“What’s Community Conservation and How You Can Help.”
General Members Meeting Sarasota Garden Club October 11 2023 (1)Speaker Bio: Christine Johnson, President
“I grew up here and am so lucky to have this fulfilling career. I know that the work we do today – saving the beautiful area of my childhood – will last forever!”
Christine P. Johnson is a fifth generation Floridian who shares the Foundation’s vision for the human and natural words of Southwest Florida to flourish together.
After earning a BS in Business Administration from the College of Charleston and an MBA from the University of Florida, Christine worked in management and consulted with Fortune 500 companies in fields ranging from manufacturing to media.
Her Florida roots run deep though and this Manatee County native couldn’t stay away for long. Christine has worked in our region’s nonprofit sector since 2004.
She successfully completed the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida’s $7M capital campaign to build a regional headquarters and then served as Director of Development for Ringling College of Art and Design overseeing their largest fundraising campaign, leading a team of five to raise over $100M.
In October of 2011, she was named President of Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast where she works to save land, ensure good land conservation public policy, and that all have access to natural places.
She is past chair of the Science and Environment Council, past chair of Visit Sarasota County, board member of Crowley Museum & Nature Center, past chair of the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, vice chair of the Florida Alliance of Land Trusts, and on the national Land Trust Alliance Leadership Council. Nature is where Christine’s family spends their time together.
Her husband, Bill, and their college-aged children, Grace and Tommy, enjoy hiking, camping, backpacking, and being anywhere there is water to swim, fish, sail, or scuba.