This morning, Leslie Harroun, a philanthropic leader with more than three decades of domestic and international experience, made her first public appearance as the new executive director of the Salazar Center for North American Conservation.
CSU President Amy Parsons, introducing Harroun while delivering opening remarks at the Center’s International Symposium on Conservation Impact, emphasized both the depth of Harroun’s experience and the impact her work has had in helping communities address environmental challenges.
The Symposium, which continues through tomorrow, is the Center’s annual event aimed at connecting conservation leaders from across North America and exploring potential solutions. This year’s convening is focused on nature-positive solutions and how they can catapult existing efforts across sectors towards durable, high-impact outcomes for climate, biodiversity, and human well-being.
Harroun recently sat down with the Salazar Center’s Emily Barbo to talk about her extensive professional experience in conservation and systems-thinking, and also her plans as the Center’s new executive director. Following are excerpts from that conversation.
Q: Looking back over your career, what are some of the things you’ve learned about yourself and the field of environmental conservation that you are looking forward to applying at the Salazar Center?
A: Early in my career, it became apparent to me that the way our western culture values nature presents a profound obstacle to the health and integrity of our life support systems, and consequently to our own future. Trying to figure out how to shift our cultural relationship to nature, so that we recognize the dignity and inherent value of all life, has been at the core of each of my professional experiences.
I’ve had a lot of opportunities to experiment, and I’ve learned a lot from the environmental community’s successes and failures alike. It’s the failures that have pushed me forward though. For example, it slowly dawned on me while at the OAK Foundation that while we were winning a lot of climate policy battles GHG emissions continued to rise alarmingly, and we were hurtling towards an unlivable future. Part of the problem was that our assumptions about how to change human minds and behavior were wrong. While accurate information and effective policies are critical components of conservation, they aren’t enough on their own to bring about transformation. And transformation is what we need to ensure that future generations inherit a livable planet. Together with several other donors, we subsequently started Partners for a New Economy to get at a deeper level of change. Our focus there was on our economic system, and how we might repurpose the economy to serve the long-term interests of nature and communities rather than the other way around.
In terms of what I’ve learned about myself over the years, I’d say I’m most motivated and effective when I’m linking people, ideas, and organizations in a way that accelerates learning about complex issues and results in new ways of looking at the world to solve wicked problems. Dignity also has become a driving force for me. I believe dignity must be at the center of our work with each other, and that we must extend dignity to our relationship with the natural world.
Q: Why are you and the Salazar Center the right fit for each other?
A: I’ve been working in environmental conservation for 30 years, and this position with the Salazar Center allows me to weave together my leadership and systems-thinking skills, my deep network, and my passion for the natural world to facilitate 21st Century solutions to our environmental challenges, which are deeply interconnected to so many others.
Working in philanthropy on North American and European climate change and marine conservation issues for nearly 25 years gave me the luxury of a landscape view of the complexities we face in ensuring that our societies become regenerative and adaptive to environmental change. It also gave me insight into how collaboration can spark and support innovation. I look forward to folding this experience into the Center’s work to accelerate and advance conservation, from the community to the regional, national, and international levels across the continent.
“What makes the work of the Salazar Center so exciting is that it is based on the idea that we can move toward sustainability when we listen to different voices and empower communities to develop solutions. Leslie Harroun’s career to this point demonstrates her commitment to this idea and also her ability to bring people together around a shared vision for the future. I am excited to see what the Salazar Center accomplishes during this next period under her leadership.”
— Tony Frank, Chancellor, CSU System
The Salazar Center is still young, and it is poised for growth. I’m very excited about shaping the next chapter of the Center’s story. I’m stepping into an organization with a well-established foundation: it enjoys the credibility of its founders—Ambassador Salazar and Chancellor Frank—a talented and dedicated staff; an engaged and committed community of partners; and CSU’s enormous assets in terms of its human resources and nationally recognized reputation for sustainability. These are the building blocks that we are going to use to create real lasting impact.
When I think about the impact that I’d like to create, I think about building “natural security” across North America. Intact, functioning ecosystems are vital to everything in our lives: our health, our food security, our economy, our climate, even our democracy. As our life-support system, nature must be at the center of all we do. In addition to the Center’s role as a convener and capacity-builder for conservation’s best practices, I hope to establish it as a thought-leader. I’d like the Center to become a vibrant venue for discussion and debate that improves understanding across sectors, generates important insights, and results in unexpected partnerships. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s also going to be a really interesting ride, and I can’t wait to get started.
Q: As you hit the ground running, what are some of your goals and first priorities as the new executive director?
A: Well, I plan to do a lot of listening at first to understand how our stakeholders view the Center, its current strengths, challenges, and opportunities. I’m looking forward to building a lot of new relationships, especially with the Center’s mighty staff and advisory board, and I’ll spend the first few months reaching out to internal and external partners, philanthropic supporters, and new connections across CSU. I’m very excited to immerse myself in the Center’s larger community. With the involvement of staff, the advisory board and some external partners, I expect to take the Center through a strategy refresh and make sure we have strong foundational systems in place. I’m coming to this role with a profound sense of urgency. We have so little time to address our environmental crises and maintain stability. It’s a very powerful motivator for me in determining the Center’s niche and strategy going forward.
“Leslie Harroun begins her leadership of the Salazar Center during a time when the Center is ideally poised for growth. Leslie brings to this work a strategic vision, strong connections across multiple sectors, and an entrepreneurial mindset. I look forward to working with her to support the Center’s work and deepen its connections to campus and to our global CSU community.”
— Amy Parsons, President, CSU
Q: How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
A: Doing things that get me out of my head! I’m an avid photographer and I’m currently exploring Nalanda Miksang contemplative photography, which challenges me to look at nature without thinking or interpreting, and to try and express what I’m seeing with my camera simply and clearly. I just want to be outside and head to the mountains or a river whenever I can. My “home base” for quick hikes is North Table Mountain in Golden. I love witnessing seasonal changes and visiting its wildlife community, which includes a couple of bull snakes, an old coyote, a pair of ravens, and several meadowlarks who sing their hearts out in the spring.
