About Us: Non-Profit Governance of The Nature Conservancy

Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is governed as a single, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization by a worldwide, volunteer Board of Directors and is managed from its worldwide office in Arlington, Virginia. Because the Conservancy is organized as a single organization rather than as separate local legal entities, ultimate responsibility for the operation of The Nature Conservancy lies with its Board of Directors. Although the Board of Directors cannot delegate its broad legal and fiduciary responsibilities, it does delegate responsibility for day-to-day operations to the president and chief executive officer, who in turn delegates responsibilities to his or her management team.

To achieve the Conservancy’s place-based mission, the Board of Directors has established chapters of The Nature Conservancy at the state and country level. Each state and country program is run by a director who manages the program’s annual plan and budget in support of the Conservancy’s mission and goals. State and country directors are managed through clear reporting channels back to the president and, through the president’s office, to the Board of Directors.  Most state and several country programs are advised and assisted by volunteer Boards of Trustees. The Boards of Trustees advise chapters on strategic issues, assist in setting goals and, importantly, subject the chapter's work to additional critical thinking.

Board Members

Chairman of the Board

Roger Milliken, Jr.
President
Baskahegan Company
Cumberland, Maine
Term: September 2000 – October 2010
arrowMeet the Board - Roger Milliken, Jr.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mark R. Tercek
The Nature Conservancy
Arlington, Virginia
Term: July 2008 – Present
arrowMessage From the President

Vice Chair

Gordon Crawford
Senior Vice President
Capital Research and Management Company
Los Angeles, California
Term: January 2003 – October 2012

Vice Chair

Roberto Hernández Ramírez
Chairman
Banco Nacional de Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico
Term: September 2004 – October 2013
arrowMeet the Board - Roberto Hernández Ramírez

Treasurer & Chair, Finance Committee

Muneer A. Satter
Managing Director
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
Term: January 2006 – October 2015

 

Secretary

Georgia Welles
Conservationist
Bowling Green, Ohio
Term: January 2001 – October 2010
arrowMeet the Board - Georgia Welles

Chair, Audit Committee

John P. Sall
Executive Vice President, Director and Co-Founder
SAS Institute
Cary, North Carolina
Term: October 2002 – October 2011
arrowMeet the Board - John Sall

Chair, Conservation Activities Review Committee

Teresa Beck
Former President, American Stores Co.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Term: January 2006 – October 2015

Chair, Governance, Nominating, and Human Resources Committee

Harry Groome
Author and Conservationist
Villanova, Pennsylvania
Term: October 2001 – October 2010
arrowMeet the Board - Harry Groome

 

Gretchen C. Daily
Department of Biological Sciences
and Woods Institute for the Environment–Stanford University
Stanford, California
Term: April 2006 – October 2015

Steven A. Denning
Chairman
General Atlantic LLC
Greenwich, Connecticut
Term: November 2007 – October 2017

Frank E. Loy
Former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs
United States Government
Washington, DC
Term: October 2006 – October 2015
arrowMeet the Board - Frank Loy

Thomas J. Meredith
Co-founder and General Partner
Meritage Capital
Austin, Texas
Term: July 2009 – October 2018

Thomas S. Middleton
Senior Managing Director
Blackstone Group
New York, New York
Term: October 2007 – October 2016

James C. Morgan
Chairman Emeritus
Applied Materials, Inc.
Santa Clara, California
Term: March 2004 – October 2013

Stephen Polasky
Professor of Ecological/Environmental Economics
University of Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota
Term: January 2009 – October 2018

Mary H. Ruckelshaus
Fisheries Research Biologist, NOAA
Seattle, Washington
Term: October 2009 – October 2018

Cristián Samper
Director, National Museum of Natural History
Washington, D.C.
Term: July 2008 – October 2017
arrowMeet the Board - Cristián Samper

Thomas J. Tierney
Chairman and Co-Founder
The Bridgespan Group, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
Term: October 2007 – October 2016

Moses Tsang
Chairman and Managing Partner, Ajia Partners
Chairman and CEO, EC Investment Services
Hong Kong
Term: January 2010 – October 2019

Shirley Young
President
Shirley Young Associates
New York, New York & Shanghai, China
Term: June 2003 – October 2012
arrowMeet the Board - Shirley Young