Reginald “Flip” Hagood, who currently serves on the SCA President’s Council following a 20-year run as senior vice president with SCA, will receive The Corps Network’s 2018 Legacy Achievement Award at a February ceremony in Washington, DC. The award recognizes leaders who have made significant contributions to the corps movement.
Beginning in the mid-1990s as the chief operative behind SCA’s then-nascent urban conservation program, and through his tenure as senior vice president for strategic initiatives in SCA’s capital office, Flip influenced the lives and trajectories of thousands of young conservation leaders as well as SCA countless staff members. He has also been a tireless advocate for diversity and social justice within the conservation field.
“Hagood’s influence and impact has extended far beyond SCA into all aspects of the environmental movement, including nonprofits, government service and even the corporate world,” according to The Corps Network’s announcement.
Flip has been a model of national service throughout his life. After serving with the US Marine Corps, he enjoyed a 25-year career with the National Park Service. While with the Park Service, Flip served on the SCA board of directors and, upon retiring from the Park Service, he took the position of deputy program director for SCA’s Conservation Career Development Program in Washington, DC. He stepped down after two decades with SCA in 2015.
Since then, Flip has advised organizations including the National Outdoor Leadership School and the Institute of Conservation Leadership on matters related to diversity and inclusivity, and he is presently a member of The Wilderness Society’s Governing Council, as well as an active mentor to young people across the US.
Flip, seen in the photo above with SCA Founding President Liz Putnam, is the third Legacy Achievement Award winner with SCA ties in the past few years. Ms. Putnam took the honor in 2012 and former Senior Vice President for Government and Agency Affairs Scott Weaver earned the award in 2014.