Dan Tishman’s path to becoming a major force in the green-building movement and the chairman of one of the nation’s leading environmental organizations was forged in great part by his experiences as an undergraduate at Evergreen. Tishman, who earned his degree in wildlife ecology in 1977, is the chairman and CEO of Tishman Construction, a leading construction company founded by his great-grandfather, Julius, in 1898.

Tishman transformed his love for nature and his commitment to protect it into a compelling business practice. Under his leadership, the company has managed the building of numerous pacesetting skyscrapers throughout Manhattan, including 4 Times Square (also known as the Condé Nast Building), the city’s first green skyscraper; 7 World Trade Center, the first office tower in New York to receive gold certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system; midtown Manhattan’s Bank of America Tower, the first office tower to earn platinum LEED certification; and One World Trade Center, which is expected to receive a Gold LEED ratin —making it one of the most environmentally sustainable structures of its size in the world.

Since 2007, Tishman has served as the board chair of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental organization with 1.4 million members. He's the first non-lawyer to lead the board in its 44-year history. Last summer, the Dan and Sheryl Tishman Family Foundation—established by Tishman and his wife to support charitable activities, particularly those that promote  community-based education and protect the environment—pledged $500,000 to create a new scholarship fund for low-income students at Evergreen who pursue studies in sustainability, nature conservation, or business.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation matched that pledge and the resulting scholarship fund will now support as many as 25 students a year. In announcing the gift, Tishman said, "I am especially proud to make this investment to support students at my alma mater, Evergreen, a college that allowed me to explore my passion for sustainability and nature conservation, which ultimately developed into a lifelong commitment." According to President Les Purce, the two gifts reinforce Evergreen’s commitment to college access. “The investment by the Tishman Family Foundation, along with the matching Gates Foundation grant, will support students from the widest range of backgrounds in completing their degrees today, tomorrow, and long into the future.”