The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation began making grants in 1987-88. Over the past 15 years, we have emphasized partnerships, collaborations, and seed funding for new projects and organizations within the framework of our programs as defined by our guidelines.

Wolcott Henry

WOLCOTT HENRY of Washington, DC, is president and director of The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation and The Henry Foundation, both of which support marine conservation projects with an emphasis on fisheries and coral reefs. From 1989 to 1993, he published Conservation Digest, a newsletter for environmental grantmakers. Prior to joining the Munson Foundation, he worked for two management consulting firms in Chicago.

He serves as a director of The Ocean Foundation, World Wildlife Fund-US, and WWF-Philippines. He serves on the advisory boards of the Smithsonian Ocean Science Initiative and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation. He received a B.A. from Denison University and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University.

Mr. Henry is also an accomplished underwater photographer, collaborating with Dr. Sylvia Earle on two children's books published by the National Geographic Society, titled Hello Fish and Sea Critters. In 1999, he co-authored a large format book with Dr. Earle on our national marine sanctuary system called Wild Ocean, also published by the National Geographic Society.

Because of his interest in both conservation and photography, Mr. Henry has worked hard to promote the concept of "conservation photography," using high quality images to illustrate environmental problems as well as natural wonders. He helped found www.marinephotobank.org to provide such marine images to the nonprofit community for use in public outreach and education projects.

Angel Braestrup

Prior to becoming executive director of the Foundation in late 1994, Angel Braestrup served as editor of the Foundation’s bimonthly newsletter, Conservation Digest. She compiled and edited the Environmental Sourcebook for Journalists (Center for Foreign Journalists, 1994), co-authored a manual for corporations on hazardous waste minimization (Grace Creek Press 1994), and was a contributing editor to A Field Guide to Environmental Literacy: Making Strategic Investments in Environmental Education (Environmental Education Coalition, 2003).

A 1980 graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in history, Angel worked for the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981-1989, specializing in transportation, energy, agriculture, water resources, and other environment issues. She is the Program Director for the Henry Foundation. She serves as vice-chair of the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, and as a director of the Center for Agricultural Partnerships, and The Ocean Foundation, a community foundation wholly devoted to the ocean conservation. She is a past director of the Association of Small Foundations. She also serves as co-chair of the Marine (Funders) Working Group of the Consultative Group on Biodiversity.