Susan Rieff and Amy Wanamaker Appointed To Conservancy Board
June 23, 2015 | By Shoal Creek Conservancy
We are very pleased to announce today the appointment of Susan Rieff and Amy Wanamaker to the Shoal Creek Conservancy Board of Directors. Susan and Amy possess a wealth of knowledge and varied experience which will help make their leadership in the Conservancy family truly invaluable.
Susan K. Rieff was recently named a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Texas’ Center for Sustainable Development in the School of Architecture. Her current interests include incentives and barriers to adoption of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) system for creating resilient, sustainable landscapes.
From 2004 to 2015, Susan served as Executive Director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Under her direction, the Center became part of the University of Texas at Austin in 2006. She established environmental sustainability as the core value driving the Center’s programs and collaborated with other organizations and experts to create the SITES system. Before joining the Wildflower Center, she served as Policy Director for Land Stewardship for the National Wildlife Federation.
In 1995, Susan was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of the Interior where she directed major policy initiatives and inter-agency projects. From 1991 to 1995, Rieff served as Director of Environmental Policy in the Texas Governor’s office. There she developed policy and legislative proposals and oversaw the reorganization of major state environmental agencies
Susan’s other government experience includes appointment as Assistant Commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture and as the first Director of Resource Protection for the Texas Parks and Wildlife. Prior to those appointments, she serviced as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate (1981-85).
A graduate of Texas Christian University with a B.S. degree in environmental sciences, Susan also holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs, where she has taught environmental policy.
Amy Wanamaker is the Director of The University of Texas at Austin’s Campus Real Estate Office. She manages the acquisition, disposition, redevelopment, management, and leasing of a diverse portfolio of real estate assets throughout the globe for the university.
Her projects at UT include the development of 2400 Nueces – a ground lease to Education Realty Trust – who built a 16-story, 622-bed, student housing project; the redevelopment of the 109-acre West Pickle Research campus; and work within the 39-acre Dell Medical School District including the recent long-term ground lease with Central Health and sublease to Seton for the UT Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas at Austin.
After graduating from The University of Texas, Amy began her career in petroleum land management. This role quickly developed into a career of more than 20 years in commercial real estate industry where she has served in both the private and non-profit sectors.
Prior to joining The University of Texas at Austin, Amy negotiated the acquisition and closing of over $640 million in investment properties for a pension fund advisor and successfully navigated the complex environmental issues while purchasing over 5,000 acres for a national, non-profit land conservation company dedicated to securing parks and natural places for people to enjoy.
In addition to acquisitions and development, Amy has broad experience in commercial real estate brokerage, strategic planning, liquidating foreclosed commercial properties, and large scale auctions.
In her current role as Campus Director of Real Estate she is responsible for more than 70 leases and manages the real estate assets for the university of over 3,100 acres of property.
