Judy Rupnow

Judy Rupnow’s love of open and natural spaces started from growing up on a farm in a small town in southeastern Wisconsin. Judy channeled that appreciation into her career, leisure, and volunteer activities. She is a natural dot connector and relationship strategist, as well as travel enthusiast and lover of all things outdoors. 
 
Judy came to Restoring Lands in 2007 as a conservation easement monitor taking on the organization’s first agricultural easement. She continues to monitor it, along with three additional easements, and enjoys helping manage relationships with the landowners. Prior to joining the board in 2021, she served on the organization’s Communications and Development Committee. Currently, she serves on the executive committee and chairs the Land Conservation Committee. 
 
Now retired, Judy’s career started in the non-profit sector in fundraising and special events. She then spent more than two decades with MorganMyers, a marketing communications firm, creating relationship programs in the agriculture and food industries. During her tenure she worked on programs such as building trust between farmers and consumers, creating an agricultural leadership program, strengthening relationships among members of the food value chain, developing agricultural sustainability programs, as well as working with environmental organizations to bridge gaps with the agricultural industry. Her skill set includes strategic planning, change management, market research, brand development, media training, crisis communications and business to business marketing. During her tenure she led teams serving McDonalds, American Farm Bureau Federation, The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin, Red Star Yeast, and Nationwide Agribusiness, among others. 
 
Besides volunteering with Restoring Lands, Judy and husband Craig spend time hiking, biking, camping and, their favorite, traveling domestically and internationally. “I believe the best way to make connections is through travel. Whether connecting with other cultures internationally or connecting with a unique environment in one of our National Parks, travel brings us all a better understanding of one another and this earth we call home.”