Fran Buchholzer, Emeritus

Fran Buchholzer is a conservation activist, a former director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), and a former Summit Metro Parks commissioner. In 2003, she was inducted into the ODNR Hall of Fame. Fran, the first female director of ODNR, was a driving force in creating and winning passage of the NatureWorks bond-issue program, which has invested more than $200 million in Ohio’s parks and natural resources facilities. More recently, Fran is championing biomimicry, a field that studies nature for solutions to human challenges. She is a board member of the nonprofit Great Lakes Biomimicry.

Fran is active in local, state, and federal issues dealing with conservation and public policy. Currently, she is a board member of Cleveland Museum of Natural History and a Commissioner of the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

Additionally, she has served as a member of the University of Akron Foundation, a board member of the National First Ladies Library, and a board member of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute in Washington D.C.