Media Contacts
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Matt Kane
Phone: 323-898-6510
Email: matthew.kane@tnc.org
The Nature Conservancy has announced that Amy Jacobs has been named as its new Chesapeake Bay Program Director. Jacobs brings more than 30 years of conservation experience to the role, including 13 years as TNC's agricultural program director in Maryland and DC and its Chesapeake Bay Program.
TNC’s Chesapeake Bay Program includes more than 50 staff operating across all six states and Washington D.C. that make up the Bay watershed, with a focus on improving local water quality and restoring and protecting habitat. This includes working with farmers and agribusiness on the implementation of regenerative farming practices, working in cities and municipalities on natural stormwater solutions, working with aquaculture growers and watermen to increase oysters in the Bay, and supporting landowners to protect and restore wetlands and floodplains.
“What makes The Nature Conservancy’s Chesapeake Bay Program so unique is our ability to bring the strength of a global organization to highly local conservation work,” said Jacobs. “As we continue to grow partnerships with farmers, communities, businesses, NGOs, and state and federal partners throughout the Bay watershed, we have the opportunity to learn from each other and take calculated risks, which often leads to new ways of working together and bigger, lasting conservation outcomes.”
The Chesapeake Bay watershed was also recently selected by TNC as a priority site for its Global Regenerative Foodscapes strategy, which will further integrate the program with North America and global scale efforts. This will provide greater access to coalition building, coordinated planning, market development, supply chain actions and public policy support.
TNC’s Chesapeake Bay Program began searching for a new program director in 2024 after founding director Mark Bryer was promoted to regional division director for the Northeast United States.
“TNC’s Chesapeake Bay Program couldn’t be in better hands than with Amy Jacobs,” said Bryer. “In our many years working together, I’ve watched her achieve great wins for nature while also listening, learning and connecting with people and communities all over the watershed. We know it takes strong partnerships to ensure lasting success, and Amy is an expert at building them.”
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 81 countries and territories (40 by direct conservation impact and 41 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.