Defenders of Wildlife is proud to announce Sierra Weaver as its new vice president of conservation law and director of the Biodiversity Law Center. Sierra previously worked as an attorney for Defenders from 2008 until 2013 before returning in 2024 as a senior attorney. Beyond her tenure at Defenders, she has held influential roles across the conservation community, including serving as senior attorney and leader of the Coast and Wetlands Program for the Southern Environmental Law Center and as a staff attorney with the Ocean Conservancy.
“Sierra’s expertise in federal administrative law and litigation will be indispensable as we navigate unprecedented challenges to bedrock conservation laws coming out of this Congress and administration,” said Andrew Bowman, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “We are thrilled to have Sierra leading our conservation law team and the Biodiversity Law Center as those staff work tirelessly to protect imperiled species and the places they call home.”
During her time as senior attorney at Defenders, Sierra led efforts to address the greatest threats to imperiled species and their habitats throughout the Southeast, and in the coastal and marine environments on the East and West Coasts. She has also worked diligently to fight the expansion of offshore drilling, tackling the damaging impacts of offshore energy development on marine wildlife. While working at the Southern Environmental Law Center, she represented Defenders and other partners in multiple rounds of litigation to save the world’s only wild Red Wolf population from extinction.
“I am honored to step into the role of vice president of conservation law and director of the Biodiversity Law Center at a moment when wildlife and wild places need us most,” said Sierra Weaver, vice president of conservation law at Defenders of Wildlife. “As threats to biodiversity intensify from every direction, I am inspired to work alongside my team to continue defending imperiled species, critical habitats and the laws that support them.”
Sierra earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Pomona College.
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For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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