MARSHALL – Lois Quam is out to save the world. The 1979 Marshall High School graduate has been given that opportunity with her latest venture as the new chief operating officer for The Nature Conservancy, which has as its mission: “conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.”

The Nature Conservancy, headquartered near Washington, D.C., has offices in more than 35 countries, all 50 states and has played a role in preserving the natural environment at Hole in the Mountain in Lake Benton and in the Prairie Coteau region.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” Quam said Friday by telephone from Arlington, Va. “I’m excited.”

The Nature Conservancy announced its appointment Friday in a news release.

“We are thrilled that Lois is joining our leadership team in this critical role,” said Mark Tercek, president and chief executive officer at The Nature Conservancy. “Nature is an important part of the solution for development challenges that affect the health of people and their communities. Lois’s experience in this area, along with her sharp management acumen, will further strengthen our ability to achieve our ambitious conservation mission.”

“The Conservancy’s work to protect land and water is vital, pressing and exciting,” said Quam. “I am delighted to join the Conservancy’s accomplished global team of scientists and leaders in creating the world-class organization required to do this work.”

Quam said she has an apartment in Arlington, which is across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. She will maintain her house in St. Paul.

“Minnesota will always be my home,” she said.

She has a particular fondness for Marshall.

“I’m grateful for my upbringing in Marshall,” she said. “It invests in its youth. I have benefited from Marshall Public Schools, St. Stephen Lutheran Church where my father was a pastor and from the town as a whole.”

Quam was inducted in the Pride in the Tiger Foundation Hall of Honor in 2004.

Quam has served as executive director of the Global Health Initiative at the U.S. State Department, reporting to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, before serving as special adviser to Secretary John Kerry with a focus on global health and public-private partnerships.

Prior to joining the State Department, Quam had a 17-year career at UnitedHealth Group, where she led the company’s efforts to serve older and low-income Americans. As CEO of Ovations, a division she founded at UnitedHealth in 1998, she grew the company’s revenues from inception to more than $30 billion in the span of eight years, leading 20,000 employees.

Quam has appeared multiple times on Fortune magazine’s list of the 50 most powerful women in American business. She received a master’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and is a graduate of Macalester College. She has served on the boards of General Mills, Macalester College, the Committee for Economic Development, the George C. Marshall Foundation, University of Minnesota Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation.