Join us in Welcoming the CRA’s new leader, Suzie Knoll!
Born and raised on the picturesque shores of West Michigan, Suzie’s love for the natural world was nurtured amidst the woods and waters of the Great Lakes State. Her initial passion blossomed during a class field trip when she spotted a striking red-headed woodpecker. Further discoveries and curiosity fueled an unrivaled desire to explore and understand the natural world. Over time, through her work as a biologist, restoration specialist, and director of a conservation organization, she dedicated her life’s work to protecting it.
Suzie graduated from Hope College with a double major in Biology and Psychology and a minor in Spanish. She began her career as a primate keeper at Brookfield Zoo; after two years of working with Central and South American Monkeys, she found her way back to Michigan, bringing her talents to the Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC). Suzie started as an Assistant Coordinator of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program, then as a field biologist. Her fieldwork primarily included bird surveys for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas, nest searching, and seasonal bird banding.
After five years at KNC, Knoll worked at Native Connections, an ecological restoration firm in Southwest Michigan. Here, she created and restored wildlife habitat, producing an impact at the landscape level. Her team worked with various public and private clients to develop and manage woodland, wetland, and grassland habitats and was instrumental in growing and improving existing business practices.
After a decade in the field, Suzie took a break to raise her children, spending a year in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before settling in Ludington, Michigan. Once her youngest child started preschool, Suzie became Executive Director of the Oceana Conservation District, where she has been cultivating her management and leadership skills for the last ten years. As director, she transformed the district by significantly expanding programs and services, diversifying revenues, and improving the work culture.
Two accomplishments she’s most proud of include the development of Otto Nature Preserve, an 80-acre northern mesic forest gifted to the Oceana Conservation District in 2019, and the launching of an all-outdoor forest school program for “knee-high naturalists.”
As much as she enjoyed the successes in her previous position, Knoll is excited to lead Conservation Resources Alliance, joining an organization of passionate colleagues creating lasting impact on a regional scale. Suzie is deeply driven by the rewarding work of preserving and restoring riparian habitats and the urgency surrounding habitat loss and climate change. She is honored to be a part of CRA’s work and legacy.
In her spare time, Suzie enjoys hiking and birdwatching, quality family time, and traveling to Central and South America. Her husband, Wade, teaches middle school English and Spanish. He also enjoys birdwatching, fishing, snowboarding, and reading. Their son Aris, 16, loves baseball and hopes to pitch for TC West’s Varsity team. Daughter Niah, 13, is a social butterfly. She also happens to love witnessing the lifecycle of actual butterflies in her monarch terrarium.
View CRA’s Official Press Release Below:
