Christine Johnson

President at Conservation Foundation

A fifth-generation Floridian, Christine Johnson can’t remember a time when she wasn’t deeply aware of environmental issues. Awareness changed to action when she returned to Florida in 2002 with her husband after earning her MBA and working as a Fortune 500 consultant. “We saw the dramatic difference not only in the number of people now here,” Johnson says, “but in policy decisions and how people lived differently on the land.” 

Florida needed help. So, when Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast was created in 2003, Johnson became a donor. While working with local nonprofits, she stayed active with Conservation Foundation, which led to her becoming President in 2011. 

One of the organization’s goals is to create a Conservation Corridor, which seeks to connect protected properties from Manatee County to the Myakka Island of protected properties to Charlotte County’s Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area and on to the Everglades. “This is vital for wide-ranging animals like bears and panthers, and for people, too,” she explains. “Not only for recreation but to protect our water, as well.” The purchase of the 5,777-acre Orange Hammock Ranch in May 2020 was a big step, but there’s more to do.

More than 80% of the Foundation’s funding comes from individual donations. “We’re a good investment,” Johnson says, noting how they leverage donations by a factor of 3.6x. Between their conservation efforts and growing youth outdoor and engagement programming, the impact Conservation Foundation creates is multi-generational.

Considering that the use of public outdoor spaces was record-breaking during the pandemic, the need is greater than ever to protect land and water for the sixth-, seventh-, and later generations of Floridians. It’s not too late yet to save the land we love.

“Long and steady wins the race,” Johnson says. “But the time to act is now.”

Christine Johnson
President
Conservation Foundation
P.O. Box 902
400 Palmetto Ave, 
Osprey, FL 34229-0902
(941) 918-2100 
christine@conservationfoundation.com 
conservationfoundation.com