Lynn Scarlett

Board Member

Lynn Scarlett retired in December 2021 from The Nature Conservancy, where she served as global chief external affairs officer. Prior to her role at the Conservancy, Lynn was the deputy secretary/chief operating officer at the U.S. Department of the Interior and served as acting secretary of the Interior in 2006. She chaired the Science Advisory Board of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 2014 to 2019 and cochaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability, as well as serving on the Administrative Board of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She is author/coauthor 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 National Climate Assessment, a function of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Lynn chairs the Dean’s Council of the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); serves on the Director’s Council of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis; and chairs the board of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, and serves on the boards of the Sand County Foundation and the Santa Barbara Foundation. She is on the advisory councils of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative and Salazar Center for North American Conservation. She 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 UCSB, where she also completed her doctorate coursework and exams. She is an avid birder.