Defenders of Wildlife Announces Thu Pham as Chief of Staff

Thu Pham has been named the Chief of Staff at Defenders of Wildlife, managing the day-to-day operations of the president’s office and helping to advance the president’s agenda and priorities.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, former president and CEO at Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement:

“We are thrilled to have Thu Pham as our chief of staff, working with our leadership team to help advance our conservation agenda and priorities. She joins Defenders of Wildlife with a wealth of experience, including executive leadership, non-profit governance and stakeholder engagement, to help achieve our strategic goals and implement our vision.”

Thu Pham, chief of staff, Defenders at Wildlife, issued the following statement:

“I am excited to join Defenders of Wildlife as its chief of staff to help advance the protection of wildlife and plants in their natural communities. My executive expertise, background in operations, and passion for environmental and wildlife issues will help drive Defenders of Wildlife’s priorities forward. For the past two years, I have proudly served as Defenders of Wildlife’s board secretary and look forward to continuing my work on wildlife issues in this new role.”

Background:

• Prior to joining Defenders of Wildlife, Ms. Pham spent much of her career at Rachel’s Network, first as program director, chief operating officer and eventually leading the organization from 2010 to 2016.
• At Rachel’s Network, Thu Pham developed programs to advance other women’s networks, place women on national environmental boards and create a pipeline for future conservation leaders. She also directed the organization’s c4, Rachel’s Action Network. Prior to Rachel’s Network, she worked on several congressional campaigns and on Capitol Hill.
• Prior to joining the team at Defenders of Wildlife, Thu served as secretary and in several leadership positions on Defenders’ Board of Directors.
• A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Thu serves as a board director of The Boat Company, a nonprofit educational organization with a mission to raise awareness of conservation issues in Southeast Alaska.