Bill Brownell

Bill’s association with our nation’s parks began at an early age.  Born in Ashland, Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior, Bill spent his early summers exploring the Northwoods from a family cabin surrounded by the Chequamegon National Forest.  Over the years, his outdoors adventures expanded to include wilderness canoe trips in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota and Canada.  Camping with his family and with the Boy Scouts of America, where he advanced to the rank of Eagle Scout, reinforced his appreciation of our parks and wilderness areas.  Bill continues to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family, including in national and state parks around the country. 

As a long-time supporter and former Trustee of the National Park Trust, I am grateful to the work the Park Trust is doing to protect and preserve the natural places that are so important to me and my family.  Not only is the National Park Trust protecting lands critical to the long term integrity of our parks, but it is introducing them to a new generation of young people who will support future conservation efforts.

Bill is a graduate of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center.  He has practiced environmental law in Washington, D.C. for over 40 years at the Hunton law firm, where he led the environmental law team and Administrative Law Group and then chaired  its Executive Committee.  He is a member of the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal appellate and district courts where he has argued many cases.  He is a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and other professional associations, and has received numerous recognitions from a variety of organizations including Martindale-Hubbell, Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA.