Two long-time Board of Advisors members of the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources step down during the 2017-2018 year.

“We would like to thank Mark Biedron and Will Raap for their nearly thirty collective years of service and valuable contributions to the Rubenstein School as highly respected members of our Board of Advisors,” said Dean Nancy Mathews. “Their support, advice, and engagement have greatly contributed to the ongoing success of our School, and we shall miss them as members of our Board.” 

Mark Biedron ’74 is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified professional and co-founder of the Willow School, a green, private school for grades K-8 in Gladstone, New Jersey. Mark recently served as President of the New Jersey State Board of Educators for six years. A businessman and manager of an environmental construction firm, he became an advocate for sustainable building and education. A member of the Rubenstein School Board of Advisors since 2003, Mark served as chair from 2010 through 2015 and contributed to strategic planning initiatives in the Rubenstein School. He also shared his sustainable building expertise, and the Willow School became a model for the Rubenstein School community during the planning for the green renovation of its own building, the Aiken Center on the UVM campus. Mark was instrumental in bringing Rubenstein School students, faculty, and staff to the Willow School to share their environmental passion and expertise with teachers and students in outdoor learning activities. 

Will Raap is chairman of the Burlington, Vermont-based Gardener's Supply Company which he founded in 1983. He also founded and chaired the nonprofit, Burlington-based Intervale Foundation, which develops farm and land-based enterprises that generate economic and social opportunity while protecting natural resources. He is co-founder of Restoring Our Watershed, a nonprofit organization working to restore the Nandamojo River Valley of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, and has chaired the board of The Earth Partners, a consortium of environmental experts working to restore degraded ecosystems around the world, among his many other environmental and alternative energy initiatives. Will is a member of the New Economics Institute Board of Directors and has served on numerous non-profit and corporate boards including Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont Business Roundtable, Vermont Land Trust, Champlain Valley Greenbelt Alliance, Interval Center, Vermont Sustainable Agriculture Council, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Champlain College, Living Technologies, and Seventh Generation. He has been a member of the Rubenstein School Board of Advisors since 2003 and chaired the strategic planning committee. Throughout his tenure on the Board, he championed the School’s research and teaching and consistently advocated for UVM to become an environmental university.