William C. "Willie" Janeway '85 has carried the love of the outdoors that he nurtured at St. Lawrence forward into a sparkling career in outdoor leadership. Janeway, Region 3 Director of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), arrived on campus to discover an Outing Club (the second oldest college outing club in the nation) in need of new leadership. From day one, he applied his considerable skills toward a revitalization of the club, which has flourished ever since.

Janeway has continued applying those skills, in a career that has mirrored his love of the natural environment and his dedication to caring for it. He began working for the Adirondack Mountain Club as a student, and continued with that organization immediately after graduation.  He has also been executive director of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission and of the Hudson Valley Greenway Conservancy.

Before coming to the DEC, Janeway was the Nature Conservancy's statewide liaison in building partnerships with government agencies on cooperative environmental conservation development projects. As director of Region 3, he manages a 300-person staff that serves the diverse counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester with the same skill and grace with which he managed a handful of Laurentians in the saving of the Outing Club as a student.

An economics major and honors graduate of St. Lawrence, Willie Janeway was awarded a 2008 Alumni Citation in recognition that his life reflects his alma mater's belief that environmental sensitivity is a core value.