Alumni
Some young alumni accomplish extraordinary feats in short periods of
time. Dan Katz is one of these Ohio State graduates reaching new heights in
the field of conservation.
A graduate of the Chinese program, Mr. Katz has used what he learned at Ohio State and applied it to his life and career. As his nominator put it, "When I am asked by students what they might be able to do with a degree in Chinese, I think of Dan and tell them to go out, work hard and save the world."
And saving the world is exactly what he is doing. In 1986, at the age of 24, Mr. Katz co-founded the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit environmental conservation organization with an annual budget of nearly $3 million, of which he is now its Executive Director. The Rainforest Alliance has become a pioneer in creating a non-traditional brand of conservation based on collaboration rather than confrontation or litigation. His efforts, one supporter writes, "will have a lingering impact on the quality of life all over the planet."
In his role as Executive Director, Mr. Katz oversees all the Alliance's management, financial development, board relations, new program development and long-term strategic planning. Among the most successful programs the initiated are Smart Wood, the first forest products certification program, and ECO-O.K., the first conservation certification program for agricultural products.
Today, Mr. Katz continues his volunteer efforts through involvement in the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Parks Endowment (board member), Earth Love Fund and National Foreign Language Center (advisory board member), among others.
He has a number of published works and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Kellogg National Fellowship Program for Leadership, the Ohio State University Department of Humanities Alumni Award of Distinction, and the State of Ohio/Province of Hubei Fellowship for Linguistic Studies in China.
With this dedication and energy, Mr. Katz's contribution to the planet deserve to be recognized.
B.A. Humanities '84
