The Arnhold Distinguished Fellowship Program

Legacy of Conservation International Board Emeritus Henry Arnhold

To honor the life-long dedication of Henry Arnhold to peace, human rights and conservation, Conservation International established the Arnhold Distinguished Fellowship Program. This unique fellowship program enlists visionaries and leaders to elevate the climate and conservation dialogue to the highest levels of government and industry, helping to create the political space for diplomacy and bold action on some of the most pressing challenges of our times.

Among Conservation International’s most dedicated and beloved Board members, Henry Arnhold understood that positive change comes through decisive leadership, action and collaboration. Despite facing formidable odds, and persecution from Nazi rule in his native Germany, Henry never lost faith in humanity. He always looked toward the future, and continually inspired Conservation International to pursue its vision of a peaceful and prosperous society where communities thrive with nature.

It is with this in mind that the Arnhold Distinguished Fellowship Program was developed, paying tribute to a remarkable man and furthering his dreams of a peaceful and balanced world.

About the Arnhold Distinguished Fellowship

At this critical moment in time, when the world is in desperate need of visionary leadership to further peace and protection of the environment, the Arnhold Distinguished Fellowship Program offers select world leaders a platform to instigate and advocate for policies and practices that benefit nations, races and all people with the protection of nature as a common unifier.

Building on a successful Conservation International Fellowship program featuring Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and H.E. Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati, Conservation International officially launched the Arnhold Distinguished Fellowship Program in late 2018. Each Fellow is asked to serve a two-year term.

We invited H.E. Ian Khama, former President of Botswana, and H.E. Ólafur Grimsson, former President of Iceland, as our two first Arnhold Distinguished Fellows to bring forward their prominent voices in support of shared conservation priorities and to pursue new directions for impact. They are joined by former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action Mark Carney, Conservation Intenational Chief Scientist Johan Rockström and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Distinguished Fellows