2 0 1 8 A N N U A L R E P O R T

Located among pristine woodlands in the historic Ryerson home

in Riverwoods, Brushwood Center promotes the importance of

nature for nurturing personal and community wellbeing, cultivating

creativity, and inspiring learning. In doing so, we honor the legacy of

those who came before us on this land and champion a region where

people will care about and for nature.

M I S S I O N

Dear Friends,

We are excited to share that 2018 brought big changes to Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods. Thanks to significant support from our community, this very special place was infused with a renewed love and vitality reflective of our mission.

These transformative changes began quite literally with the walls and then rippled beyond them. We drew a record crowd for the Smith Nature Symposium & Benefit, honoring Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars Redford for their environmental leadership and hosting their inspirational performance of The Way of the Rain, while catalyzing renewed energy for the beauty and fragility of our Earth.

In his onstage remarks, Robert Redford said that “we need more Brushwoods” and spoke to the importance of grassroots, local organizations who inspire our communities to heal the planet and each other. This is the important work that we do every day at Brushwood Center.

From our At Ease art workshops for military veterans to monarch butterfly programs for underserved youth and families, we support our community with the critical health benefits of nature as well as science-based education through the arts. This year, we reached more than 6,000 people, partly though new partnerships with people with autism, those recovering from cancer, senior living facilities, and early childhood intervention.

None of this would be possible without our community’s volunteer hours, donations, and generosity in time and talent. Together, we are inspiring and empowering each other to care for the planet and each other.

Thank you for your support.Sincerely,

Catherine GameExecutive Director

A. Gail Sturm Chair, Board of Directors

B R U S H W O O D C E N T E R A T R Y E R S O N W O O D S

Brushwood Center successfully piloted and evaluated the It’s A W.I.N. (Art and Wellness

in Nature) program with three community partners in North Chicago, Round Lake, and

Highwood, reaching a total of 300 parents, youth, and community partners. The goal of

this program is to create equitable access to nature through the arts for youth and their

families in underserved areas of the Chicago region, especially Lake County. Unlike the

traditional “build and they will come” model for environmental education, this program

asks community partners what they need and then structures the program around those

areas, offering multi-generational programming for parents, caregivers, and children.

Participants in this program learned about monarch butterflies and bird migration.

I T ’ S A W . I . N .

A T E A S E

Brushwood Center’s At Ease program offered free nature and art classes to more than

100 military veterans in partnership with the Lovell Federal Healthcare Center in North

Chicago. This year we expanded offerings beyond nature photography to also include

poetry and creative writing. Navy veteran Angela Walker starred in a fall concert,

supporting the At Ease program, and the veterans’ nature photography was exhibited at

Brushwood Center, the Barrington Area Library, ComEd, and at the Veterans Creative Arts

Festival.

S M I T H N A T U R E S Y M P O S I U M & B E N E F I T

June 1, 2018 - Brushwood Center hosted the largest Smith Nature Symposium in our

history with nearly 500 attendees, honoring Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars Redford

and partnering with them to bring the multi-disciplinary “Way of the Rain” performance

to the Gorton Center in Lake Forest. Following the performance dinner and conversation

with led by moderators Bill Kurtis and Donna LaPietra entertained under 100 white

umbrellas. The Redford’s commitment to the planet inspired a new educational lecture

series that we call Dear Earth, bringing together scientists and artists for talks that

deepen our connection to the planet and each other.

35 years of the Smith Nature Symposium - When Herman Dunlap Smith - known to all as

“Dutch” - died in May of 1983, a group of family and friends gathered at Ryerson Woods

where he and wife Ellen Thornton Smith (who died in 1977) and children had spent so

many weekends through the years, the talk turned to a memorial. How could the group

honor a couple who had done so much for the city of Chicago and for the study of the

natural world? (He had led the Newberry Library, the Chicago Historical Society, and the

Adler Planetarium, among many other civic involvements; she was a trustee of The Field

Museum, the Hull House Association, and the Chicago Zoological Society.) That day, the

seeds for the Smith Nature Symposium were planted.

B R U S H I N G U P B R U S H W O O D

Thanks to more than 200 volunteers and several pro-bono professionals, Brushwood

Center underwent a much needed interior renovation, revealing its historic beauty and

creating more functional space. Through our “Brush Up Brushwood” volunteer program,

high school students teamed up with retirees to remove wallpaper, scrape decades old

carpet, paint, weed, and reveal the architectural treasures hidden beneath.

D E A R E A R T H

Thanks to more than 200 volunteers and several pro-bono professionals, Brushwood

Center underwent a much needed interior renovation, revealing its historic beauty and

creating more functional space. Through our “Brush Up Brushwood” volunteer program,

high school students teamed up with retirees to remove wallpaper, scrape decades old

carpet, paint, weed, and reveal the architectural treasures hidden beneath.

