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Presidential Fellows
The Second Nature Presidential Fellows program brings together recently retired college and university presidents to engage part-time in meaningful and exciting work in support of Second Nature's mission.
Presidential Fellows work directly with ACUPCC signatory presidents and their teams to assist them in fulfilling their commitments. They support the ACUPCC network as a whole and promote education for sustainability broadly by networking with colleagues, presenting at meetings and conferences, publishing articles and opinion pieces, and engaging with leaders in business and other sectors.
Presidential Fellows are available for speaking engagements as their schedules permit.
Please contact Georges Dyer at gdyer@secondnature.org for more information.
Mitchell Thomashow, Presidential Fellow (Director)
mthomashow@secondnature.org
 Dr. Mitchell Thomashow devotes his life and work to promoting ecological
awareness, sustainable living, creative learning, improvisational thinking,
social networking, and organizational excellence. Currently he is engaged in
teaching, writing, and executive consulting, cultivating opportunities and
exchanges that transform how people engage with sustainability and
ecological learning.
Most recently, from 2006-2011, Thomashow was the president of Unity College
in Maine. With his management team, he integrated concepts of ecology,
sustainability, natural history, wellness, participatory governance, and
community service into all aspects of college and community life. This
included construction of The Unity House, the first LEED Platinum
President's Residence in North America, the TeraHaus, a passive house
student residence, comprehensive campus energy planning, an integrated
approach to growing food on campus, and a new academic master plan.
Thomashow serves on the board of the Coalition on Environmental and Jewish
Life (COEJL) and the advisory board of Orion Magazine. He is a founding
member of the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD), a
national organization that supports interdisciplinary environmental studies
in higher education. He serves as a consultant to Second Nature and the
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
(AASHE).
He is the author of two influential books, Ecological Identity: Becoming a
Reflective Environmentalist (The MIT Press, 1995) and Bringing the Biosphere
Home, (The MIT Press, 2001). A recent essay (2010), The Gaian Generation: A
New Approach to Environmental Learning provides radical new concepts for
teaching about global environmental change. Another essay, "The Nine
Elements of a Sustainable Campus" provides a comprehensive template for
transforming campus living and learning environments.
Judith Ramaley, Presidential Fellow
 Dr. Judith A. Ramaley (pronounced Rah may lee) began her service as the 14th president of Winona State University on July 18, 2005. She was appointed to the WSU position by the Board of Trustees of Minnesota's State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) following a national search which concluded in March 2005. Dr. Ramaley replaced Dr. Darrell W. Krueger who had served as WSU's president for 16 years until his retirement on July 15, 2005.
Prior to coming to Minnesota, she held a presidential professorship in biomedical sciences at the University of Maine and was a Fellow of the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. She also completed a residency as a Visiting Senior Scientist at the National Academy of Sciences from January to June 2005.
From 2001-2004, Dr. Ramaley was Assistant Director, Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR) at The National Science Foundation. The EHR Directorate is responsible for the health and continued vitality of the Nation's science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and for providing leadership in the effort to improve education in these fields. During Dr. Ramaley's tenure, the Directorate managed an annual budget of over $900 million. Prior to joining NSF, Dr. Ramaley was president of The University of Vermont (UVM) and professor of biology from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 2001. Before coming to UVM, she was President and professor of biology at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon for seven years (1990-1997.)
Dr. Ramaley has a special interest in higher-education reform and has played a significant role in designing regional alliances to promote educational cooperation. She also has contributed to national discussions about the changing nature of work and the workforce. She also plays a national role in the exploration of civic responsibility and the role of higher education in promoting good citizenship and has published extensively on educational reform, science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and the leadership of organizational change.
Under her leadership, The University of Vermont became a member of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities that explored the role of research universities in the 21st century. The University established new partnerships in the state that support educational reform, economic and community development, and opportunities for Vermonters across the state. The most significant of these partnerships is the Vermont Public Education Partnership (VPEP) an alliance of the Vermont Department of Education, the University of Vermont and the Vermont State Colleges to promote preK-20 collaboration throughout the state. In Vermont, Dr. Ramaley was a Director of the Vermont Business Roundtable, a member of the Human Resources Investment Council (HRIC), a member of the Vermont Commission on Higher Education Funding, a member of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors, a member of the Vermont Quality Council Board of Advisors and Co-Chair of the Vermont Campus Compact.
At the national level, Dr. Ramaley serves as a member of the Girl Scouts of the USA Board of Directors, a member of the National Governor's Association Innovation Task Force, and a member of the National Science Resource Council (NSRC). She has also served as a member of the board of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), as a member of the National School-to-Work Advisory Board during the 1990s and as a member of the presidential advisory panel for the Association of Governing Boards (AGB). She also has held the position of Chair of the Board of Campus Compact, chair of the subcommittee on College Drinking of the Advisory Council of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (National Institute of Health), and has served as a trustee and chair of the Trustees Academic Affairs Committee of Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio from 1998-2005. She was chair of the Greater Expectations Panel, a group developed by AAC&U as a multi-year initiative to define the aims of a 21st century undergraduate education and to identify strategies for accomplishing these aims. She also served as a member of the board of the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE). In Minnesota, she is a member of the Minnesota Campus Compact Board, a Director of the Merchants Bank Financial Group and serves on the boards of the Winona County Historical Society, the Great River Shakespeare Festival, and the Seven Rivers Alliance. She is the author of 35 papers and book chapters on issues in higher education, including civic responsibility, higher education and the public good, science and mathematics education and organizational change.
