Visionary Leadership Makes All The Difference

Academy Fellow, Bob Carey, is Strategic Partnerships Director for The Nature Conservancy in Washington. Having recently experienced Bob’s leadership skills in action, Academy co-Founder and Board Member, Hal Hamilton, shares a snapshot of Bob’s current work. 

The Work
Bob Carey (pictured) used to be a backcountry ranger, and leading groups of teenagers to discover what wilderness will teach them is still something he enjoys. Bob’s current work is with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which he has used to create an unusual network of people who don’t always agree with one another, but who are all committed to navigating their differences toward healthier, safer river systems in Washington State.

The People
Some groups, including tribal governments, care most about the salmon for whom these rivers are crucial at the beginning and end of their lives. Farmers make their living alongside many of the rivers. Towns and subdivisions want periodic flooding controlled. Local and state government agencies are accountable to all of these interests as well as to developers who would like to build even more houses and shops. Environmentalists, floodplain engineers, and rural planners can compete with one another. Or they can talk, find their common interests, whittle down their disagreements, and create projects together, which is now unfolding all across the state. By finding common ground and designing multi-purpose projects they can leverage more resources and get more done – for people and nature.

The Leadership
When about fifty people from different river systems got together this winter to share tips, one government leader commented that, “We need Bob and TNC. When you work for government, you lose the vision part. Government is responsive to politicians who are responsive to short-term needs including development and housing.”

“Bob’s visionary leadership has made all the difference. We need to keep building continual learning and questioning assumptions into our DNA” – Government Leader

Bob and his colleagues call their network “Floodplains by Design.” Wouldn’t it be useful if such listening and working together characterized more situations in which competing interests can create roadblocks!