The Joyce Foundation mourns the passing of former Wisconsin Governor Tony Earl, a committed environmental steward and proponent of democratic principles in Wisconsin and throughout the Great Lakes region. Earl was an active member of the Foundation’s board of directors from 1997 to 2015 and an emeritus director since then.
“Tony was a formidable figure, a strong proponent of protecting the Great Lakes as well as creating a stronger democracy, particularly in his beloved Wisconsin,” said Joyce Foundation President & CEO Ellen S. Alberding. “Democracy and Environment are core Foundation programs, and we are forever enriched for his contributions. He will be deeply missed. We extend our deepest condolences to his family.”
Anthony Scully Earl, 86, was a Navy veteran and graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. He served on several environmental boards and commissions supported through the Foundation’s Environment Program, including the Center for Clean Air Policy and the Great Lakes Protection Fund. He also co-chaired the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act Advisory Subcommittee on Energy, Clean Air and Climate Change. Before becoming Wisconsin’s 41st governor, he was Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, where his accomplishments included tackling the state’s surface water pollution. In 2019, Gov. Earl was honored with the renaming of Wisconsin’s Peshtigo River State Forest as the “Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest.”
About The Joyce Foundation
Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.