Meet The Board
Ken Leinbach
If leading a peaceful and purposeful life is the goal, Ken Leinbach playfully has it figured out. Community builder, author, speaker, and nationally recognized science educator, Ken is best known for his work to grow the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Center’s formula of using environmental education as a tool for inspiring urban revitalization, has not only transformed parts of Milwaukee, but the concept has captured the attention of urban planners and educators across the globe.
In 2017 Leinbach authored Urban Ecology: A Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities, and the World. He is a member of the governor-appointed Wisconsin Coastal Management Council and founding member of the International Academy for Systems Change. Along with two honorary degrees, Leinbach’s honors include the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Natural Science, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute’s Nature Educator of the Year, and the St. Mark A.M.E. Church’s Martin Luther King Award.
Having recently turned leadership of the Urban Ecology Center over to a younger colleague, Ken is now launching, In the Spirit of Kindness, an incubator of projects put forth in the spirit of kindness that connect people to their inner purpose, each other, and the natural world.
Striving to live with as little environmental impact as possible, Ken chooses not to own a car and models the sharing of resources at the Hawk’s Nest, a diverse intentional community he co-founded and calls home in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee.
With contagious energy, Ken speaks on several topics ranging from the climate crisis and urban education to nonprofit management and leadership. His favorite topic is about the power that comes from living from an attitude of abundance vs living from a position of scarcity and is titled It’s Kind of Fun to do the Impossible, taken from a Walt Disney quote.
Urban Ecology Center
https://www.urbanecologycenter.org/
Hawk’s Nest Community
https://hawksnestcommunity.com/
UWM Tedx
https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_leinbach_the_game_of_life_feb_2020