In It For the Long Term
A Conversation with Rich Salem P ’97 and P ’02.
Whether helping Thacher preserve its endowment or working to protect the pristine wilderness surrounding Telluride, Colorado, Rich Salem (father of Jamie ’97 and Leigh ’02) has generously shared his vision and know-how with others to ensure that what is rare and precious will endure.
What is your connection to Thacher?
My family and I were introduced to Thacher when we learned that a family acquaintance, Bo Manson, was teaching there. We knew Bo and Julie held fundamental values which resonate with our family and a visit to Thacher confirmed how exceptionally impressive are the School and its students, faculty, leaders, and programs. So far, our two sons (Jamie CdeP 1997 and Leigh CdeP 2002) and one niece (Virginia Shannon CdeP 2007) have graduated from Thacher; they now reflect the incredibly powerful formative experience of Casa de Piedra. I served on the Thacher board for nine years and have advised the Investment Committee even longer. Windhorse Capital Management, a firm I co-founded with my brother, helps oversee the thoughtful stewardship of Thacher’s endowment.
How do you advise Thacher on the topic of long-term financial sustainability?
We are facing what seems to be an increasingly volatile economic environment. Thacher has a very modest endowment and spending model relative to its mission and peers. In managing the School’s endowment, the Thacher board has wisely taken the most important steps toward a careful and considered articulation of its risk tolerance. And like so many other important elements of Thacher, we should all understand the simplest means of generating superior returns is to think longer-term than the crowd and act—or refrain from acting—accordingly.
What is your tie to Telluride?
Our family first visited Telluride—arguably one of the most stunning and majestic mountain landscapes of the U.S.—in 1987 and soon moved there. Telluride is a small and active outdoors-minded community where one can become involved in many ways. Our family feels extraordinarily lucky to live in Telluride. Through my love of skiing, hiking, and biking, I was able to see (and play in!) much of the area and recognize the beauty and vulnerability of this extraordinary landscape. It was obvious that if not protect the landscape would rapidly be overwhelmed by development, and I felt the need to work and make a more desirable and responsible outcome occur. I established and funded the San Miguel Conservation Foundation (SMCF), the first land trust in southwest Colorado, with the goal to help educate landowners and the community of the importance and benefits of land conservation and offer alternatives to excessive or inappropriate development. SMCF has preserved more than 8,000 acres in the Telluride region by way of land purchases and conservation easements. My family and I also have been involved with various nonprofits in Telluride focused on education, the arts, and community diversity.
How did your interest in conservation come about?
I had been introduced to land conservation on Nantucket Island, where a small group of concerned citizens formed a local land trust to preserve a good portion of the island and help keep Nantucket special. Like many beautiful places, development pressures were intense and the land trust worked hard to offer alternatives to development. Our family has always cherished the natural world and the experiences we have outdoors.
What have you learned about stewardship through your work?
When we’re fortunate enough to be in a special place such as Telluride or part of a special community such as Thacher, we have not only an opportunity but obligation to help keep them special. SMCF and The Thacher School share similar objectives: to exist in perpetuity and meet their respective founding and evolving objectives. For me, working in areas or on issues where my passion is ignited and engaged feels more like taking than giving! There is nothing more gratifying and fulfilling and perhaps more important than working to sustain special places, communities, and institutions so that future generations can experience them just as those of us who’ve come first have.
As a board member and donor, I have found nothing more worthy and satisfying than helping to support and guide Thacher and SMCF and work toward their sustainability.
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A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.