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Audubon Leaders: Carol Browner,
Chair
 Carol Browner was elected as the first woman to chair the National Audubon Society in 2003. Prior to joining the Audubon Board of Directors in 2001, Browner was head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Clinton/Gore administration, a cabinet-level position that she held for eight years.
According to Ms. Browner, "climate change is the greatest environmental and public health problem the world has ever faced. When you think about Audubon's core business-bird and wildlife preservation and conservation-climate change will have dramatic consequences…."
Ms. Browner led the June 14, 2007 press conference to release Audubon's Common Birds in Decline report. "These are not rare or exotic birds we're talking about," Browner said. "These are the birds that visit our feeders and congregate at nearby lakes and seashores and yet they are disappearing day by day. Their decline tells us we have serious work to do, from protecting local habitats to addressing the huge threats from global warming."
On October 9, 2007, Ms. Browner testified on behalf of Audubon before the House Fisheries and Wildlife Subcommittee about the effectiveness of the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act. "Unfortunately, despite its value and importance, for decades the Refuge System has been under-appreciated, under-funded, and under-prioritized. Its tremendous potential, to be the bedrock of ecosystem protection in the country, and to be a driver of habitat protection in the larger landscape surrounding the refuges, has gone largely unrealized," Browner testified. Read her full statement at www.audubon.org/campaign/browner_testimony.html.
As EPA Administrator, Carol Browner carried the agency into the 21st Century by partnering with business leaders, community advocates and government officials. Her tenure at EPA was marked by some of the strongest Clean Water and Clean Air regulations in U.S. history, and her efforts to find common ground to reach conservation goals fits firmly in the Audubon tradition.
From 1991 to 1993 Ms. Browner served as Secretary of the State of Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation. Her work in that role was pivotal in preserving the Everglades, where Audubon support is vital and long term.
"I was blessed to be born next to such a beautiful place, a place that has inspired me in so many ways." she recalled. Her parents, professors at Miami-Dade Community College, gave the future Audubon Chairperson an appreciation for the natural world. "When it comes to environmental protection, the bottom line is that we don't have to choose between people and the environment. While it is obvious that preserving wildlife helps the environment, in also contributes to our quality of life in ways that we may not understand until it is too late."
Trained as a lawyer, Ms. Browner is a Principal of the Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm and of Albright Capital Management LLC, and investment advisory firm in Washington, DC.
Downloadable Resources:
To request an interview with Carol Browner, contact Delta Willis.
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