With a passion for both the environment and non-profit work, Berks Conservancy president Kimberly J. Murphy has worked to make Berks County a cleaner, healthier place since she took on her role in 2004. Even though helming a 1,000-member organization that supports farming and commerce while seeking to preserve natural resources is serious business, Murphy said her work is amazing, rewarding and fun. When not protecting land and water, the State College native can often be found enjoying both along the Tulpehocken Creek with her husband, Kevin, and their 17-year-old twin sons, Carver and McQuillin.
Q | What career path led you to being president of the conservancy?
I have a degree in elementary education and taught kindergarten for a while before going into fundraising. I worked at Penn State Berks for a number of years and knew I wanted to work in non-profit management. I enjoy the challenges [of the job]; it’s exciting to design the future of an organization. I’ve always been interested in the outdoors, healthy living and recreation but I have learned a tremendous amount. I get to work with terrific people.
Q | Environmentally speaking, what’s the good news for Berks?
There’s a lot, which is the really good news. There’s great farmland preservation, which is mainly done on the municipal level, but in addition our work concentrates more on open space and forested land because it has such a great impact on the overall water supply. We just spent seven years in the Oley Hills working to protect 3,000 acres because it’s home to five waterways that have been designated as exceptional value streams by the state Department of Environmental Protection. That’s the highest possible classification and is something to be proud of. It is one example of the fantastic water quality we have here.
Q | Since you get to see much of our area’s natural beauty and its recreational areas in your job, do you have a favorite spot?
I’ve become a big fan of Angelica Park. Through a program set up with the City of Reading and Alvernia University, an environmental education center was opened there in March 2012, and I’ve spent a lot of time there over the last year as part of the project. It has some wonderful trails and lots of birds and is just beautiful. Of course I live along the Tulpehocken Creek in Jefferson Township and I love it there, too. We love our view, the creek and special places along it that are on our property.
Q | Since your work focuses so much on the outdoors, do you like to spend a day off indoors?
When I want to unwind I love to do something creative with my hands. For example, I enjoy sewing. My kids are in their school’s show choir and I make all the costumes for performances. Actually, I’d love a second career designing and creating costumes like that, but that seems unlikely at this point [laughs].
Q | I bet there are people who wouldn’t guess you’re a part-time fashion designer–I’ll bet sewing doesn’t come up much at work, right?
No, but another of my favorite creative pursuits is making and decorating cakes, and lots of people know about that. I’ve been asked to design and make cakes for a number of special occasions like weddings, birthday parties and other events. I enjoy the process and the work itself, and it is gratifying to see how people enjoy the finished cakes, both how they look and eating them.
Q | So when you’re not working or creating indoors, is there a way you and your family like to spend time together outside, maybe at one of Berks’ recreational areas–enjoying the fruits of your labors, so to speak?
We like kayaking and a day on the water at Blue Marsh or, again, coming down the Tulpehocken is always a great time for us.
BY MICHELLE E. BIGGERSTAFF PHOTOS BY JOHN A. SECOGES, SECOGES PHOTOGRAPHICS
