUN
Board Chair
Ten years ago I shifted my professional orientation from advancing profit to fulfilling purpose and have spent the last decade helping redirect and align my organization’s existing mission of delivering safe and reliable energy to the societal charge of solving for climate change and reducing carbon emissions. I now work to advance the largest component of my organizations “low carbon pathway” through robust policy, customer-facing energy efficiency and technology, and organizational innovation.
Generative Council came midway through this journey and provided the necessary spiritual expansion to fulfill my quest. Retreating from the clutter, obligation, and pace of city-life into the quiet, reflective and harmonious non-judgment of nature was both humbling and emboldening. I found direction, clarity, and conviction that nourished and guided me to a place of sustained richness. I’m inspired how accessible this gift is and yet, it can be veiled and mysterious without models. While always a student, I am grateful to serve as a guide in this journey for future generations of council women.
HOLLY BRAUN
Board Chair
Ten years ago I shifted my professional orientation from advancing profit to fulfilling purpose and have spent the last decade helping redirect and align my organization’s existing mission of delivering safe and reliable energy to the societal charge of solving for climate change and reducing carbon emissions. I now work to advance the largest component of my organizations “low carbon pathway” through robust policy, customer-facing energy efficiency and technology, and organizational innovation.
Generative Council came midway through this journey and provided the necessary spiritual expansion to fulfill my quest. Retreating from the clutter, obligation, and pace of city-life into the quiet, reflective and harmonious non-judgment of nature was both humbling and emboldening. I found direction, clarity, and conviction that nourished and guided me to a place of sustained richness. I’m inspired how accessible this gift is and yet, it can be veiled and mysterious without models. While always a student, I am grateful to serve as a guide in this journey for future generations of council women.
CHRIS SCHNEIDER
Board Member
I am a passionate nature connector, creating deep and meaningful experiences between humans of all ages and the natural world. I bring 25+ years of corporate leadership and coaching experience at a Fortune 50 company. This includes leading corporate nature-based workshops for the last 10 years. In 2017, I founded and am President of the Outdoor Enthusiast Club in my company which has grown into a thriving community of 500+ members. We have recently launched our Equity in the Outdoors Series and are honored to partner with the Arizona Sustainability Alliance on community impact projects.
I am a founding member of the Generative Council and have been a nature-based leadership guide for the Center for Nature & Leadership for the last four years. I thrive creating opportunities for women to learn about their bio-region and providing space for their self-empowerment to be galvanized and flourish. Incorporating whole heart practices with intentional actions, I journey with others as they give their impactful purpose work to the world.
I call the land of the giant saguaro cacti my home in Phoenix, Arizona. I am beginning my next chapter of legacy work with the National Parks in the summer of 2021.
CHRIS SCHNEIDER
Board Member
I am a passionate nature connector, creating deep and meaningful experiences between humans of all ages and the natural world. I bring 25+ years of corporate leadership and coaching experience at a Fortune 50 company. This includes leading corporate nature-based workshops for the last 10 years. In 2017, I founded and am President of the Outdoor Enthusiast Club in my company which has grown into a thriving community of 500+ members. We have recently launched our Equity in the Outdoors Series and are honored to partner with the Arizona Sustainability Alliance on community impact projects.
I am a founding member of the Generative Council and have been a nature-based leadership guide for the Center for Nature & Leadership for the last four years. I thrive creating opportunities for women to learn about their bio-region and providing space for their self-empowerment to be galvanized and flourish. Incorporating whole heart practices with intentional actions, I journey with others as they give their impactful purpose work to the world.
I call the land of the giant saguaro cacti my home in Phoenix, Arizona. I am beginning my next chapter of legacy work with the National Parks in the summer of 2021.
NANCY HENJUM
Board Member
With 30 years of organizational leadership, executive coaching and team facilitation experience, I seek to serve as a catalyst for positive engagement in and with the world. Two years ago I found the Center for Nature and Leadership. By bringing the wisdom of nature into my method and incorporating the practices I have learned with the women of the Generative Council, I have expanded my awareness, perspective and skillset.
Having lived the first quarter of my life in 14 different places as an Air Force “brat”, I determined to plant my roots and since 1990 Colorado is the place I have grown my branches. The light in Colorado’s crisp blue skies and the strength from its’ magnificent Rocky Mountains have become my sustenance. In addition to the importance of place, my deepest connection is to the people in it. Giving to and receiving from community is one of my highest values. Generative Council is a precious part of my community.
NANCY HENJUM
Board Member
With 30 years of organizational leadership, executive coaching and team facilitation experience, I seek to serve as a catalyst for positive engagement in and with the world. Two years ago I found the Center for Nature and Leadership. By bringing the wisdom of nature into my method and incorporating the practices I have learned with the women of the Generative Council, I have expanded my awareness, perspective and skillset.
