Lynn Scarlett

Lynn Scarlett retired in December 2021 from The Nature Conservancy, the largest conservation organization in the world, where she served as Global Chief External Affairs Officer. In this role, she served on the global executive team, oversaw and influenced climate and conservation policy in the United States and the 79 countries and territories in which TNC operates, and oversaw the Corporate Engagement and social impact investing teams, which advance private-sector partnerships to support corporate sustainability and enhance ambitious actions to address climate change.

Prior to her role at the Conservancy, Lynn served at the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2001-2009 in the GW Bush Administration, where she was the Deputy Secretary/Chief Operating Officer of the department, which manages 500 million acres of US public lands; she served as Acting Secretary of the Interior in 2006.

While Interior’s Deputy Secretary, Lynn initiated and chaired the Department’s Cooperative Conservation Working Group and its first-ever Climate Change Task Force. She established the Interior Department’s Ocean and Coastal activities office and chaired the federal Wildland Fire Leadership Council. She served on the Executive Committee of the President’s Management Council and co-chaired the First Lady’s Preserve America initiative.

Lynn is the author or co-author of publications on climate change adaptation; ecosystem services; large landscape conservation; and science and decision-making. She was a co-convening lead author of the 2014 (US) National Climate Assessment.

She chaired the Science Advisory Board of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 2014-2019 and served on the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Sustainability Roundtable. She serves on the advisory board of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Dean’s Advisory Council of the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. She serves on the boards of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Sand County Foundation, and Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative. She is on the steering committee of the Network for Large Landscape Conservation and is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Lynn received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and political economy from UC Santa Barbara, where she also completed her Ph.D. coursework and exams.

Ms. Scarlett is a lifelong birder and avid hiker.