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 Extreme
Makeover: Outdoor Edition
As
president of The Yosemite Fund, Yosemite National Park's primary
fundraising organization, Bob Hansen (B.A., '70),
has mastered the art of the quick change -- from the hiking gear he
dons on park trails to the coat and tie his business meetings require.
During a typical week he tries to get away from his downtown San Francisco
office and spend at least one day in the park, meeting with potential
donors along the way.
During his 17-year career at The Yosemite Fund, he has raised more than
$35 million that has brought disabled access to park trails, created
new bikeways and educational exhibits, restored sensitive areas and
paid for studies of the park's wildlife and plant populations.
"It's very sensitive work. You're engaging in a contract with people.
They make an investment in you, and you have a responsibility to fulfill
their expectations," he says.
Hansen secured $14 million to transform the heavily trafficked Yosemite
Falls approach last year with the help of landscape architect and environmental
planner Lawrence Halprin. Today new paths lead to the approach. There
is also a stone amphitheater, historical markers and a shrine to environmentalist
John Muir. "Without Bob, it wouldn't have happened," Halprin
says. "Bob is an inspiring guy. He pulls people together."
Born and raised in Oakland, Hansen has been visiting Yosemite since
he was 12. In the late 1960s he brought his love of the great outdoors
to SFSU, where he minored in biology and earned a degree in liberal
arts. He worked with Bill Edison, then an elementary education professor,
to help run his outdoor education program for Bay Area children. Edison
remembers Hansen as an enthusiastic young teacher and master camper.
"He's also very good at fundraising," Edison says, "but
I didn't teach him that."
A career counselor at SFSU helped Hansen land his first job after graduation,
as an administrator of another outdoor education program, The Yosemite
Institute.
"[Yosemite] is the quintessential national natural park,"
Hansen says. "To be associated with its continued protection, revitalization
and enhancement … is about the best situation anyone can ask for."
-- Gary
Moskowitz
 
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