Dr. Ramaley received her bachelors degree from Swarthmore College in 1963 and conducted her graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned a doctorate in 1966. She served for two years as a post-doctorate fellow at Indiana University. In 1978-1979, she was an American Council on Education Fellow at the University of Nebraska Medical Center at Omaha, where she then held the post of Associate Dean for Research and Development. The next year, she joined the University of Nebraska's central administration as assistant vice president for academic affairs. In 1982, Ramaley became the chief academic officer at the State University of New York at Albany. She also served as executive vice president for academic affairs for two years and as acting president for one semester at SUNY-Albany. Ramaley was the executive vice chancellor at the University of Kansas-Lawrence from 1987 to 1990.
Dr. Ramaley has two sons, Alan and Andrew, a daughter-in-law Ziba, four grandsons, Adam, Zachary, Nathaniel and Matthew, and two granddaughters, Zarintaj (Sarah) and Allison.
Diana Van Der Ploeg, Presidential Fellow
dvdp@secondnature.org
Dr. Diana Van Der Ploeg recently retired as President of Butte College in Oroville, California. She previously served as the Interim President of Olympic College in Bremerton, Washington after having served as President of Spokane Falls Community College in Washington and Gateway Community-Technical College in Connecticut. Prior to that she held a variety of positions at Aims Community College in Colorado, including Faculty member and Department Chair in Emergency Medical Services, Dean of the South Campus, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Associate Vice President of the College. Along with working as a Presidential Fellow with Second Nature, she currently is owner of a consulting firm specializing in executive coaching for new and experienced presidents, leadership development, sustainability efforts, emergency preparedness, teamwork and executive team building, and strategic planning and budgeting.
Dr. Van Der Ploeg's teaching experience includes having taught in the Community College Leadership doctoral program at Colorado State University, as a professor of Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine at Aims Community College, and as a public high school teacher. In addition, she also owned a consulting business, and worked as a Flight Paramedic with Air Life Rescue Helicopter and as a Paramedic with Weld County Paramedic Service in Greeley, Colorado.
Diana led Butte College in becoming one of the most recognized national leaders in sustainability in curricula, operations and workforce development by using an inclusive, broad-based, and integrated approach. Sustainability is included in the college's mission statement, in the core values and is one of five initiatives in the strategic plan. During her tenure the college developed sustainability related career and technical programs, infused sustainability into existing curricula, developed and implemented a sustainability studies certificate, and implemented numerous sustainability-related workforce development trainings. They supported numerous student-led events and activities and built five LEED-certifiable buildings, gaining LEED certification on two. Butte College became the first 'grid-positive' college in the country by installing 25,000 solar panels around campus to produce more electricity than the college needed; thereby, selling electricity back the utility company.
Dr. Van Der Ploeg earned her Ph.D. in Community College Administration at Colorado State University, her Master's Degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Denver.
Diana was named one of the top 80 leaders in higher education by the American Association of Higher Education. She also received the Phi Theta Kappa Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction, the Meritorious Service Award, the Michael Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award, the Mayor's Proclamation for outstanding service in New Haven, the Monarch Award for Leadership, and Certificates of Recognition from Senator Aanestad for Sustainability, Assemblyman Logue for Leadership, and the Certificate of Special Recognition from Congressman Wally Herger. She was also named one of the top 20 noteworthy women by the New Haven Business Times.
Past Presidential Fellows
Richard J. Cook, PhD
 With over thirty-five years of higher education experience, Richard Cook has devoted his entire professional career to the independent college sector. After sixteen years of service as a chemistry professor, division chair, and faculty leader, Dr. Cook became provost of Kalamazoo College (MI) in 1989. He was named president of Allegheny College (PA) in 1996, presiding over significant growth in enrollment, program innovation, and national institutional recognition. He served successfully in that capacity for twelve years prior to stepping down to pursue independent consulting and environmental advocacy.
Dr. Cook is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan and holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He was conferred an honorary doctorate and the title president emeritus by Allegheny College and is the recipient of numerous other awards and recognitions in education and civic service. He is currently a principal of Lahti Search Consultants and is an inaugural 2009-10 Senior Fellow of Second Nature, Inc.
Dr. Cook's professional experience includes leadership roles in the Great Lakes Colleges Association, Council of Independent Colleges, Annapolis Group, North Coast Athletic Conference, Bonner Foundation, and other organizations and initiatives. He is well known and respected nationally within the independent higher education community in a wide variety of contexts, including civic engagement, campus sustainability, international study, undergraduate research, enrollment management, and institutional positioning. He has visited numerous campuses nationally and internationally in a variety of capacities, including administrative and academic review, program development, accreditation, and sustainability.
Long engaged in the combination of environmental science and policy, Dr. Cook held gubernatorial appointments to the Michigan Toxic Substance Control Commission and the Environmental Science Advisory Board of the State of Michigan. He was an independent reviewer of technical studies in connection with the Love Canal Hazardous Waste Site in Niagara Falls, a case that led to the adoption of the Federal Superfund Act. Cook has traveled extensively domestically and internationally, consulting on issues of hazardous and municipal waste.
Edward A. Johnson, JD PhD
 Dr. Edward A. Johnson is the inaugural President of the The San Juan Colleges, a California nonprofit organization created in 2009 to recruit one or more independent colleges and universities for a proposed shared residential, liberal arts campus in San Juan Capistrano, California. Dr. Johnson's 30-year higher education career includes leadership positions in both public and independent higher education. He served as president of the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, the world's largest and oldest provider of field station-based environmental stewardship educational courses to faith-based colleges and universities. From 1997-2003, he served as President of Sterling College (Kansas), a liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Previously, Dr. Johnson served as Executive Director of the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education, and as a senior executive to the Arizona Board of Regents from 1986-1991.
Dr. Johnson began his service to the Arizona higher education community as the Director of Community Relations for the ASU College of Law. Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and a Juris Doctor degree from Creighton University. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in History and Political Science from Morningside College (Sioux City, Iowa).
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