Richard Burns
Chair
Richard Burns discovered the beauty of the desert through his wife Liz, who was a University of Arizona student during the mid-60s. Indeed, they were attracted to Carefree because Liz said it reminded her of Tucson while she was going to school. Richard is not a hiker and actually spends most of his time simply enjoying the views as he plays golf or works.
He became interested in the Desert Foothills Land Trust through attendance at Sonoran Stars. However, Richard has been committed to the mission of the DFLT for many years, particularly when dealing with development issues. These development issues and our work with developers, obtaining new conservation easements, and acquisitions of new pristine properties are issues that he wants to be involved in.
Richard did both his undergraduate work (political science and journalism) and law school at University of Michigan. Richard is General Counsel and Vice President of Business Affairs for Morgan Murphy Media, an owner of radio and television stations primarily in Wisconsin and Washington. He was also in private practice in Duluth, Minnesota for 35 years. At that time, he worked with his current company, but also did estate planning and tax work.
He was a founder of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and subsequently its chair, a board member and former chair of the United Way of Greater Duluth, and a board member and former chair of Miller Dwan Medical Center. He currently serves on the University of Michigan Law School Alumni Relations and Development Committee and has been involved with development and planned giving work with the Valley of the Sun United Way.