President's Profile

William C. Baker

President Will Baker Photo by Peter Mueller for Washington Life

After graduating from Trinity College in 1976, William C. Baker came to work for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) as an intern at the request of one of CBF's trustees. Mr. Baker continues to dedicate his career to saving the Bay as President and Chief Executive Officer of CBF since 1982, leading the largest nonprofit conservation organization dedicated solely to preserving, protecting, and restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

Mr. Baker is also Vice Chairman of Johns Hopkins Medicine (Hospital and Medical School), a Board Member of the Baltimore Community Foundation, a Director of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, and an Honorary Board Member of the Garden Club of America. He serves as a Director of the Brown Advisory & Trust Company, and The Greater Washington Board of Trade Green Committee. He is on the UMBC Board of Visitors, and served as a founding member of the Living Classrooms Foundation, the Metropolitan Washington Smart Growth Alliance, and the Institute for the Venice Lagoon. A past trustee of Washington College, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Public Service there in 1991. He has also been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Baltimore, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Mary's College, was a recipient of Washingtonian Magazine's "Washingtonian of the Year" award, and received the Speaker's Medallion from the Maryland House of Delegates for outstanding contributions to the citizens of the state. Under his leadership, CBF received the nation's highest environmental honor—the 1992 Presidential Medal for Environmental Excellence—in recognition of its environmental education program.