The Nature Conservancy Hires Director of Philanthropy

Lander, WY—May 24, 2006—More than thirty years ago, Molly Hampton ventured to Wyoming as a young college student to crisscross the rugged Absaroka Mountains on foot. Today, the Wyoming landscapes that first captured her spirit have set Hampton on a new career path with the Wyoming Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

“We’re thrilled to have Molly on the team,” says Andrea Erickson Quiroz, the Wyoming Chapter’s State Director. “Molly brings a strong passion for Wyoming and a keen enthusiasm for the state’s unique peoples and landscapes.”

After college, Hampton returned to Wyoming to begin a more than twenty-year career with the Lander-based National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Her new position marks a move from outdoor education to conservation, but Hampton already sees the connections between the two organizations. “NOLS has a great nonprofit mission that combines people and conservation—I see those same qualities at The Nature Conservancy.”

As the Conservancy’s Director of Philanthropy, Hampton manages fundraising for the member-based non-profit, which relies on private donations to pursue its conservation mission. “We can’t accomplish our work by ourselves,” she says. “The Nature Conservancy is all about partnerships and connecting conservation to people. So one of the things I’m most excited about is tying donors’ dreams and wishes to our mission.”

Hampton holds a master’s degree in non-profit and educational leadership from Arizona’s Prescott College. “With her background in non-profit leadership, as well as her great knowledge of Wyoming’s wild spaces, Molly will be a spark to our fundraising efforts,” says Quiroz.