I am pleased to announce that our search committee has identified and our Board of Directors has appointed a highly experienced, accomplished and committed conservation leader to serve as Audubon's new President and CEO.

David Yarnold is currently the Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Fund and President of its Environmental Defense Action Fund. Prior to that, he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at the San Jose Mercury News.

David possesses an extraordinary array of skills and expertise that, with your ongoing assistance, will enable him to lead the Audubon network to new levels of conservation success. I am attaching an advance copy of the press release that will be distributed later today to provide you with additional information about David's background and abilities.  Additionally, a second attachment is a message that David wrote specifically to introduce himself to the important people who make up our nationwide field network. It will no doubt provide you with great insights into his personality, vision and short-term plans, not to mention his extraordinary communication skills.

This is an exciting moment for Audubon and for our cause. We have found the right person to build Audubon’s legacy of conservation results well into the future and to educate and empower the next generation of conservationists who will protect and restore the health of birds, other wildlife and the resources on which we all depend.

I look forward to opportunities for you to meet and work with David and, especially, to the great conservations results we will achieve together.

Best Regards,

Holt Thrasher

Audubon Board Chair                             Boots on the Ground                   Appointment Press Release