Dawn O'Neal Email & Phone Number

New Orleans, La, Us

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Louisiana, United States

At the National Audubon Society, I am leading the new Delta region creating a cohesive and compelling regional brand that resonates across geographies and populations to increase stakeholder engagement and awareness of Audubon's national and regional priorities. With a staff of 35 and with a budget of 4.2 million, I am working on building and executing a comprehensive conservation action plan that leverages the unique assets, history, and interest of the region and is grounded in equitable conservation. Key areas of focus: ✔ Strategic Leadership • Define a clear vision for the region that increases conservation impact, leverages current strengths, and inspires donor investment and engagement of a bipartisan network. • Serve as a leader in infusing organizational decisions, policies, and programs with values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. • Strengthen business and development plans for the region, focusing on expanding new funding sources and cultivating strategic partnerships with government agencies and other NGOs. ✔ Sustainable Conservation • Craft and achieve strategic goals and initiatives that are integrated fully with the National Audubon Society's conservation, network, and philanthropic priorities. • Create durable policy solutions that address the most critical threats to birds at the local, state, and federal levels. • Engaging the diverse communities that make up the population of the delta region in building sustainable conservation strategies and resonant education programs. ✔ Stakeholder Relations • Build and engage a regional Board of Advisors and inspire their advocacy for conservation, individual philanthropy, and fundraising support. • Support regional chapters to expand Audubon's capacity for on-the-ground conservation, policy change, and education at scale. • Work with relevant governmental departments and NGOs to promote and prioritize bird science and habitat conservation.

In my role as Director of Strategic Initiatives, I led a dynamic team focused on identifying, establishing, and optimizing global strategic programs designed to increase the diversity of science and conservation leadership and strengthen business outcomes. Key areas of focus: ✔ Spearheaded the global and multi-level operational implementation of Conservation by Design 2.0, TNC’s core conservation methodology. ✔ Cultivated relationships with environmental NGOs, academic, and internal parties, fostering collaborative efforts concentrated on a culture of adaptive learning and risk-taking to maximize impact. ✔ Managed a $3.6M budget with responsibility for forecasting, reporting, and optimizing fundraising opportunities. ✔ Promoted a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion and instituted key programs to increase staff and partner diversity, build interdisciplinary teams, and add new areas of expertise: • Secured grant funding and launched a global professional development program, created and centered around conservation and science staff needs reaching 600+ participants in 72 countries. • Developed the Diversity in Science Pathway, a career pathway program designed to diversify the organization’s science staff while fostering solutions for real-world conservation challenges. • Established inclusive and equitable collaboration, recruitment, and trainings practices to engage and support scientists, practicing researchers, and seasoned professionals in the BIPOC conservation community • Orchestrated an engaging company-wide conference with 400+ attendees, resulting in recognition as “the best TNC conference in history” by attendees.

Rensselaerville, Ny

I was hired at the Huyck Preserve, a 2,000-acre land trust and biological research station, into the role of Director of Conservation Education and Research. After proving my value with several significant achievements early on, I was promoted to Executive Director to provide leadership in the organizations four missions areas of Conservation, Education, Research, and Recreation In this role, I managed a team of 15+ staff members and all of the volunteer programs. I also managed the biological research station overseeing grant programs for academic partners, weekly lecture and outreach series, and all research endeavors while developing relationships with scientists and residents. As part of conservation initiatives, I fostered a partnership with the Ecological Monitoring and Management Alliance, a regional network of preserves, academic, and governmental agencies created to inform sustainable management practices and natural resource conservation through scientific research. Additionally, I empowered staff to redesign organizational processes to increase the impact and effectiveness of donor stewardship and community communications. A few key achievements: ✔ Secured Land Trust Alliance Accreditation, a highly respected distinction, which resulted in an enhanced donor commitment and engagement. ✔ Obtained $300K in annual funding by creating multi-year and annual fundraising plans identifying strategies for membership, individual donations, and government support. ✔ Increased program donations by 95%, by elevating environmental stewardship efforts and education and recreational outreach. ✔ Expanded grant funding for K-12 programs, diversified partnerships increasing from two to five school districts, and broadened impact through alternative learning workshops. ✔ Created a revenue-generating education program for high school students, reaching students as far as Korea and providing students an opportunity to experience being a principal investigator.

Managed laboratory set-up and the training of personnel for an international project investigating how tuberculosis and intestinal parasite infections mediate immune trade-offs across pregnancy in the African buffalo.

Developed and managed a multi-state field project investigating the impact of climate change, urbanization, and immune function on migratory behavior in the dark-eyed junco. Responsibilities included developing in vivo antibody challenges and ELISAs, obtaining state and federal permits, purchasing equipment, training personnel, and managing project budgets.

Lab manager responsible for maintaining daily and financial lab records, lab equipment, animal care, and overseeing research exploring learning behavior in monarch butterflies and Polistes wasps.

Provided field assistance for a project examining the relationships between secondary sex characteristics, parental care, stress, and testosterone in the dark-eyed junco (J.c. hyemalis). Responsibilities included blood sampling, nest finding, behavioral observations, and subcutaneous injection of hormones and hormone capsule implantation.

Phd, Ecology

Ba, Envirionmental Studies/Biology