Influential Environmental Advocates Open 2015 Conversations Series

    ST. LOUIS, MO, April 10, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center's Conversations Series will kickoff its 2015 series on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at the Danforth Center, 975 N. Warson Road. A reception will begin the night at 5:15 p.m. and the program will immediately follow at 6:00 p.m. Featured panelists are Nathaniel Reed, Vice Chairman and Founding Member of the Everglades Foundation, Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation and Dan Burkhardt, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Board Member and Author. Reservations are required but complimentary; seating is limited. To reserve your seat call (314) 587-1070 or register on-line at http://www.danforthcenter.org/events.

The program will feature remarks and a fascinating discussion of conservation efforts in the United States, particularly as they have impacted the Everglades, including restoration policy and the relationship between sustainable agriculture and the renewal of natural landscapes.

The 2015 Conversations Series is sponsored by St. Louis Public Radio and HEC-TV. To view previous Conversations programs visit HEC-TV.org.

About the Speakers

Nathaniel Reed - Vice Chairman and a Founding Member, Everglades Foundation
Nathaniel is a seminal figure in the American conservation movement and a founding member of the Everglades Foundation. He has served two Presidents and six Governors as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Nixon and Ford administrations. Nathaniel has worked with numerous not-for-profit organizations to restore natural ecosystems, protect wildlife and curb air and water pollution. In 2008 he was selected as the first recipient of the Everglades Foundation's award for 'his years of concern and determined efforts to restore the everglades ecosystem'. He is the recipient of many national, state and environmental awards that run the gamut of the extraordinary range of his passions and interests.

Eric Eikenberg - CEO, Everglades Foundation
As the CEO of the Everglades Foundation, Eric leads the foundation's science, advocacy, communications and legal teams, which are nationally recognized for their expertise in Everglades restoration. He has extensive policy and political experience, having served as chief of staff to former Governor Charlie Crist and former U.S. Representative E. Clay Shaw. Prior to joining the Everglades Foundation, Eric was senior policy advisor at the law firm of Holland & Knight, LLP, and co-chaired the firm's Florida Government Advocacy Team with former Governor Bob Martinez.

Dan Burkhardt - Venture Capitalist, Author and Member of the Board of Directors, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Dan is a principal at Oakwood Medical Investors, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage medical device companies. He and his wife Connie, an attorney, own a farm in Marthasville, Missouri near the Katy Trail. They co-founded the Katy Land Trust in 2010 to highlight the value of, and protect, the rural and scenic landscape along the Katy Trail. In 2012 Dan co-founded Magnificent Missouri, an organization that connects Missourians to the landscape and countryside of the state through local food production. He has created and edited two coffee-table books, Missouri River Country - 100 Miles of Stories and Scenery from Hermann to the Confluence and Florida Bay Forever - A Story of Water from the Everglades to the Keys. Both books benefit conservation causes. Dan serves on the boards of the Danforth Plant Science Center, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Mercantile Library and the Nine Network of Public Media (Channel 9).

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research aims to feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center's work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates and Howard G. Buffett Foundations. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.

# # #