The Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) is pleased to announce Rebecca Minnick as recipient of the 2022 ANCA Outstanding New Leader Award. This award acknowledges Minnick’s achievements within the nature and environmental learning center field in organizational leadership, professionalism, professional development, and creativity.
Minnick joined Louisville Nature Center (LNC) in February 2018 as Executive Director, and since then has led significant advances at the organization. Due to her effective leadership, LNC now has sustainable financial operations, a thriving membership program, and a new nature-based preschool. The community behind LNC has also flourished, so that the nature center now has a broader audience engaging in educational programs and events. While no one person is single-handedly responsible for all these changes, Minnick has clearly been a major influence on LNC’s growth and impact.
Minnick holds an extensive background in informal and formal education, and this is apparent in her understanding of all roles and responsibilities at LNC. This has undoubtedly helped her to create a healthy work environment within the nature center, as well as to apply a level of professionalism to all aspects of operations.
Beyond her work at LNC, Minnick remains involved in multiple professional and community organizations. She has been an ANCA member since the beginning of her LNC tenure, and has presented at the ANCA Summit about LNC’s membership program, in addition to writing an article on that topic for ANCA’s publications. Minnick is part of Louisville’s Green Space Collaborative, helped to form the Nature Rich Louisville Alliance, and created a networking and support group for women executive directors in Louisville. She also acts as a mentor to the Executive Directors of both Americana Community Center and the Louisville Folk School.
ANCA will recognize Minnick with this award as part of the Leader Award Ceremony on August 3rd at the 2022 ANCA Summit.
“I am so impressed with the work Rebecca has done at Louisville Nature Center in her short tenure. She has transitioned her center into a thriving community organization and model for other organizations in her region. Rebecca is an impressive leader and I am thrilled to see her receive this award!”
— Jen Levy, ANCA Executive Director
ABOUT THE AWARD
The ANCA Outstanding New Leader Award recognizes an individual with the potential for future impact within the field of nature center administrators. Award recipients demonstrate leadership, professionalism, professional development, and creativity within the field of nature and environmental learning center, while holding less than five years of full-time work experience as the director, executive director, or leader at the highest administrative level at an organization. This award began in 2014.
ABOUT ANCA
The Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) promotes and supports best leadership and management practices for the nature and environmental learning center profession. It is the only such organization in North America and supports over 700 dues-paying members that include nature center directors, managers, senior administrators, and board members.