The board of directors of Choose Outdoors as elected former fellow board member Jeff Olson to be the new president of the organization.


Jeff’s deep background in conservation advocacy and education, fundraising, marketing, and organizational development will provide us with a valuable asset and strengthen our team, said board member Todd Litzman, president of Brandwise.

Olson, who began his career in conservation issues in 1987, currently operates his own business as a consultant to nonprofits on organizational development and conservation-policy matters. Prior to launching his business in 2011, Olson was vice president for marketing and development at the National Forest Foundation in Missoula, Montana.


The nations public lands are a resource unlike any public land system anywhere else in the world, said Olson, Choose Outdoors mission, to work for their improved stewardship by engaging Americans in outdoor recreation, is a personal and professional passion. I am proud to be asked to serve as president of this important organization.


Olson has worked extensively in domestic and international conservation throughout his career. While at the Ford Foundation in the 1990s, Olson led its international Community and Resource Development grant making program, investing more than $40 million annually in efforts to improve livelihoods for poor and low income people while advancing the sustainable use of environmental resources. Later, as President of the Natural Resources Council of America, Olson led an association of environmental nonprofits concerned with conservation and improvement of our global environment.


Choose Outdoors, is a non-profit dedicated to promoting outdoor recreation and active lifestyles through support for public lands and waters; recreation infrastructure; and programs connecting Americans to the outdoors. Recently, responding to a request by Undersecretary of Agriculture Harris Sherman, Choose Outdoors has begun to develop ways to increase public awareness about the mountain pine beetle epidemic and the impact it has had on forest health as well as to encourage private sector engagement in promoting the use of beetle killed wood and assisting with mitigation efforts. For more information about Choose Outdoors visit www.ChooseOutdoors.org.