B R U S H W O O D A R T I S T E X H I B I T I O N S

Environmental GrafittiAlisa SingerJune 11 - July 30, 2017

Summer’s EndBarbara SchneiderAugust 6 - September 24, 2017

FernsIlze ArajsOctober 1 - November 5, 2017

Enriching LivesHeeyoung Kim and Brushwood Botanical ArtistsNovember 12 - December 21

Subtle Beauty - The Landscapes of Lake CountyJohn WylieJanuary 14 - February 25, 2018

Rain PaintingsSybille Szaggars RedfordMay 20 - July 15, 2018

AbbottJerry AdelmannFern AllisonJamal and Salwa AlwattarAndy AmendJudie AndersonGeorge ArchibaldTim ArchibaldDiane ArmiMiah H. ArmourZehra AsifBobbie and Floyd BabbittSarah BacerraFaith P. BaileyAmy and Mitchell BakerCarole and John BallBank of AmericaAlice BarkhausenDavid and Sue BarkhausenLele and Henry BarkhausenAnn and Steve BartramMary and Gerry BatsfordBeverly and Ralph BehrensFrancis Beidler III and Prudence R. Beidler FoundationCarol and Bob BeilfussDebbie BellerJudy and Peter B. BensingerAnne BerkeleyMartha and George BerminghamHerta BernhardLenore BeyerBill & Melinda Gates FoundationHolly Birnbaum and Mark ShermanKathy and Paul BlahunkaShaun and Andy BlockLinda Gawthrop BodenJackie BorchewMichele BorchewElizabeth F. Brown and Nick BothfeldBruce and Beth Wiley BoydMarianne BradyEmy BrawleyLaura Bronson and Kurt JorgensenBarbara Brotman and Chuck BermanLorie and Neal BrownSandy and Charlie BrownLynn BruchKaye BuchmanNan and Al BuckardtDenise and Dave Bunning

Butler Family FoundationCarol and Bill CalabresaJoan and Bill CameronJ. Melfort CampbellSylvia and Robert CarlsonAnnette CarrollGlenda and James CartwrightVictor M. CassidyRebecca Cawood and Scott RatterreeBess and Candelario CelioColleen ChandlerChicago Botanic GardenThe Chicago Community Trust*Christine ChicoineChristopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd.Mitchell ChuichShelly and Mike ClaytonComEdChristina and Patrick CorsigliaBeth Coughlin and David WangGeorge CovingtonWinnie and Bob CrawfordMichelle CroninMichelle and Steven CucchiaroAlice CurryDonna CurryDiane CzerwinskiJanette Damian and ScottSally DavisDeer Path InnMr. and Mrs. Michael J. Deering, Jr.Rosalyn and Geoff DeiganAbigail Derby LewisJoAnn DesmondDolores DiazSarah and Jim DiMatteoJoann DinneenAnonymousMorris and Dolores Kohl Kaplan FundBarbi and Tom DonnelleyArlene DoranLaura DorenfestMartha DrakeFred DresserBeth and Harry DruckerJennifer and Michael DurbalaRay DybzinskiGlenna Eaves and Christopher BoebelEco PromotionsJosephine EltingSue Lannin and Albert Ettinger

Judith EttlingerMatt EvansGail Nieman and Doug Farrlist director of donation?The Field Foundation of IllinoisAnn and Timothy FinneganFirst Bank of Highland ParkTessa FischerFORDHARRISON LLPForest & BluffSally and John B. FosterShannon McGinnis and Michael FreilichFresh Thyme Farmers MarketAnne and Calvin FrostBarbara and Don FuhrmannPeg GabalaBrian GameCatherine Game and John CawoodJoan and Russell GameKay Ganser and Walter SchutteRobin GastonThe Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley FoundationEmilian Geczi and Laura FloresMr. and Mrs. John E. GepsonDiane and Tom GeraghtyGerhard’s BakeryLaura GiampietroAnne GilnaMr. and Mrs. James J. GlasserMarj Lundy and Jamie GodshalkSusie and Arthur GoldnerEllen GoldsmithNancy and George GoldsteinSelina Gomez-BelozMark GoodmanBenjamin GrayHarmann Family - John and Laila Fund of The Greater Cincinnati FoundationJoel GreenbergJanice GreenwaldMary Ann GrummanGail GuggenheimSuzanne and Chris HagenDebra J. HalasLucy and K.W. HammerbergAmanda and George HanleyAlice HargraveSandra and Tom HartTara HavlicekBrooke and Peter HechtAnn and Thomas A. Heinz

