Paul Botts, Director, Chicago Program

Paul joined the foundation in 2005 with a background in professional theater and environmental conservation. In 2001, after eight years as a staff member of The Nature Conservancy's Illinois Chapter, he became Managing Director of The Noble Fool Theater Company in Chicago. In 2004 he became Executive Director of Chicagoland Theater Company Inc. in the western suburbs, which operates as Noble Fool Theatricals. A Chicago native, he was previously a staff member of The Center for the Great Lakes, a regional think tank, and also spent two years as a daily-newspaper reporter in New England. He holds a Certificate of Business Administration in Non-Profit Management from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a bachelors' degree from Yale University.