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Women in Conservation 2017 Awards Council. Photo: Camilla Cerea/Audubon
With everyone's health in mind, it's clear to us that postponing the 2020 Audubon Women in Conservation Luncheon to a later date is the responsible thing to do. It's not a decision we take lightly, but we are very serious about protecting our flock.
We would have loved to see you on May 19th, but hope you will join us soon to present the Rachel Carson Award to these outstanding conservation leaders.
LISA P. JACKSON
RACHEL’S NETWORK
Rachel’s Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a community of women who come together at the intersection of environment, philanthropy, and women’s leadership to exchange ideas and contribute to a healthier world. The Network was founded in 1999, when 18 women joined forces around a shared commitment to conservation. Rachel’s Network is named in honor of Rachel Carson, who changed our understanding of the natural world with the 1962 publication of Silent Spring. With a mission to promote women as agents of change dedicated to the stewardship of the earth, Rachel’s Network fosters collaboration and action on our planet’s urgent challenges.
Rachel’s Network is determined to help create a world with a regenerative and equitable economy, clean air and water, and a healthy environment for all. Since 2000, our network has collectively given nearly $2 million towards strategic partnerships, investing in women leaders at the frontlines of our movement and the solutions that secure a thriving planet for future generations.
Rachel’s Network is led by President Fern Shepard, who has over 30 years of experience in the environmental community, first as a staff attorney with Earthjustice and later as a senior officer managing international lands conservation programs at The Pew Charitable Trusts. She is also chair of Earthjustice’s Board of Trustees and is a mother of three.
KRISTINE MCDIVITT TOMPKINS
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins is the cofounder and president of Tompkins Conservation and the UN Patron of Protected Areas. The former CEO of Patagonia, Inc, she has spent the last twenty-five years protecting and restoring Chile and Argentina’s wild beauty and biodiversity through creating national parks, restoring wildlife, inspiring activism, and fostering economic vitality as a result of conservation. A key figure behind the establishment of eleven national parks in Argentina and Chile, she has helped to protect approximately 14.5 million acres through Tompkins Conservation and its partners. Along with her late husband Douglas Tompkins, who passed away in 2015, she is considered one of the most successful national park-oriented philanthropists in history. In 2017, she received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. A global leader in conservation, she currently serves as Chair of National Geographic Society’s Last Wild Places campaign.
Women in Conservation Mission Statement
"To recognize outstanding women leaders in today's conservation movement;
to support environmental opportunities for girls and young women;
and to educate women on important issues related to conservation and the environment."
Meet the current winners and those from years past
Giving young women the opportunity to develop skills in habitat stewardship & wildlife management.
An annual feature of the Rachel Carson Awards Luncheon.
In 2015 we celebrated American women whose work has advanced environmental journalism.
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