D O N O R S

Steven and Janis HershCarol and Rich HillsbergMary P. HinesCitizens for Judge HoffmanBarbara HolbertCheryl and Kenneth HopeDr. Teresa H. HortonSusan Farwell HoustonNancy HughesVeronica and Andy HuntHunter Family FoundationLucy HutchersonDavid IacuzziJudith and Anthony IacuzziIllinois Arts CouncilRyan JacobsScott JamiesonJennifer Girard PhotographyJanie and Rick JerchDebby JewellFrances JohnsFern JosephsAqsa JunagadhwalaCarol and Arnold KanterBruce KarmazinDiane and Byron KarzasAnna KealyRonald and Barbara KelnerKemper Educational & Charitable FundSandy KesselHeidi KieslerHeeyoung KimSuzanne Neumann and Andrew KimmelKinnucan Tree ExpertsJohn KisselEllen KnableWilliam KnouseKoya Leadership PartnersSusan KrakoraAnne T. KraussJan and Jim La BelleDuane LahtiLake Forest Bank & TrustLake Forest Country Day SchoolJill LambertStephanie LammJohn LandsellClaudia LaneKitty and Rob LansingSteve LaurentLori Osborne and Mark LeBien

Judy LeedsJulie and Ken LenhartLori Lennon and Don LynchPat and John LeonardSue Lerch and David LeibowitzNancy Ranney Levi and David F. LeviMichael LevinValerie LewisLiberty Prairie FoundationCeline LillieMartin HuJane LorenzDeborah LovelyCarolyn and Clyde LowstuterLumpkin Family FoundationLUMW FoundationJoy and Jai LusterDebbie MackronLaura MaggosBarbara G. MahanyAnn MaineMake It Better MediaSuzanne Malec-McKennaMary K. MaraistErika and Jon MaschmeyerJudy and John McCarterCarrie and Bill McDermottEllen McKnight and Jeffrey SchumacherDon McLauchlanRande and Cary McMillanCarrie McNally and Rick MaechlingAnne McNerneyJean MeilingerLois MelvoinRenata MerinoCarol and Hugh MerrillMerrill LynchJonathan MetzingerEleanor and Bob MeyersYousef MianEmily Miao and Walter DzikiEdward L. MichaelBurt J. MillerCindy and Paul MillerHarvey L. MillerJeanette MirabellaMolly FlavinJeffrey MonoAndrea MooreSheila and Thomas Moore

Harold M. and Adeline S. Morrison Family FoundationBetty Strack and Greg MuellerThe Mulch CenterMonica MunarettoJean MurrayFran and Bill MyersMatthew NagelPam NajarianSusan and Patrick NashAnn and Walter NathanJossy and Ken NebenzahlMidge and John NelsonLinda and Lydon NeumannJohn NorrisNorth Shore GasHelyn NovakNancy NowakMargo and Michael ObermanHeather and Kevin OgorzalekSharon and Ken OgorzalekThomas OgorzalekAlan R. Orb Elsie L. OrbEugenie PabstMr. and Mrs. L. Robert PasquesiPasquesi Home & GardensWendy and Hank PaulsonSusan and Arthur Melville PearsonJane and John PetersonSally PetersonAnn PhillipsRita and Jim PlaneyLauren PlantrichKaren and William Preece, Jr.Camille and Ross PrindleRamiro PrudencioLiza and Al PyottBev and Hap PysterCraig and Eva QuackenbushJackie Ramdin JohnsonAlison P. Ranney and Erik G. BirkertsGinevra and Ben RanneyJean RanneyMelanie and Ed RanneyVicky and George RanneyEleanor Ranney-MendozaHector Rasgado-Flores, Ph.D.Red’s Garden CenterAnne Grall Reichel and Jack ReichelKaitlin and Chris ReimannMr. and Mrs. Tobin Richter

D O N O R S

Harold M. and Adeline S. Morrison Family FoundationBetty Strack and Greg MuellerThe Mulch CenterMonica MunarettoJean MurrayFran and Bill MyersMatthew NagelPam NajarianSusan and Patrick NashAnn and Walter NathanJossy and Ken NebenzahlMidge and John NelsonLinda and Lydon NeumannJohn NorrisNorth Shore GasHelyn NovakNancy NowakMargo and Michael ObermanHeather and Kevin OgorzalekSharon and Ken OgorzalekThomas OgorzalekAlan R. Orb Elsie L. OrbEugenie PabstMr. and Mrs. L. Robert PasquesiPasquesi Home & GardensWendy and Hank PaulsonSusan and Arthur Melville PearsonJane and John PetersonSally PetersonAnn PhillipsRita and Jim PlaneyLauren PlantrichKaren and William Preece, Jr.Camille and Ross PrindleRamiro PrudencioLiza and Al PyottBev and Hap PysterCraig and Eva QuackenbushJackie Ramdin JohnsonAlison P. Ranney and Erik G. BirkertsGinevra and Ben RanneyJean RanneyMelanie and Ed RanneyVicky and George RanneyEleanor Ranney-MendozaHector Rasgado-Flores, Ph.D.Red’s Garden CenterAnne Grall Reichel and Jack ReichelKaitlin and Chris ReimannMr. and Mrs. Tobin Richter

