About The Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation
The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation began making grants in 1987-88. Over the past three decades, we have emphasized partnerships, collaborations, and seed funding for new projects and organizations within the framework of our programs as defined by our guidelines and priority setting by our Board.
Wolcott Henry
Underwater photographer Wolcott Henry is president and chair of The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation and The Henry Foundation, both of which have conservation programs, including grantmaking to support marine conservation projects with an emphasis on fisheries and coral reefs. From 1989 to 1993, he published Conservation Digest, a newsletter for environmental grantmakers. He is the co-founder of the marine funders working group, now housed at the Biodiversity Funders Group as the Marine Conservation Program.
In the nonprofit field, Mr. Henry served most recently as the co-chair of the advisory committee of Ocean Unite and on the board of its successor, the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. He served as a director on the boards of Earth Echo International (also as chair), World Wildlife Fund-Philippines, and The Ocean Foundation (of which he was the founding chair). His other board service includes the International League of Conservation Photographers, World Wildlife Fund—US, FotoWeek DC, the Divers Alert Network (DAN), and the Ocean Conservancy. He has served on advisory boards for the Frost Museum of Science, the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), and the Smithsonian Ocean Science Initiative.
His photography has been published in a variety of mass media and academic journals,
and deployed in exhibits such as the Ocean Hall of the Smithsonian's natural history
museum. He collaborated with Dr. Sylvia Earle on two children's books published by
the National Geographic Society (NGS), titled Hello Fish and Sea Critters. In 1999, he
and Dr. Earle co-authored a book on our national marine
sanctuary system called Wild Ocean, also published by (NGS). In 2011, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Because of his interest in both conservation and photography, Mr. Henry has worked hard to promote the concept of "conservation photography," using high quality images to illustrate environmental problems as well as natural wonders. In 2020, he received the Academy of Underwater Arts & Sciences NOGI award for his work in conservation.
Prior to joining the Munson Foundation in 1986, he was a management consultant in Chicago. He received his B.A. from Denison University and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University.
Angel Braestrup
Since 1994, Ms. Braestrup has been executive director of the Munson Foundation. She
served concurrently as the program director for The Henry Foundation until December,
2020. As chair of its Board of Advisors, she serves ex officio on the Board of The Ocean
Foundation ex officio. In the past, she served as chair of the boards of the Norcross
Wildlife Foundation and the Center for Agricultural Partnerships. Her other board
service includes the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity (now Biodiversity
Funders Group or BFG) and the Association of Small Foundations (now Exponent
Philanthropy). From 2004-2008, she was the first co-chair of the Marine Funders
Working Group, (now the BFG’s Marine Conservation Program). She was a member of
the steering committee of the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network from its founding until
2016. She currently serves as a member of the BFG Audit Committee and a
commissioner on the Arrowsic Fish Commission.
Prior to becoming executive director, Angel served as founding editor of the
Foundation's bimonthly newsletter, Conservation Digest. She compiled and edited
the Environmental Sourcebook for Journalists (Center for Foreign Journalists, 1994),
co-authored a manual for corporations on hazardous waste minimization (Grace Creek
Press 1994), and was a contributing editor to A Field Guide to Environmental Literacy: Making Strategic Investments in Environmental Education (Environmental Education
Coalition, 2003). She has edited or co-authored dozens of articles and book chapters on
plastics policy, the blue economy, maritime history, and other topics.
A graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in history, Angel worked for the U.S. House of
Representatives from 1981-1989, specializing in transportation, energy, agriculture,
water resources, and other environment issues.