Board MemberMcCance Foundation
Elizabeth McCance serves as a Trustee of the McCance Foundation, a philanthropic grant making institution focused on the areas of education, the environment and conservation, social entrepreneurship and medical research. Elizabeth developed the Foundation's priority area of the environment and conservation, where the focus is on climate change and the conservation of Long Island Sound.
For the last 25 years, Elizabeth's career has centered on the environment. Prior to teaching biology and environmental science at the collegiate level, Elizabeth was the Conservation Director for Chicago Wilderness, a consortium of more than 200 organizations working to protect and manage natural areas and habitat in the greater Chicago region. Before becoming conservation director, she facilitated a two-year process to develop the region's biodiversity recovery plan. Elizabeth also worked for IUCN's Species Survival Commission, promoting communication and leadership throughout the global network to develop red lists, species recovery plans and conservation policies.
In addition to serving as a McCance Foundation Trustee, Elizabeth currently is the President of the Board of Trustees at the Henry L. Ferguson Museum, a natural and cultural history and archeological museum, and a Board Member and Conservation Chair for the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. She is also co-leading a project to manage and protect seagrass in Long Island Sound, a joint project of both the Ferguson Museum and The Nature Conservancy.
Elizabeth graduated from Yale University with a BS in Biology, has a MS in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from the University of Maryland, and a PhD in Natural Resources and the Environment from the University of Michigan.