Conservation International Names Patricia Zurita as New Chief Strategy Officer
March 13, 2023
ARLINGTON, Va. (March 13, 2023) – Today, Conservation International announced Patricia Zurita as its chief strategy officer, effective July 1, 2023. Zurita returns to Conservation International after 13 years serving for two other nonprofit organizations. She brings a background of international environmental action and community engagement to this new role at Conservation International.
As chief strategy officer, Zurita will help steer Conservation International – through its public- and private-sector partnerships, fieldwork projects and scientific research – toward its mission of securing the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity. A native Ecuadorian now based in the United Kingdom, Zurita is well-positioned to drive the organization’s ecosystem-focused work on a global scale.
“I’m excited to return to Conservation International and join the leadership team,” said Zurita. “Through each chapter of my career, I’ve seen firsthand that when people prioritize the protection of nature in their societies, economies, and policies, it benefits all life on Earth, especially people. I know that Conservation International shares this vision for a nature-inclusive, rights-based, climate-neutral future, and I look forward to helping the organization move this shared goal forward.”
Zurita joins Conservation International from BirdLife International, where she served for the past eight years as the organization’s CEO. She is the first woman from a developing country to lead an international conservation organization. Prior to her time at BirdLife International, she was the executive director of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, a joint program with Conservation International. Earlier at Conservation International, she directed the Conservation Stewards Program and oversaw policy and economics for the Andes division.
In her role as chief strategy officer, Zurita will work alongside Conservation International CEO, Dr. M. Sanjayan.
“An ambitious future for conservation requires foresight, fresh perspective, and most crucially leadership that is values-driven and brings people together. As our chief strategy officer, Patricia will bring those qualities in spades,” said Sanjayan. “She is tireless and has a proven track record of integrating nature into an equitable economy; strengthening communities to turn local efforts into global impact; and bringing governments, businesses, and local communities together to shape the future of our planet. With bold new global biodiversity and climate targets set, our ambitions are clear – and Patricia is uniquely equipped to help turn these ambitions into action.”
Zurita earned her master’s degree in environmental management and natural resource economics from Duke University and her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Universidad San Francisco de Quito. She will be based in the U.S. after she moves from the U.K., where she lives with her husband and twin girls. She is an avid birder.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more, and follow our work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
