Hazel Wong
Hazel Wong is a tenacious advocate for conservation. Under her tenure as Director of Global Conservation Campaigns, The Nature Conservancy has generated over $60 billion in public funding through ballots measures at the state and local levels for natural resources protection. Her boundless energy, ability to motivate voters to support conservation efforts, and talent for making conceptual ideas tangible has gained her respect and admiration from internal colleagues and partner organizations who benefit from her efforts.
Hazel has spent the last 18 years leveraging her knowledge of communication, and the political and policy process to promote The Nature Conservancy’s legislative agenda in support of its mission to protect the lands and waters on which all life depends. She has used this experience in public opinion research, strategic message development, and political campaign tactics to create a groundswell of public support for conservation funding and policy initiatives. Her team has an 88 percent winning rate at the ballot box because of their ability to translate and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data to determine the viability of their campaigns.
Before joining The Nature Conservancy, Hazel had a long and distinguished career in both politics and the broadcast media. She coordinated candidate campaigns for the Nevada State Democratic Party. She was also an assignment editor, producer, and announcer on local TV and radio. In addition to Hazel’s professional responsibilities, she is an annual guest lecturer at Yale University in conservation financing, and she has chaired several philanthropic and social organizations and committees.
Hazel’s educational background includes a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from California State University, Fullerton.
Born in Seychelles, a group of islands off the East Coast of Africa, Hazel has been at the forefront of researching how to engage communities of color in conservation and has been an advocate on diversifying the conservation community.