Press Room

Renee Stone Joins Ä¢¹½Av as Vice President for Climate

Stone has held leadership roles within the Dept. of the Interior, Dept. of Energy and NOAA

Washington, DC. (September 20, 2018)—Today, the Ä¢¹½Av announced the appointment of Renee Stone as Vice President of Climate. “Climate change is the number one threat to birds and people,â€� said David O’Neill, Chief Conservation Officer for Ä¢¹½Av. “Renee’s depth of expertise is impressive, but what is unique about Renee is her track record of working with a broad range of stakeholders to find solutions to complicated problems. Ä¢¹½Av is already making incredible progress on our climate program goals—and bringing Renee on board to lead this work will take our work to new heights.â€�

Stone joins Ä¢¹½Av with over two decades of experience in the federal government, in private law practice, and in nonprofit organizations serving in senior management, legal, and policy roles. She has worked on a wide spectrum of environmental and climate-related issues including renewable energy, wildlife and protected species conservation, oceans, pollution control, land use and habitat protection, and wetlands and water conservation.

“My very first job in conservation was with Ä¢¹½Av Florida while I was in college so I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work for Ä¢¹½Av again in this new capacity and to lead its ambitious and critically important climate strategy,â€� said Stone. “̹½Av’s broad on-the-ground conservation network is an essential tool to move the needle on climate policies at all levels of government.â€�

As head of Ä¢¹½Av’s climate program, Stone will lead the organization’s strategy to mobilize its 1.3 million bi-partisan members to advance pragmatic federal and state climate solutions and renewable energy policies. Earlier this year, Ä¢¹½Av announced a landmark $10 million gift from Overlook International Foundation to address climate change, which sits alongside MacArthur Foundation’s prior groundbreaking, three-year, $9M commitment to Ä¢¹½Av’s climate work.

Stone has served in senior leadership positions at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior across the span of two prior presidential administrations. Stone holds a law degree from Stanford Law School, a Masters Degree in Modern History from Oxford University, and a B.A. from Rollins College. She is a Rhodes Scholar and a Truman Scholar.

The Ä¢¹½Av protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Ä¢¹½Av’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Ä¢¹½Av’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Ä¢¹½Av is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.

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Contact: Anne Singer, asinger@audubon.org, 202-271-4679