Banu Qureshi was a foundational leader during Vital Ground’s early years and the organization was delighted to welcome her back to the board in 2026 after many years of service on the advisory council. Banu first learned about Vital Ground in 1996. Working in New York as an investment banker at the time, she was contacted by Vital Ground Executive Director Dan Walker and over the next 15 years, her interest in endangered species and business savvy helped shape Vital Ground into the successful nonprofit it is today.
Banu served as a board member from 1996 through October 2011 and as chair from 2000 to 2006. During her years of service, Banu was instrumental in turning Vital Ground from a bear hobbyist group into a viable land trust, helping lead the organization’s relocation of its headquarters from Utah to Montana. “I feel my biggest accomplishment is that I helped to turn Vital Ground into the professional, financially sustainable nonprofit it is today,” she says. Banu lives in Maryland, with her husband, Mike, and her two children, and she has turned her love of dogs into a dog training business, which keeps her busy.