BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP)– A former state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has been named to lead the Trustees of Reservations.
Katie Theoharides was chosen by the Board of Directors to be President and CEO of the organization. She served as Secretary of EEA in the Baker-Polito Administration from 2019-2022, before stepping down in May of 2022 to take a position with RWE Renewables as head of Offshore Development (East).
Theoharides has a long career in environmental advocacy including climate change initiatives and clean renewable energy infrastructure projects as Secretary. She also worked as an environmental and climate change policy consultant, and served as the executive director of the Hilltown Land Trust in Ashfield in 2010. Additionally, she worked for Defenders of Wildlife, a non-profit conservation organization in Washington, DC.
“We are thrilled to have Katie joining us at The Trustees,” said Peter B. Coffin, Chair of The Trustees’ Board of Directors. “At her core she is an environmentalist who cares for land conservation and for mobilizing people through a shared reverence for nature. She embraces The Trustees’ mission of connecting people with nature through conservation, recreation, art, and shared history. We are excited to have Katie leading our organization, and we look forward to having her collaborative, service-oriented leadership build upon The Trustees’ enduring legacy.”
“The decades ahead will require a deep sense of urgency and dedicated work to bring people together to protect our environment and implement solutions for a changing climate,” said Theoharides. “The Trustees have long understood that by connecting people to nature through culture and belonging we can build a love and passion for stewarding our natural world and in so doing improve human health, enhance quality of life, foster social justice, and build resilient communities. I couldn’t be more thrilled to join this mission and to work side-by-side with the dedicated staff, volunteers, and governance of this fantastic organization.”
Theoharides is a graduate of Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham. She earned a B.A. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Dartmouth College and a M.S. in environmental biology from UMass-Boston. She will start at the Trustees on July 10, 2023.
