NOLS Announces New Members of the Board of Trustees

NOLS is thrilled to welcome three remarkable leaders to its Board of Trustees: Meriwether Hardie, Betsy Jaffee and Dr. Anne Zink. Each individual brings a deep connection to NOLS and a distinctive perspective shaped by decades of leadership in land stewardship, philanthropy, health care, public service and community resilience. Together, they strengthen the board’s ability to help NOLS navigate a changing world while advancing its mission to inspire leadership, foster environmental stewardship and build a more sustainable future.

“We are incredibly fortunate to welcome Meriwether, Betsy and Anne to the NOLS Board,” said Sandy Colhoun, president of NOLS. “Each has experienced the power of NOLS firsthand, and each brings a remarkable depth of expertise and leadership to the school. Their perspectives–from the future of the American West and rural communities, to philanthropy and nonprofit leadership, to rural health and public service–will be invaluable in the years ahead. We’re excited for the energy, wisdom and commitment they bring to this next chapter of the school.”

John Babcock, chair of the NOLS Board of Trustees, emphasized the important skill sets and contributions each new board member brings to the organization.

“The strength of NOLS has always been its people, and that includes the leaders who help guide the school,” said Babcock. “Meriwether, Betsy and Anne bring extraordinary experience, deep connections to NOLS and perspectives that will help us think ambitiously about the future. I’m excited to welcome them to the board and to work together in service of NOLS and its mission.”

The three new NOLS Board of Trustees are:

Meriwether Hardie

Meriwether Hardie is a writer, land steward and business leader whose work explores the intertwined futures of people, place and food. Trained as both an environmental scientist and journalist, she has spent more than two decades at the nexus of climate, agriculture and rural community resilience. A longtime instructor and guide for NOLS, Meriwether believes deeply in the power of facilitating wilderness experiences for people. She is currently at work on a book about the future of the American West, grounded in questions of land use, water, belonging and rural change, which is informed by a five-plus-month horseback expedition she completed across the West in 2025.

Betsy Jaffe

Betsy Jaffe is the Executive Director of Development at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, where she partners with philanthropic leaders to advance academic medicine. Jaffe previously served on the NOLS Advisory Council. Over nearly three decades in the nonprofit sector, she has built partnerships to strengthen public education, civic engagement, the arts and healthcare. Betsy credits NOLS with deepening her leadership, resilience and collaborative problem-solving. These lessons continue to influence both her professional and personal life. She is also the proud parent of two sons, with whom she enjoys sharing a love of the outdoors and adventure.  

Dr. Anne Zink

Dr. Anne Zink is a practicing emergency physician living in Palmer, Alaska and former Chief Medical Officer for the State of Alaska. In that role, which she held for five years, she led the state through the pandemic. She continues to work on health systems change as a consultant and Senior Fellow at Yale School of Public Health, focused on rural health, whole-person health and health data — including co-creating PopHIVE, a disruptive health data platform. At the age of 15, Zink participated in her first NOLS course, and the organization has been central to her life ever since. She met her fellow-instructor husband along the way, and their two grown children remain deeply connected to NOLS today.