Audubon International Names a New Program Manager

Following the conclusion of an extensive search and candidate review process, Audubon International is very excited to announce that Joanna Nadeau has been selected as the new Program Manager for the Sustainable Communities Program. Joanna reported for duty on October 15, 2012. 

As Program Manager, Joanna will serve as a senior staff member of a collaborative team of experienced natural resource management professionals who directly engage a diverse array of stakeholders (i.e., homeowner’s associations, municipal leaders, state and federal agency officials, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, and members of the business community) on an equally diverse range of issues. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, Joanna will help to meet annual membership, fiscal, environmental performance, and service goals. 

“We are thrilled that Joanna is coming on board to administer our Sustainable Communities Program and assist with other education and certification programs being implemented by the organization’s team of interdisciplinary environmental specialists,” said Ryan Aylesworth, Audubon International’s Executive Director. “Joanna is a proven consensus-builder, holistic and critical thinker, innovator, and problem solver. Her professional background with Cooperative Extension and expertise in a wide range of educational, planning, and natural resource management disciplines make her uniquely suited to effectively help communities achieve their long-term environmental, economic, and social goals.” 

Audubon International’s Sustainable Communities Program uses incentive-based strategies to help whole communities become healthy and vibrant places in which to live, work, and play–both today and tomorrow. That vision is founded in the three pillars of sustainability–a healthy local environment, quality of life for citizens, and economic vitality. The program is tailored to each community to ensure that its specific values, goals, needs, and challenges are effectively addressed in a manner that simultaneously advances environmental health as measured by numerous sustainability indicators (i.e., wildlife habitat and biodiversity protection). Through the program, communities work with Audubon International to establish priorities, develop an overarching plan, and take action that leads to environmental benefits at the community level. 

Prior to joining Audubon International, Joanna was a Research Analyst for the environmental water program at the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC). In this capacity, which she served for over five years, Joanna coordinated the WRRC’s research and outreach program designing and implementing projects to identify sustainable supplies of water for the environment in the face of growing human water demands in the western U.S. She was responsible for securing grants for numerous projects; providing science translation and technical assistance for community-level water sustainability programs; representing projects through professional presentations, publications, press interviews, and newsletters; participating in water planning processes across the Colorado River basin; and developing partnerships with government officials, resource managers, and the public. She compiled and synthesized an inventory of over 100 research studies of environmental water needs into a searchable spatial database, a Methodology Guidebook, a Statewide Assessment Report, and regional bulletins. As part of her work establishing pilot programs of Conserve to Enhance (C2E), an innovative mechanism to secure water for the environment through municipal water conservation, she developed outreach materials, including a C2E program development guide, and initiated a pilot program evaluation plan. 

Before starting her work in water resources, Joanna spent four years providing ecological assessments for sustainable management efforts by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service through her work at The Nature Conservancy. Involving spatial analysis, literature research, and technical writing, this provided her with a strong background in natural resources management. 

Joanna holds a Master of Environmental and Healthy Cities Planning from the University of Arizona, and a Bachelors of Science in Biology from Haverford College. She spent her childhood in New Jersey and Nashville, Tennessee, but now resides in Albany with her husband. In her free time Joanna enjoys hiking, cycling, cooking, and travel.