Defenders of Wildlife Welcomes Regan Smyth as Vice President of the Center for Conservation Innovation

Defenders of Wildlife is pleased to announce Regan Smyth as its new Vice President and Director of the Center for Conservation Innovation. Regan brings more than two decades of experience advancing conservation through the integration of science, technology and partnerships. Prior to Defenders, she spent 19 years at NatureServe where she held leadership roles as vice president of conservation science and data and of strategic partnerships.

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“Regan’s expertise in advancing science, technology and data-driven solutions will be crucial to our wildlife and habitat innovation work,” said Andrew Bowman, CEO at Defenders of Wildlife. “She brings extensive experience in working with a broad range of diverse stakeholders including state and federal agencies, technology partners and conservation organizations that prime her to lead our science initiatives. I look forward to the impact Regan will have on her team and the organization.”  

Regan’s career started with mapping wildlife migration corridors in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, establishing the foundation for her lifelong commitment to science-based conservation. Throughout her career, she’s demonstrated continued expertise in developing innovative approaches for assessing and communicating climate vulnerability, championing the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to scale conservation impact and leading development of the Map of Biodiversity Importance, a landmark collaboration to identify those areas most critical for conserving at-risk species in the United States.  

“I’m honored to lead Defenders’ CCI work and am excited to collaborate with my team on new, modern strategies that will protect wildlife and habitat,” said Regan Smyth, vice president of the Center for Conservation Innovation. “As a lifelong advocate for conservation and wildlife, I couldn’t be more eager to join an organization that shares the same mission and values that I’ve held during the entirety of my career.”

Regan holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Environmental Science and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

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