Washington, D.C. – William R. Berkley, Chairman, CEO and Founder of the Fortune 500 property-casualty insurance holding company W. R. Berkley Corporation, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).  The board is the governing body for the nonprofit, which is the nation’s leading voice for national parks.

“William Berkley’s extensive body of work speaks for itself,” said NPCA President Tom Kiernan. “While his business achievements are apparent, his civic and philanthropic activities deserve equal praise. We are honored to have him on NPCA’s board.”

Since founding W.R. Berkley Corporation in 1967, Berkley has continuously served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer. In addition, he has founded a number of public and private companies throughout his career, some of which he continues to lead. He serves as chairman, lead director or director of many of these enterprises, including The First Marblehead Corporation, the leading private student loan company in the United States. He is chairman of the American Insurance Association, as well as Achievement First – a group of charter schools operating in the New York Metropolitan area that serves over 4,000 inner-city children in Connecticut and New York.

Berkley is a graduate of New York University and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.  He is chairman of the board of overseers of the Stern School of Business at New York University, and vice chairman of the university’s board of trustees. He is also a director of Georgetown University, where he helped organize and form the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.

Mr. Berkley has received numerous awards for his business, civic, and philanthropic activities, including an honorary doctor of law degree from Mercy College.  In 1999, he was awarded the Medallion for Entrepreneurship by Beta Gamma Sigma, which honors outstanding individuals who combine innovative business achievements with service to humanity.  In 2006, he received the Charles Waldo Haskins award, given annually by NYU’s Stern School of Business to a nationally prominent business and public service leader.

Berkley joins NPCA’s board with a keen interest in American history, and a desire to help preserve that history in our national parks.

Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice of the American people in the fight to safeguard our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners work together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for our children and grandchildren.

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