None The Nature Conservancy in Washington Press Releases Search All Press Releases Robin Stanton (206) 343-4345, ext 338 rstanton@tnc.org

Karen Anderson to Lead Nature Conservancy

New Director for Washington state program

SEATTLE, WA — February 5, 2009 — The Nature Conservancy has named Karen Anderson, an experienced leader and manager in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, to be the new state director for Washington, starting Feb. 9.

She succeeds David Weekes, who stepped down for health reasons after leading the state program for seven years.

Anderson most recently developed and oversaw the Global Health Equity Fund for PATH (Programs for Appropriate Technology), an international nonprofit based in Seattle.

At the same time she founded and directed a new nonprofit, Explorations in Math, which addresses the critical needs of elementary students in mathematics. Previously she worked for three years at Boeing Commercial Airplane company and 10 years at Microsoft Corporation in various leadership roles.

“Karen is the right choice to lead our Washington state program, because of her extensive leadership, management, fundraising, non-profit, marketing and organizational development experience,” said Karen Berky, Pacific North America regional director for the Conservancy.

Anderson will oversee about 100 employees.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.