Brian and Lori, The Matterhorn
From trekking through the surreal landscape of Joshua Tree National Park to hiking 100 exhilarating miles in the Swiss Alps, Brian and Lori Rennie have spent 25 years with a shared appreciation for the majestic outdoors. Together, they’ve run a successful business, explored the world, and kicked off retirement by establishing a nonprofit that invites others to understand and steward the magnificent desert they now call home.
While Brian’s adventures began at a young age as part of a backpacking Boy Scout troop, Lori’s Chicago upbringing offered mostly city views, cloudy skies, and snowy days until she moved to California in 1987. When she met Brian, he was an avid and accomplished rock climber who had honed his skills in Joshua Tree. In this remote and otherworldly terrain with its unusual, spiky trees and mighty boulders, Lori learned to view the desert through Brian’s eyes. Unlike snowcapped mountains and sparkling beaches, the desert “has a subtle beauty,” Lori says. “But once you’ve discovered it you see it everywhere.”
Brian studied marine biology at Cal State Fullerton, but his career path took a surprising turn at the end of his graduate studies. “I decided I didn’t want to do marine biology, I wanted to open my own business,” Brian says. “My education provided me with the ability to think logically and do research, so even though I didn’t have any previous experience I taught myself everything I needed to know.” Brian founded Benchmark Studios, a successful commercial design company in Anaheim. The couple married in 2003, ran the business together, and retired in 2013. They now live full-time on their 20-acre property at the entrance of Joshua Tree National Park, where Brian built an expansive Santa Fe-style home in 1994.
Soon after relocating to Joshua Tree, the Rennies hosted a party to get to know members of their community. A conversation with one of the guests, then-superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, Mark Butler, served as the launch pad for Lori’s passion project, Joshua Tree Residential Education Experience (JTREE). Butler asked Lori what she intended to do during retirement. She replied, “Well, I’m not sure, but I love kids and I love this park.”
That connection was the impetus to establish a nonprofit offering outdoor education within the park. Today, JTREE provides field trips, overnight camping experiences and other programming for elementary students. Lori’s earlier background in corporate business has served her well in establishing a partnership with the National Park Service, building the infrastructure of the nonprofit, and obtaining significant initial grants needed to offer programming. Future plans include establishing a campus within the park, but JTREE’s board is careful to consider the impact a permanent location might have on the precious land and its inhabitants, which range from desert tortoises to bighorn sheep.
The Rennie home
“We’re honored to be a part of exposing youth to the beauty of the desert and its importance in our world,” says Lori. “Joshua Tree is an underserved community, and as surprising as it might seem, some of these children who live here have never even been into the park.” She cites the innate value of getting kids involved in outdoor activities like hiking. “It brings them confidence, it helps them achieve things they never thought they could. They’re challenging themselves physically and mentally, and they learn to see their backyard as more than dirt and rocks.”
Lori tells the story of elementary students who were part of a JTREE pollinators program. Kids raised ladybugs, butterflies and praying mantis, but when it came time to let them go some of the children wanted to keep their insects, housed in little plastic cups, as pets. “The teacher asked them to think about what it would be like to be in one small place, with nowhere else to go. Or what it would be like to set their little friends free to roam from flower to flower, pollinating and making the world more beautiful. It was the perfect lesson about our role in the ecosystem and how we can make things better by caring well for the creatures who share our planet.”
While Joshua Tree National Park is a tourist destination for millions or a second home for part-time residents, Brian and Lori have planted roots in the community and are committed to helping their neighbors prosper. After pledging a planned gift to Brian’s alma mater, the Rennies wanted to explore other opportunities to leave a legacy that supports the park and the academic pursuits of local residents.
Lori was acquainted with IECF because of her nonprofit work. “I liked what the Foundation was doing and the broad reach we could have through a fund with IECF,” she tells us. In 2023, the couple established the Brian and Lori Rennie Legacy Fund to offer outdoor education for local students and provide scholarships for Morongo Basin residents who are focused on STEM studies.
Through their philanthropy, Brian and Lori hope to enlighten others about the desert’s fragile but incredible splendor while encouraging like-minded people to give back locally. “By partnering with a regional foundation like IECF,” Lori says, “we’re protecting something valuable, supporting the community that has given us so much joy, and making it possible for future generations to enjoy and be stewards of this desert treasure.”
Lori and Brian Rennie with IECF staff, Brie Griset Smith, CSPG (L), Chief Development Officer, and Celia Cudiamat (R), Chief Impact Officer
Brian adds, “Many people leave their estate to their family. For us, it makes sense to help the people who need it most. We like the idea of giving someone a stepping stone toward a better future.”
Brie Griset Smith, CSPG, Chief Development Officer for IECF, applauds the Rennie’s generosity and the example they’re setting. “Brian and Lori are an inspiration,” she says. “They’re inviting people to go out and see the world around them, to be in awe, and to participate in a meaningful way. It’s a privilege to be a part of their story as they pave the way for new citizen scientists and help preserve the incredible land around us.”
If you would like to learn how you can leave a legacy and support causes close to your heart – today and beyond your lifetime – contact our Charitable Giving Department at giving@iegives.org.
