Peg Olsen—Chief Conservation Officer

Work

Peg Olsen oversees Audubon’s 23 State Programs as well as the national Science, Education, Policy, and International Alliances programs. Prior to taking on this position in July of 2009, Peg spent four years as Vice President of Field Operations for Audubon, covering 10 states on the East Coast, and serving as interim director of the International Alliances Program. 

Background

Before coming to Audubon, Peg worked for The Nature Conservancy for 14 years—four years as Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Region, where she had oversight for seven country programs and established the first country program in Australia, and 10 years as director of the Eastern New York Chapter. She chaired New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 4, Open Space Committee and has served on a variety of boards, including the Lake George Land Conservancy, the Rensselaer Taconic Land Trust, the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park, Saratoga PLAN, and the Capital District Chapter of the League of Conservation Voters. She is currently on the board of the Hudson River Foundation. 

Education 

Peg got her B.A. in Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. She followed that up with an M.S. in Urban and Environmental Studies and a Ph.D. in Ecological Economics, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.