On October 26, Natural Lands Trust president Molly Morrison was named to the Philadelphia Business Journal “Power 76,” a list of the region’s most influential people. She joins the ranks of the CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, the president of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and many others making a significant impact on the area.
Morrison has always had an eye towards preservation, having grown up in a rural part of northern Chester County and often visited her grandparents’ farm just down the road. She honed her talents while working with Chester County and its board of commissioners. There, in the late 1980’s, Morrison was in charge of developing and executing an open space program which was overwhelmingly supported by a voter referendum. It was an ambitious, unprecedented plan but it worked and became nationally recognized. The county now has 50,000 acres–a quarter of its land–preserved as open space. When Morrison joined Natural Lands Trust in 2000, she continued her efforts. The organization now manages 42 nature preserves on 22,000 acres, and holds conservation easements and other restrictions on another 22,000 acres.
View the entire “Power 76” here.
