MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Two new directors, Steve Hoffman and Nicole Rom, have joined the Board of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and Betsy Schmiesing, a former director, has returned for another term.

Hoffman has served for the past several years on the Friends’ education and outreach committee. He is Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, and was Director of its Environmental Studies Program. Hoffman holds a Ph.D. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware. He has served on several boards including Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Environment (now Fresh Energy) and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. He helped found Superior Studies at Wolf Ridge, a multi-university academic program. He lives in the Twin Cities.

Rom is the Executive Director of the Will Steger Foundation which works to slow global warming. Before joining the foundation, Rom managed education programs for the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office in Ann Arbor, MI. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Kazakhstan, speaks Russian, and has traveled extensively throughout the world. She received an MS in Natural Resource Policy and Behavior from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan and a BA in Environmental Studies and Education from Bates College in Maine. Rom grew up canoeing and camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. She lives in the Twin Cites.

Schmiesing returns to the board after completing a previous term in 2005. She now serves as the board’s Vice-Chair and as chair of the board’s Policy Committee. Schmiesing is a partner at the Minneapolis law firm of Faegre & Benson LLP, where she practices in the environmental and regulatory areas. She earned a B.S. in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin and a J.D. at the University of Chicago. She has visited the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness throughout her life and looks forward to introducing her children to the wilderness as “soon as they can carry a pack.” She lives in the Twin Cities.

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is a non-profit organization founded in 1976. Our mission is to protect, preserve and restore the wilderness character of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Quetico-Superior ecosystem. The organization has nearly 4,000 members and subscribers nationwide.

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