MEDORA, N.D. – The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation elected three new trustees to their Board: Victoria Chambers, the founding marketing director of Aldevron, a Fargo-based biotech company serving those at the forefront of the fight for a COVID vaccine; Eric Jolly, President and CEO of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and former president of the Science Museum of Minnesota; and Vaughn Williams, former Stanford University trustee and veteran partner at international law firm Skadden.
“Victoria, Eric, and Vaughn are leaders aligned with the mission, vision, and values of the T.R. Library,” said Cathilea Robinett, chair of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. “They bring experience in science, education, and law to this visionary project.”
Chambers, Jolly, and Williams have each been elected to a three (3) year term, and are eligible for reelection in 2024.
Victoria Chambers is a veteran of Aldevron, a biomedical technology company specializing in the production and purification of nucleic acids including plasmid DNA and mRNA, and protein and antibody development. Victoria, who served as Aldevron’s marketing director from 2010-2020, worked alongside Michael Chambers, her husband, and John Ballantyne, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, since the company’s inception.
In 1998, Aldevron got its start in a small laboratory on the campus of North Dakota State University. Its headquarters remains in Fargo, with a 14-acre campus that is home to the world’s largest DNA and RNA manufacturing facility, along with a second site in Madison, Wisconsin, that operates the company’s protein development and manufacturing operations. Quietly, and humbly, Aldevron serves thousands of clients worldwide, including those at the forefront of the fight for a COVID vaccine.
The Chambers have five children, all daughters, whom they home school. Their eldest daughter, Isabelle Chambers, 17, founded her own company, Biomed Protection. The Chambers family have substantial philanthropic investment in North Dakota and the scientific community. They support the North Dakota Community Foundation and most recently announced Aldevron Tower, a $28-million, privately funded, 74,000 square foot building to provide hands-on learning spaces for students in pharmacy, nursing, respiratory care, medical lab and radiologic sciences at North Dakota State University.
“I have had the pleasure of getting to know the Chambers family personally over the past year,” said Ed O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. “They believe to whom much is given much is required and I am humbled that they are a part of this worthy cause for North Dakota and the world.
“Of his many successes, Theodore Roosevelt was a scientist,” said Victoria Chambers upon her appointment to the Board of Trustees. “He loved the natural world, and during his time in North Dakota, the outdoors and nature were his classroom. The Chambers family hopes everyone can have that joyful and life enriching experience at the T.R. Library.”
Eric Jolly is the President and CEO of the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation, a $1.7 billion philanthropic organization and Minnesota’s largest community foundation. The Foundation works with a state network of more than 2,000 charitable organizations and donor advised funds. Each year, the Foundation makes over 8,500 grants. Formerly, Jolly served for ten years as the president of the Science Museum of Minnesota, the largest museum in the Upper Midwest. During his tenure, the Science Museum grew from a $28 to $44 million budget and featured ground-breaking and thought-provoking exhibits such as “Race: Are We So Different?” that received international acclaim and extended into a seven-year run, with versions traveling the country.
Jolly serves on the Bush Foundation and is a former trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian. He is a lifelong educator and scholar, having worked in prominent roles at four higher education institutions, and he attained a doctorate in psychology and a master’s degree in psychometrics from the University of Oklahoma. Jolly is also a life member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, a life fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a past chair of the Rhode Island Indian Council and is of Cherokee heritage.
“Eric is a deeply passionate, thoughtful educator with a track record of action. He cares about community, our nation, and history,” said O’Keefe. “He will bring valuable experience in museum management, philanthropy, and leadership, including the necessary and important conversation with the Native American community.”
“My leadership style is to listen,” said Jolly. “I listen deeply, and I believe that every community, all humans, deserve dignity and opportunity. Success for the T.R. Library is no different and I look forward to helping this inspiring project to take its place in the world.”
Vaughn Williams recently completed a ten-year term as trustee of Stanford University, where he chaired the Audit Committee. He is a retired partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arms, Slate, Meagher, & Flom, and serves as a trustee of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and a director of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center. He also served as a director of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and chaired its Audit Committee. He is a former director and honorary director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and a former member of the Board of Visitors of the Colin Powell School for Global Leadership at the City College of New York.
In her letter of nomination, Serena Torrey Roosevelt, a trustee of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, said Mr. Williams “will bring the TRPL not only his deep and rich professional and board experience, but his characteristic grace, kindness, attention to detail, and commitment to making the world a better place.” Among his many achievements, Williams was substantially involved in the design, launch, and administration of the Skadden fellowship, a scholars program providing public interest law experience to talented young legal scholars.
“Vaughn’s work on the Skadden fellowship provides a road map of how we want to create and sustain the Theodore Roosevelt Scholars in conservation,” said Ed O’Keefe.
“The life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt endures 100 years after the President’s death because of T.R.’s relentless vision for the future,” Vaughn Williams said upon his appointment. “I am honored to join the Board of Trustees and hope my past experience can provide a better future for all through this ambitious project.”
The three appointments mark the beginning of 2021 after a tremendous year of progress for the T.R. Library.
At the end of 2020, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation received Congressional approval to acquire the land for construction of the T.R. Library in western North Dakota. The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Conveyance Act of 2020 directed the U.S. Forest Service to sell the land, shifting oversight of the project from federal to local control.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation previously announced Snøhetta won a competition for the design architect commission. North Dakota firm JLG has been selected as the Architect of Record and JE Dunn has been selected as the Construction Manager for the project.
On October 27, 2020 — T.R.’s birthday — the Foundation announced they raised $100 million in private philanthropy. Those commitments have been certified by the State of North Dakota, and the Bank of North Dakota approved the remaining $35 million loan to create the $50 million endowment as directed by the 2019 North Dakota legislature.
Theodore Roosevelt lived and ranched in North Dakota for the better part of two years after the tragic death of his wife and mother in 1884. Roosevelt returned to the Badlands and Medora almost every year until his death in 1919. Theodore Roosevelt National Park — the only of the 62 national parks named for a person, let alone a president — includes the Elkhorn Ranch, known as the ‘cradle of conservation,’ and will be a critical part of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library plan.
Those interested in being “In the Arena” can donate now at trlibrary.com/donate.