Henry Mushinsky
Chairman
Dr. Henry Mushinsky, a Professor in Biology and Graduate Director at the University of South Florida, has been on the Board since 2007. Dr. Mushinsky has served as an advisor and a collaborator with Wildlands since the organization’s inception in 2003. Henry has published over 120 papers on Florida’s indigenous herpetofauna, habitat restoration, and Florida ecology. He is a past president and Board member of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and the Herpetologists’ League. He has received numerous teaching and excellence awards over the past 30 years including most recently the prestigious Kosove Society as Graduate Professor.
Margo McKnight
Vice Chairman
Margo McKnight has over 37 years of experience leading conservation organizations, including zoos and aquariums. Her professional experience has often combined science, conservation, visitor experiences, art, and marketing. She is an experienced not-for-profit fundraiser, communications expert, conservation advocate, ecologist, and artist. Margo is currently the CEO and President of the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society. Previously, Margo was the Senior Vice President of Conservation, Research and Science at the Florida Aquarium. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of the Wildlands Network, a nonprofit that leads critical on-the-ground campaigns to protect wildlife and wild places. Margo holds a B.S. from the University of South Florida in Biology.
John Laxx
Secretary/Treasurer
Professor Lax began teaching for Saint Leo as an adjunct at the MacDill AFB Center in 2008 and joined the Campus full-time faculty in Fall of 2010. Prior to Saint Leo, he taught at the University of South Florida Polytechnic and Hillsborough Community College. John holds a M.B.A and a M.S., in Marketing, both from the University of South Florida, as well as a D.B.A. in Marketing. Prior to his academic career, John spent more than 25 years in corporate roles including retail management, National Field Sales Manager, VP of Product Marketing for a software firm, Director of Marketing and Communication for a trade association and served as a consultant in several industries. He is the faculty advisor for Pride Consulting, Saint Leo’s student-managed consulting firm. John is a Rays and Bucs fan and lives in Lutz with Robin, his wife of 31 years, and three very indulged cats.
Heidi Bogardus McCree
Heidi McCree of Tampa is an attorney who has been involved in water and land conservation policy throughout her career. Heidi is a member of Leadership Florida, Class XXV. She is the honored recipient of the 2009 Audubon of Florida, Women in Conservation, Special Places Award. She is a founding Board member and President of the Tampa Bay Conservancy. In 2008, she served as President of Preserve Hillsborough, the successful campaign to renew Hillsborough County’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP).
Heidi served on the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board from 2000 through 2008. In 2005, she was unanimously elected the first female Chairperson of the Governing Board. She served as liaison to the Florida Greenways and Trails Council and to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. Additionally, McCree was Chair ex officio of the Hillsborough River Basin Board. McCree served as Executive Director of the Hillsborough River Greenways Task Force from 1996 to 2000. Heidi is on the boards of Audubon Florida, the Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation, the Children’s Campaign and the William A. Gregory Scholarship Foundation. She has also served the Hillsborough Education Foundation, supporting Nature’s Classroom and the Foundation’s fundraising efforts. She is a Junior League member and has served on various Boards and committees for her children’s schools and church activities.
Fritz Musselmann
Fritz Musselmann of Pasco County is semi-retired and has been involved in water resource and land conservation for over 40 years. After retiring from Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) in 2008, Fritz founded Land & Water Associates, LLC, providing consulting services to landowners to facilitate private and government land sales/purchases including services related to current and future land use and management strategies.
Musselmann currently serves as Volunteer Legislative Liaison for the Friends of Florida State Parks and serves in an advisory capacity to the Tampa Bay Conservancy. He previously served on the Boards of the Tampa Bay Conservancy, Friends of Florida State Parks and the Coastal Rivers Basin Board of SWFWMD.
Musselmann began work at SWFWMD in 1975 and was promoted to Land Resources Director (July 1982 to December 2008) providing direction and oversight to the District’s Land Resources Department including Land Acquisition, Land Management, Land Use and Survey Sections. With oversight of a $35 to $50 million annual department budget, Musselmann recognized the important roles of responsibility, authority and accountability. Some of the accomplishments during Musselmann’s tenure as Land Resources Director include:
Establishing the District’s conservation land acquisition and management programs including associated Governing Board Policies and Procedures related to implementing the Water Management Lands Trust Fund (Save Our Rivers), Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever Program appropriations; Establishing the District’s less-than-fee (conservation easement) acquisition program; Approximately 435,000 acres acquired – 341,000 acres in fee and 94,000 acres in less-than-fee (conservation easements) consisting of over 3,500 parcels within 77 projects at a total cost of $704.5 million including $132.2 million in partnership contributions; Developing land acquisition/management/use partnerships with local governments/school districts, regional water supply authorities, various agencies of the State of Florida and several not-for-profit organizations such as Florida Trail resulting in the establishment of: Four state parks and a large addition to a fifth park; Three state forests; More than 20 local government parks; Green Swamp segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail and 18 sites identified as part of the Great Florida Birding Trail; Ten wildlife management areas for hunting, fishing and other activities; Three environmental education centers and the renovation of two existing centers, and Five water supply wellfields and two water supply reservoirs; 305 miles of rivers and streams protected including lands for the Surface Water Improvement and Management Program (SWIM); District’s Recreation Guide Identifying recreational opportunities on 61 areas; Land Resources Department Volunteer Program; 857+ miles of multi-use trails established by the District and/or its land management/recreation partners; and 13,600 acres of uplands/wetlands restored.
Cheryl Hill
Cheryl Hill worked at the Southwest Florida Water Management District for more than 35 years before retiring in 2018. All of her time at the District was spent in support of land conservation and land management for water resource protection. Her work was directly involved with the Save Our Rivers, Preservation 2000, and Florida Forever land acquisition programs, since the inception of each.