Having lived the first quarter of my life in 14 different places as an Air Force “brat”, I determined to plant my roots and since 1990 Colorado is the place I have grown my branches. The light in Colorado’s crisp blue skies and the strength from its’ magnificent Rocky Mountains have become my sustenance. In addition to the importance of place, my deepest connection is to the people in it. Giving to and receiving from community is one of my highest values. Generative Council is a precious part of my community.
DEBBIE SAGEN
Board Member
I have more than 30 years of experience in public, private and non-profit management, consulting and coaching and have served in leadership positions in local government, non-profit, and private consulting firms, including executive roles in non-profit organizations, community planning and economic development, training, leadership, and organizational development, legislative affairs, and fund development. As I was transitioning into my own consulting practice, the Generative Council provided the safe space for me to explore, learn, and grow as a leader, coaching practitioner, and independent consultant.
My connection to nature has been a life-long practice, developed over years of work and play outdoors. My home at the foot of Pikes Peak backs to the National Forest, allowing my family and I to embrace, respect, and nurture the urban wildland interface each day. Participating in Generative Council constantly deepens my love for using nature’s lessons to teach us more about ourselves and learn sustainable ideas and practices from one another.
DEBBIE SAGEN
Board Member
I have more than 30 years of experience in public, private and non-profit management, consulting and coaching and have served in leadership positions in local government, non-profit, and private consulting firms, including executive roles in non-profit organizations, community planning and economic development, training, leadership, and organizational development, legislative affairs, and fund development. As I was transitioning into my own consulting practice, the Generative Council provided the safe space for me to explore, learn, and grow as a leader, coaching practitioner, and independent consultant.
My connection to nature has been a life-long practice, developed over years of work and play outdoors. My home at the foot of Pikes Peak backs to the National Forest, allowing my family and I to embrace, respect, and nurture the urban wildland interface each day. Participating in Generative Council constantly deepens my love for using nature’s lessons to teach us more about ourselves and learn sustainable ideas and practices from one another.
BRITTIN WOOD
Board Member
As a child, I grew up in the rural countryside of Iowa – rolling prairies, seasonal forests, meandering creeks and corn fields. I like to say I was raised by Midwest hippies, who were down to earth and practical, while they taught my siblings and I to appreciate our natural surroundings, even the pig farms down the road. Those days of building winter snow forts and giving each other wheelbarrow rides for down home entertainment, road tripping to the country’s greatest natural landscapes and watching many PBS nature series, all contributed to my affinity for being outdoors and surrounded by the world’s natural beauty.
It was my junior high science classes that inspired me to dedicate my education and career dedicated to making a difference in this world through the study of environmental sciences and the application of conservation practices and strategies. Fast forward twenty…plus-some years, and I’ve collected an array of experiences and fortunate opportunities that has led me to today’s adventures: owning and running a business that works with underserved markets to deliver energy efficiency and health and safety benefits in their homes and living spaces. While I don’t get out with the wheelbarrow as often as I used to, I find that I am able to keep my connection to the outdoors through biking, kayaking and traveling to new terrains to help me remember my roots and youthful origins in nature.
Being involved with CNL and the Generative Council has been inspirational and healing at just the right times in my life. I am grateful for the places I have seen, the women I have connected with, and the purpose I can continue to support by participating on the board.
BRITTIN WOOD
Board Member
As a child, I grew up in the rural countryside of Iowa – rolling prairies, seasonal forests, meandering creeks and corn fields. I like to say I was raised by Midwest hippies, who were down to earth and practical, while they taught my siblings and I to appreciate our natural surroundings, even the pig farms down the road. Those days of building winter snow forts and giving each other wheelbarrow rides for down home entertainment, road tripping to the country’s greatest natural landscapes and watching many PBS nature series, all contributed to my affinity for being outdoors and surrounded by the world’s natural beauty.
It was my junior high science classes that inspired me to dedicate my education and career dedicated to making a difference in this world through the study of environmental sciences and the application of conservation practices and strategies. Fast forward twenty…plus-some years, and I’ve collected an array of experiences and fortunate opportunities that has led me to today’s adventures: owning and running a business that works with underserved markets to deliver energy efficiency and health and safety benefits in their homes and living spaces. While I don’t get out with the wheelbarrow as often as I used to, I find that I am able to keep my connection to the outdoors through biking, kayaking and traveling to new terrains to help me remember my roots and youthful origins in nature.
Being involved with CNL and the Generative Council has been inspirational and healing at just the right times in my life. I am grateful for the places I have seen, the women I have connected with, and the purpose I can continue to support by participating on the board.