Lennie first became involved with Green Foothills in 1968 as a Board member before becoming the organization’s first full-time San Mateo County Legislative Advocate in 1978. She was inspired to join the Board of the organization because of founder Lois Hogle’s infectious enthusiasm and vision for protecting open space in a talk she gave to a local garden club. Lennie’s Bay Area family roots go back to the 1850’s; her passion is to preserve open space, farmlands, forests, and natural resources for all, now and in the future.
For 50 years, Lennie has championed the protection of the San Mateo coast and other key landscapes, leading a number of critically successful and historic open space campaigns and ballot initiatives. She was also instrumental in helping to found the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in 1972, and its expansion into San Mateo County in 1976 and the coast in 2009. Lennie’s legendary environmental accomplishments on behalf of Green Foothills have earned her numerous awards including Bay Nature Magazine’s 2019 Citizen Hero award, San Mateo County Historical Association Museum’s 2019 History Maker award, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter’s 2016 Environmental Hero, and Cox Enterprise’s Cox Conserves Heroes award in 2009.