Dr. Elizabeth Gray serves as the Chief Executive Officer of The National Audubon Society. She is a champion of science-based conservation and a renowned expert in global conservation and climate change. Elizabeth joined Audubon in March 2021 as President and Chief Conservation Officer; she was named Chief Executive Officer later that same year. She is the first woman since Audubon’s founding in 1905 to hold the role. She leads more than 700 staff working together across the Americas to alter the course of climate change and habitat loss.
Prior to joining Audubon, she most recently served as the Global Managing Director of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Climate Change program. She has also been a global spokesperson for conservation and climate issues, speaking at COP events for over a decade. Elizabeth is a proven fundraiser of major gifts, including securing $100 million from the Bezos Earth Fund for TNC's climate work.
As part of Nature week, we asked Elizabeth Gray, CEO of the National Audubon Society, to talk about biodiversity loss and share her vision for a future where birds thrive.
How has climate change affected the role and work of the National Audubon Society?
Addressing the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss and climate change is a key component to the National Audubon Society's mission. Our commitment to protecting birds and their habitats inherently involves addressing climate change. This means championing responsibly located renewable energy projects and restoring vital landscapes such as grasslands, forests, and wetlands that naturally sequester and store carbon. At Audubon, we believe that climate action is conservation.
What are the biggest impacts of climate change on birds?
In my lifetime alone, North America has lost over 3 billion birds, a staggering biological catastrophe. Birds inhabit nearly every corner of our planet, connecting people to nature and serving as indicators of environmental health, much like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Declines in bird populations signal broader ecological threats that also jeopardize human communities. If we fail to reduce emissions, rising global temperatures will further degrade the natural resources birds rely on, rendering two-thirds of North American bird species vulnerable to extinction. The urgency of this crisis cannot be overstated; immediate action is essential to safeguard birds and people from the rapid and severe impacts of climate change. We must stop this staggering loss of birds, and, as we like to say, "bend the bird curve."
How have you and your organization been successful in establishing yourselves as a trustworthy authority on climate issues? Can you share some examples of that?
Audubon’s century-long legacy of conservation, grounded in science, unites our millions of supporters, including leading experts and dedicated community advocates. Our nonpartisan approach has been crucial to scaling our impact, allowing us to effectively engage with leaders across the political spectrum. For example, even in a divided political climate, last fall we were able to secure bipartisan support for the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act -- a program that provides critical funding to conserve carbon-rich bird habitats throughout the hemisphere. Additionally, we collaborated with developers to ensure wildlife-friendly clean energy development, standing with Pattern Energy as we broke ground on SunZia, one of the largest clean energy infrastructure projects in American history. These examples show our tireless work to foster broad-based trust and collaboration through the unifying power of birds and our unwavering commitment to following science. Our success in these areas solidifies our reputation as a credible and respected voice on climate issues.
What initiatives are you most proud of?
We are particularly proud of our bold new strategic plan, Flight Plan, which aligns our work as we "bend the bird curve," meaning that we are working to halt, and ultimately reverse, the decline of birds across the Americas. Central to this effort is our commitment to increasing climate resilience for communities and natural spaces, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are working to support at least 100 gigawatts of new renewable energy, conserve landscapes that sequester and store 30 billion tons of carbon and protect 300 million acres of climate-resilient bird habitats. Our work leverages our scientific, on-the-ground, and community building strengths to achieve a significant and lasting impact for people and wildlife, inspiring collective action in this critical moment.
Are there any interesting innovations that you have seen that are helping with your work?
We have a once-in–a-lifetime opportunity to change our planet’s carbon trajectory. Building out the infrastructure needed to shift to an economy built on clean energy will require new and innovative partnership models between energy corporations and conservation groups. At Audubon, we are making this our reality; we are working every day to engage directly with developers to find a path to “yes.” We have already seen these new collaborative approaches play out in promising ways. Twelve Audubon chapters engaged with Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) North on a $10 billion project with 18 transmission lines spanning five Midwestern states. The project’s goal is to site critical energy transmission lines in ways that reduce impact on birds and wildlife, while still finding a workable route for much-needed transmission capacity.