Pacing her office was not helping. Deborah looked up as she turned – the play of light on the picturesque green hillsides in the distance to the left and on the white-tipped waves on the right was exquisite. But it did little to bring inspiration. A movement beyond the window caught her eye – perhaps a fox. The beauty of the Pacific Northwest was in full display outside her generous office. But Deborah Otterwilder’s attention was elsewhere. The full board meeting of Oleg Oleg Foundation was taking place in a week. Jan Oleg himself, Chairman of the board and co-founder of the Foundation, was going to be there along with all the 12 board members.
Although her presentation to the board was taking shape, it was still missing the clarity for which she was known. That very clarity had led to her appointment three months ago as the first woman President of a major private donor institution. She had met the board members only once earlier – at her interview. She was more nervous about this presentation, she thought. Deborah was in the striking position of having to chart a new strategic direction for Oleg Oleg as it tried to figure out how best to work towards its goal of protecting the world’s biodiversity and forests in a rapidly changing global conservation landscape.