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Mark Bryer

Northeast U.S. Division Director

Bethesda, MD

Candid headshot of Mark Bryer.

Mark Bryer Mark is The Nature Conservancy's Northeast U.S. Division director. © Severn Smith / TNC

Areas of Expertise

Program and organizational management, collaborative problem solving, natural resource conservation

Scheduling Contact

Rachel Goldstein
Email:

Biography

As Northeast U.S. Division Director, Mark guides the collective efforts of 10 business units to realize large-scale conservation outcomes on behalf of TNC's mission. He aims to build community and partnerships across the division to confront the planet’s dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. Mark is fortunate to support and represent a team of more than 350 staff, whose efforts include:

  • Conserving the Appalachians, which form a major part of the region where globally significant forest carbon reserves exist along with the potential for creating continental-scale resilient and connected lands and waters.
  • Helping the region’s more than 45 million residents mitigate and adapt to climate change. The Northeast is a hotspot for both emissions and climate impacts, with high rates of sea-level rise and extreme precipitation events. TNC is working to expand renewable energy production and harness the power of nature to adapt to climate change.
  • Conserving the Atlantic seascape, where TNC is working with community partners to advance climate-ready fisheries, restore water quality and coastal habitats, reconnect rivers to the ocean and minimize the damage of climate change.
  • Investing in a deep commitment to equity learning, lifting rural- and urban-based voices, and Indigenous rights, so that our conservation efforts are increasingly more equitable and durable.

    • Previously, as director of TNC's Chesapeake Bay program for 19 years, Mark coordinated our efforts across six states and Washington, D.C., focusing on both policy and conservation projects to improve water quality, support abundant fisheries, and enhance and restore critical habitats in North America’s largest estuary. Under Mark's leadership, the Bay program helped realize more than $150M in impact, including the largest oyster restoration projects in the world, more than 100,000 acres of improved farmland and improved management of the largest river on the U.S. East Coast.

    Mark's first position with TNC was a summer internship in 1994. Since then, he has held a number of positions that have helped conserve nature all over the world and in his own backyard.

    Mark holds a Master of Environmental Studies degree from Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Lehigh University. He lives with his family in Arlington, Virginia.

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