Robert E. Carlson Honored for Board of Directors Service

Robert E. Carlson, a long-time member of the national Board of Directors at The Trust for Public Land, has been given TPL’s Si and June Foote Award for Continuing Volunteer Service.

Mr. Carlson, a TPL board member from 1987 to 2010, was honored at TPL’s winter board meeting here. The award was named for the late Si and June Foote, who were visionary leaders in the conservation movement. Si Foote, who was also a pioneer in Silicon Valley, was TPL’s first volunteer and served on the national board from 1974 to 1991.

Mr. Carlson recently retired as a partner of the Los Angeles office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker after 50 years of legal practice. As a member of TPL’s national board, he chaired the audit committee for 15 years.

In addition to presenting the award, TPL also created the Robert E. Carlson Internship Fund to support an intern in TPL’s Los Angeles office. The fund has already raised $30,000 to support its mission.

In honoring Mr. Carlson, Page Knudsen Cowles, chair of the TPL board said, “The words ‘servant leader’ fit Bob perfectly . The concept was pioneered by Robert Greenleaf in a 1970 essay, “The Servant As Leader”. The Center for Servant Leadership defines a servant-leader as ‘someone who continuously strives to be trustworthy, self -aware, humble, caring, visionary, empowering, relational, competent, and a community builder.’

“Those words describe the qualities Bob brought to his service and TPL,” said Ms. Cowles. “We are fortunate to have had the benefit of his wisdom, vision, and hard work on the board for the past 23 years.”

In accepting the award, Mr. Carlson said, “I am honored to receive this award, but I have to say that I have received much more than I have contributed to the organization. It has been a privilege and truly rewarding to work with such a tremendous group of people, both on the board and the staff.”

TPL is a national conservation organization, dedicated to preserving land as parks, playgrounds, open space, and wilderness. Since it was founded in 1972, TPL has protected more than 2.8 million acres in 47 states. TPL depends on the support of individuals, foundations, and corporations.