D O N O R S

Grace Rink Riverwoods Preservation CouncilRivkin & Rivkin, LLCHina RizviNancy and Mike RoachJackie RockwellAnne and Tom RodhouseJohn RognerBarbara RosboroughGregory RoseDiane RosenbergJudy and Bernie RosensteinChristine and Ted RothEllen and Michael RudmanLorra RudmanEllen Rudnick and Paul EarleAlissa RutledgeDiane and David RyanCathy RyersonPatrick A. Salvi Family FoundationDebbie and Mark SaranTom ScharreJoanne SchmitzJean B. SchreiberWilliam H. Schumann, IIIJulie ScottLeslie Shelton SevcikAmmara Qadir ShareefAzfar ShareefFrances ShawSusan and Patrick SheehanTimothy C. SherckMarianne E. SimmenAdele and John SimmonsReggie SinclairAlisa SingerChristine SkanLeslie and Peter SmithNancy and Adrian SmithJoan and Geoffrey L SmoronPaul SortalDavid StadelmanCorinn S. StaleyLois and Harrison SteansCheryl Steiger and David WeberNancy and Adlai StevensonLeigh StewartEllen StirlingJudith Stockdale and Jonathan BoyerTom StrachanStuart Family Foundation

Jane and Les SturgeonGail and Bill SturmDr. and Mrs. Jeff SundbergSunset FoodsAlida SzaboTeri and Conrad SzewczykMike TannerAimee and Tony TatangeloGail and Jerome TaxyTerlato WinesThe Fresh MarketThe Guilded AisleMichael TobinWes ToddSusan Smith and M. Jay TreesMartha TwaddleSophie and Jon TwichellMichelle Uting and Miguel VallejoErin VanceNancy and John Vanden BergeJohn VanDuynhovenAnn Vertovec and David AudleyMirela Vesa and James FuhrVillage of RiverwoodsGail and John VitolsMaria VoglerJanice VondrasekJoe WadePeggy WalkerKathy WalshWendy WardMr. and Mrs. David B. WaudJoEllen WeissMary Janet WellensiekAmy and Andy WellsConnie and John WesleySandra and David WhitmoreWild Birds Unlimited, GlenviewAnn and Mark WildmanCaitlin WilkesMarylin M. WilleBeth WilliamsThe Women’s Group of St. Patrick ChurchBarbara and Alain D. Wood-PrinceJudy WoznyjFraser WyattDebra YatesBob ZamorDeborah and Michael Zimmerman Jan and John Zobus

REVENUE:

Public Support –

Individuals

Contributions - In Kind

Organizations

Foundations

Government

Corporations

Total Public Support

Other Income and Expense –

Public Revenue

Total Revenues

EXPENSE:

Program Services

Management & General

Fundraising

Total Expenses

NET ASSETS:

Unrestricted

Temporarily Restricted

Total Net Assets

2018

$ 216,727

23,812

300

132,610

10,900

54,850

11,932

164,876

616,007

489,637

19,698

117,737

627,072

315,650

6,000

321,650

2017

$ 131,546

-

-

80,390

-

35,450

247,386

14,088

43,646

305,120

237,046

6,856

53,166

297,068

S T A T E M E N T O F A C T I V I T I E S

L E A D E R S H I P

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A. Gail Sturm, Chair

Mike Levin, Treasurer

John Leonard, Secretary

Emilian Geczi

Renata Merino

Eleanor Ranney-Mendoza

Bradley Mueller

Hector Rasgado-Flores

Anne Grall Reichel

Lorra Rudman

Martha Twaddle

Catherine Game,

Executive Director

HONORARY BOARD

Barbara Whitney Carr

Thomas E. Donnelley, II

James G. Godshalk, Jr.

John M. Haight, III

Maxine Hunter

Jossy Nebenzahl

Albert E. Pyott

Susan Spears

George A. Ranney, Jr.

ADVISORY BOARD

Gerald W. Adelmann

Henry W. Barkhausen

Patsy Benveniste

Barbi Donnelley

Joseph Kayne

Heeyoung Kim

William Kurtis

Barbara G. Mahany

Gregory M. Mueller

Arthur M. Pearson

Laurel Ross