Mass Audubon Selects New President

Courtesy of Mass Audubon

WELLFLEET – Mass Audubon has named David O’Neill as their 11th president of the organization.

O’Neill has dedicated his professional career to conservation and over the last five years, he has served as the Chief Conservation Officer and Senior Advisor to the CEO of National Audubon Society.

He led the development of NAS’s conservation strategies, helped to unify the state offices around a single vision, oversaw the organization’s policy, advocacy, and science agendas, and launched innovative programs to help fight the impacts of climate change.

“David is a committed, proven leader who can hit the ground running on day one, bringing a highly relational and visionary approach,” says Beth Kressley Goldstein, Mass Audubon’s Board Chair.

“I could not be more excited for the future of Mass Audubon and look forward to this next chapter in our long history in the Commonwealth.”

Roles prior to his work at National Audubon include Vice President at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Director of Land Use Policy and Outreach for the Urban Land Institute.

O’Neill said he is inspired by Mass Audubon’s desire to expand their work on climate change, to tackle equity, diversity, and inclusion issues including a reach to new audiences, and to widen the organizations lens to affect the health and resilience of Massachusetts, New England, and beyond.

“I was fortunate to tromp around on our family’s small farm as a child—running through the woods and streams, and canoeing on nearby rivers, in high school, I explored the Chesapeake Bay as part of an early environmental education program that turned out to shape my future,” O’Neil said.

“Nature and the outdoors will always be a place of wonder and solace—the beautiful sounds of migrating birds I hear today bring a special joy to my family and me. To lead a storied institution that provides so many with those life-altering, nature-based experiences is an exceptional honor.”

O’Neill will join the organization in early June, succeeding Gary Clayton, who, after 30 years with Mass Audubon will retire in May.

O’Neil said he is looking forward to building on Clayton’s legacy and working with him to get to know the community, including member.

For more information on Mass Audubon, visit MassAudubon.org.