People

Foundation Officers:

 

Douglas Tompkins, President
Doug Tompkins is longtime wilderness advocate, mountaineer, organic farmer, activist, and philanthropist. He founded The North Face outdoor gear retailer and cofounded Esprit clothing. Since moving to South America in 1990, he has worked to create large-scale protected areas in Chile and Argentina. Tompkins has supported activist groups in North and South America, and he has helped produce numerous campaign-related books on topics such as industrial forestry, factory farming, and coal mining.
     
 

Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, Vice President
Former long-time CEO of Patagonia clothing company, Kris Tompkins is the founder and president of the nonprofit conservation group Conservacion Patagonica, and was the key figure behind the creation of Argentina’s Monte Leon National Park. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her conservation work.
     
 

Quincey Tompkins Imhoff, Vice President
The former executive director of the Foundation for Deep Ecology, Quincey Imhoff currently runs a yoga center and is active on a wide variety of local projects in the northern California community where she lives with her family.
     
 

Debra Ryker, Secretary/Treasurer
The former chief financial officer at Esprit de Corp., Debbie Ryker has served as finance director for all of Doug and Kris Tompkins’s conservation projects during the past two decades. She lives in northern California.

 

Foundation Staff:

 

Tom Butler, Editorial Projects Director
A Vermont-based activist and writer, Tom Butler is the board president of the Northeast Wilderness Trust and the former longtime editor of Wild Earth journal. His books include Wildlands Philanthropy, Plundering Appalachia, and ENERGY: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth.
     
  Esther Li, CONTROLLER
Born and raised in San Francisco, Esther is a certified public accountant (inactive) with a Master’s degree in Taxation. She has worked for the Foundation for Deep Ecology for over 15 years and volunteers with various nonprofit organizations in the San Francisco Chinese community. Esther enjoys traveling around the world, seeing the sights and trying new food.
     
   

Fay Li, Staff Accountant
Neil Li, Staff Accountant
Devon Jaffe-Urell, Programs Assistant
     
 

George Wuerthner, Ecological Projects Director
A photographer, author, and activist, George Wuerthner has published more than thirty books on America’s wild places. His books include Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy and Thrillcraft: The Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation. Wuerthner has served on the boards of several regional and national conservation organizations, and lives in Helena, Montana.