The Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve had the pleasure of hearing award-winning author, historian, and environmentalist David Mollenhoff.  Mollenhoff asserted that from the time humans first saw the place we now call Madison they considered it special, and that this exceptionalism, coupled with compelling visions, is responsible for a long list of city and University of Wisconsin achievements.
  
Using this framework Mollenhoff analyzed the Lakeshore Nature Preserve.  Turning his attention to the Preserve’s future, he proposed two exciting opportunities for visionary leadership: participating in the development and implementation of a practical vision for Lake Mendota and creating a memorable new entrance to the Preserve. 

David Mollenhoff’s forty year career has included educational administration, management consulting, television, state government, real estate, downtown development, and affordable housing.  Mollenhoff is author of Madison - A History of the Formative Years (UW Press, 2003) and is coauthor, with Mary Jane Hamilton, of Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace: The Enduring Power of a Civic Vision.  He presented of an influential address A Vision for the Madison Lakes at the First Annual Yahara Lakes Conference in May, 2007, summarized in Our City, Our Lakes (available at www.thedailypage.com), Mollenhoff’s, he laid out a path for refurbishing the lakes.