Greg Snellen has been named the 2021 Alumnus of the Year by the CAFNR Alumni Association. He is an environmental supervisor with Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Waste Management Program, serving as the program coordinator for rule development, legislative inquiries and stakeholder engagement. Snellen leads the School of Natural Resources (SNR) Alumni Association, and is part of the SNR Advisory Council. He recently won the Black and Gold Alumni Award from SNR. He received his BS in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from Mizzou in 2004.
Snellen has been an active part of the SNR Homecoming “Bloat” (float + boat), which has been a successful and anticipated part of the parade each fall, and the Trivia in the Wild fundraising event – now in its 10th year. He leads the social media presence for the alumni group to keep graduates connected to the university. He spearheaded the creation of an undergraduate scholarship for SNR students through funds raised at Trivia in the Wild. Through the Advisory Council, he helps to fundraise for SNR, place students in internships, provide mentorship and aid service needs of the school.
“Greg’s motto is that life at Mizzou does not end when you graduate, it continues to grow and thrive. The School of Natural Resources (SNR) Alumni Association has been a major fixture over the years in the lives of our graduates and that’s due to Greg’s leadership,” said Patrick Market, director and professor, School of Natural Resources. “It is vital to Greg that our alums know that wherever they go in the world, they always have a place at Mizzou and he tries to make it the best possible experience for them.”
“Greg has been an active member of our Natural Resources Alumni Organization for many years and has served as our President for the past several years,” said Laura Hertel, SNR’s senior coordinator of student services. “One of the main goals for our group is to mentor our undergraduate students and Greg is truly a champion in this area as well as many others. The first semester of his presidency, he made it a point to attend at least one meeting of each of our student organizations so he could meet the students and see how he could help. Since we have about 10 clubs, he was a very busy man.
“To describe Greg with several adjectives I would use all of the following: professional, positive, energetic, understanding, cooperative and appreciative. He truly deserves to be recognized for his many efforts as the Alumnus of the Year.”
Alumnus of the Year recognizes significant contributions or accomplishments by an individual whose efforts and support have added to the excellence of the University of Missouri.