Kathleen Collins Email and Phone Number

Spearheaded the realignment and reinvigoration of the organization priority campaign to save the North Atlantic right whale. Led a team with three cores staffers, upwards of 10 contractors, and a $1.2 M annual budget, securing recurring funding streams from individual donors and foundations of more than $500k annually. Established robust cross-team collaborations to leverage the full capacity of the global organization.Established as a content expert on marine conservation, and specifically on the North Atlantic right whale for the media, public events, the ALWTRT, subject reports, advocacy efforts, and IFAW assets. Cemented IFAW leadership in the conservation and advocacy space, building a trusted network of diverse, bi-partisan partners, funders, and supporters.

Orchestrated the successful launch and continuation of 5 campaigns, 10+ days of the action, and volunteer engagement programs with external partners. Facilitated and fostered cross-team collaboration on major projects and initiatives in order to effectively engage and mobilize our volunteer base of 30,000+ volunteers. Successfully trained and supervised a team of 4 full time remote employees, responsible for running multiple campaigns and overseeing 30+ states of volunteers. Directed the creation and expansion of our petrochemical opposition campaign through the creation of meaningful community relationship building, overseeing the leadership of the regional coalition, and by securing over $380,000 in continued funding for the expansion of the program.

Degree: Master of Sustainability Leadership. This degree refined the skills needed for advancing social and environmental responsibility. It cemented my ability to instill organizational leadership skills and practices through the lens of sustainability while driving high-impact global sustainable results for companies, organizations, and communities alike. I can confidently advance sustainability practices and strategically communicate sustainability as the gold standard for best institutional practices.

Project management, communications, operations, financial management, grant writing including budget creation, grant reporting, general management support, and team coordination for the education department of the National Wildlife Federation. Served as the lead organizer and manager for an organization wide grass tops mapping initiative to cultivate influential partnerships and funding opportunities. Created a guide for increasing wildlife friendly coastal resiliency efforts within municipal sustainability plans to approach coastal resiliency from a systems perspective. Served as the project manager for the creation and publication of Reversing America's Wildlife Crisis as well as NWF’s organization wide, 30 year strategic plan Saving America's Wildlife Toward a Common Agenda

Provided high level strategic input on the direction of campaigns and overall direction of the organization while leading coalition and movement building to stop the permitting process for offshore oil drilling on the east coast and advocating for offshore energy operations instead. In this position I also maintained and directed everyday office operations including: keeping of monthly financials, overseeing, coordinating and training interns and volunteers, fundraising, aiding in grant writing, youth and community outreach, event organization maintaining social media presence through Facebook and Twitter, website management and upkeep using Wordpress, and record keeping.

As the Outreach Coordinator I stood as the lead for the DC office. My responsibilities were wide ranging. I was a lead organizer of the 5th Blue Vision Summit, for which I conducted copious amounts of outreach to government representatives, non-profit organizations and donors. I also served as the lead event planner coordinating: volunteers, vendors, presenters, catering, lodging and transportation for speakers, the Writers for the Sea book signing logistics and financial supporters. I served as a supporting coordinator for the largest lobbying delegation for marine and coastal conservation in US history and a supporting coordinator for the 8th Annual Peter Benchley Ocean Awards. I conducted outreach with partner organizations, created brief summaries of key marine issues, provided background support for the Over the Horizon conference and maintained databases / social media / websites.

Degree: Bachelor of Marine Sciences with a focus on marine biology. Minor and PRAXIS certified in secondary education.

As the Nature / Marine Science Instructor I created and delivered interactive and engaging lesson plans for campers ranging in age from 4 to 14. The lessons covered topics from photosynthesis, marine food chains, marine mammal conservation, and marine debris to name a few. Often times my lessons included using a hand drawn net. Through the use of this net the campers were able to get hands on lessons about the native species of the long island sound. During my second summer I was given the honor of creating and running my own two week program focused solely on marine biology. During this program I was able to create and deliver a wide variety of topics including elasmobranch anatomy and physiology through a detailed lesson including a necropsy of locally caught spiny dogfish. Additionally, I was able to coordinate a kayaking field trip to a nearby island which housed greater species diversity. During the excursion I presented mini lessons on the different environments such as a rocky intertidal area and the various species found and how those species both differ and relate to those found at our sandy beach environment.