The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Dennis M. Wint, president and chief executive officer of The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, was elected recently to serve as chair of The Nature Conservancy’s Pennsylvania Board of Trustees.

Wint, of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, has served on the board of the Conservancy’s Pennsylvania Chapter since 2008, most recently as vice-chair. He succeeds Carol Steinour Young, a Harrisburg attorney who served as chair for three years.

“We’re extremely pleased that Dr. Wint has agreed to lend his exemplary leadership skills, his fiscal insight and his warm humor to our Board of Trustees,” said Steinour Young. “All of us on the board look forward to working with him in helping to conserve Pennsylvania’s natural treasures.”

Dr. Wint has spent 35 years promoting science understanding and enthusiasm, since 1995 at the Franklin Institute, one of America’s oldest and premier centers of science education and development. He also has served as president of the Saint Louis Science Center, director of the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Michigan, and as both director and vice president of Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences.

In 2008, the Association of Science-Technology Centers honored Dr. Wint with the association’s highest honor, the Fellow Award for Outstanding Contribution. The award is presented to individuals who make “significant contributions to the advancement of public understanding and appreciation of science and technology.”

“At The Nature Conservancy we’ve always used science to guide our conservation work,” said Bill Kunze, executive director of the Conservancy’s Pennsylvania Chapter. “That foundation in science becomes even more critical as we seek solutions to some of the most important challenges of our time, such as climate change, or the impact of energy development on Pennsylvania’s forests and streams.

“Dr. Wint has spent his career not only interpreting science to the public but also promoting enthusiasm for scientific understanding,” Kunze said. “We look forward to his guidance not only in explaining our work but also in mobilizing action to protect nature.”

Dr. Wint’s involvement with The Nature Conservancy dates to the mid-1970s, when he served on the Board of Trustees for the Conservancy’s Ohio chapter.

His professional and civic leadership also includes service on the boards of the American Association of Musuems, Association of Science Museum Directors, National Health Sciences Consortium, the Pennsylvania Society, Parkway Council Foundation, and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. He graduated from the University of Michigan and received a Ph.D. in science education from Case Western Reserve University.