President & CEO’s Year-End Address with Collin O’Mara
Collin O’Mara
President & CEO
Dr. Diane Pataki
Chief Scientist
Abby Tinsley
Vice President for Conservation Policy
Join Federation President & CEO Collin O’Mara, along with Chief Scientist Dr. Diane Pataki, and Vice President for Conservation Policy Abby Tinsley to reflect on notable conservation accomplishments from 2024 — and learn more about the science and policy that are propelling us toward urgent action in the year ahead. Hosted by our Chief Development Officer, Dirk Sellers, this discussion offers an inside look at how the Federation’s leaders plan to stand up for wildlife in 2025 and beyond.
Recorded December 11, 2024.
ABOUT COLLIN
Collin O’Mara serves as President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, 皇冠体育app官网平台’s largest wildlife conservation organization with 52 state and territorial affiliates and nearly six million members. Under O’Mara’s leadership, the Federation is focused on recovering 皇冠体育app官网平台’s wildlife, improving management of and access to public lands, restoring 皇冠体育app官网平台’s water, advancing environmental education (including publishing Ranger Rick® magazines), and connecting every 皇冠体育app官网平台n child with the great outdoors. He is regularly called before Congress to testify about wildlife, water, and sportsmen issues. Prior to the Federation, O’Mara led the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control as Cabinet Secretary from 2009 through 2014. A native of Syracuse, New York, O’Mara was a Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford, earned an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth College.
ABOUT DIANE
Dr. Diane Pataki joined the Federation in 2024 as our Chief Scientist. Diane oversees the National Wildlife Federation’s national conservation science team, provides scientific leadership and coordination across the organization, and helps ensure the organization stays abreast of new scientific findings. Pataki brings over three decades of scientific experience to the role, having led programs at several universities that have produced over 150 publications. She currently serves as a sustainability professor at Arizona State University and will remain a faculty member. She also founded the Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine, a public-private collaboration focused on climate resilience in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Among her many accolades, Pataki is a Fulbright Global Scholar, an elected fellow of three scientific societies, and has served on federal advisory committees for the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation. She holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in ecology from Duke University.
ABOUT ABBY
Abby Tinsley is the Vice President for Conservation Policy, leading the National Wildlife Federation’s federal strategy on a variety of conservation priorities including climate, energy, water, public lands, and wildlife. She represents the Federation in numerous national coalitions and serves as a key liaison to Congressional leaders and Administration officials. Prior to joining the Federation in 2019, Tinsley spent nearly a decade working in Congress. She provided legislative counsel to former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and former U.S. Representative Rick Nolan while leading bipartisan efforts to restore the Everglades, enhance community resilience, curb invasive species, promote sustainable agriculture, and protect wildlife habitat. Tinsley received her master’s degree in Political Management from The George Washington University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy Studies from Duke University.
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