A Donor-Advised Fund Makes an Impact - Master Family Fund
Larry and Nancy Master – best friends who have been married for 40 years – live in Lake Placid with their Labrador retriever (Otto), a standard poodle (Maddie), a pot-bellied pig (Harley), and a peach-fronted parakeet (Fidel). They have two children who are both married with children of their own.
For many years the Masters lived in Weston, MA, but always stayed connected to friends and family in the Adirondacks. Nancy's family has been coming to Lake Placid as seasonal residents since early 1900's and retired here in the 1970's; Larry's family bought a camp on Lake Placid as early as 1903, though he believes they vacationed in the community before that.
Larry spent 20 years with the Nature Conservancy and 7 years with NatureServe, most of that time as Chief Zoologist overseeing the development of both organizations' central zoological databases. He also served on the EPA's Science Advisory Board. An avid photographer, Larry has been shooting wildlife and natural history subjects for more than 50 years. Today he serves on boards of NatureServe, the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, the Adirondack Council, the Adirondack Explorer, Northern New York Audubon, the Biodiversity Research Institute, and on the Wildlife Conservation Society's Adirondack Advisory Group and on the Advisory Board of Living with Wolves. He is also active in the Mirror Lake Watershed Association.
Nancy, who ran a toy and gift store in Weston, is an animal lover and has actively engaged in a variety of animal causes over the years, adopting many animals, and donating time and money as well as cages and other goods to help shelters take care of animals. The family has adopted a number of dogs, including a very challenging mixed-breed spaniel from the Tri-Lakes Animal Shelter. Nancy took "Rosie", the mixed-breed spaniel, to Tufts for animal psychology and this dog been written up in books as a case study. Nancy serves on the Board of the North Country SPCA.
