Mary Phillips

About Mary Phillips

As the Head of Native Plant Habitat Impact & Communities at the National Wildlife Federation, I am privileged to lead the nation\'s largest suite of urban habitat conservation programs engaging millions of people as stewards for biodiversity. My dedicated team implements: Garden for Wildlife™ campaigns and Certified Wildlife Habitat® programs; Community Wildlife Habitat, Mayors Monarch Pledge; Trees for Wildlife, and Corporate Habitat partnership opportunities. Through cross department management I foster increased public participation, science and civic and policy partnerships and expanded the National Wildlife Federation\'s Affiliate Habitat Network across 26 states. I bring over 20 years of non profit management experience, with the last decade spent in environmental conservation leadership. I have developed strong expertise in strategic planning, partnership development, coalition building, program performance evaluation, social enterprise and grant management. I have successfully secured resources from major funders such as the Disney Conservation Fund, National Fish And Wildlife Foundation, USFWS, and several others. From 2020 through 2022, I piloted a successful e-commerce social enterprise to incentivize growers to sell native plants directly to consumers with the goal of contributing profits to support conservation.Science based partnerships are the foundation of our program work and necessary for wide scale impact. As such, I work closely with Dr. Doug Tallamy on plant lists, NSF funded researchers and other experts in habitat impact research. In addition, I helped to initiate and manage National Wildlife Federation’s role in the following collaborations: first, with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to ‘’Save the Monarch”, then with the White House Office of Science, Technology and Policy and The National Pollinator Garden Network to launch and facilitate the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. I am also a Certified Non Profit Professional (CNP) and hold certifications in Business Management, Multicultural Communication/ Engagement and as a Maryland Master Naturalist. My professional mission is to empower individuals and communities to take action for wildlife conservation/ecosystem sustainability while advocating for nature based solutions that advance environmental justice.

Experience

1. Head of Native Plant Habitats & Communities

   National Wildlife Federation

   Nov 2022 — Present · US

Education

• Arizona State University

  B.S., Communications

Skills

• Leadership Development
• Consensus Building
• Sustainability and Environment
• Public Speaking
• Marketing
• Fundraising
• Outcome Measurement Planning
• Nonprofits
• Non-Profits
• Proposal Writing
• Leadership
• