My father was a trumpeter, conductor, and composer who crafted beautifully structured music scores for films. My mother, a linguist fluent in five languages, had an artist’s eye for thoughtful design. She visited Bloomingdale’s not to shop, but to admire the furniture displays — what she called a “museum experience.”

I fell in love with nature when I was a youngster. When life needed clarity, a pause, or an answer, I would retreat with my much-loved golden retriever to the weeping willow behind our house, and we would sit and watch together — feeling playful, peaceful, and protected by nature.

At age 8, fascinated by the complexity of nature’s design and sensitive to its vulnerability, I tried to have my dad arrested for littering. I’ve advocated for care of our planet ever since.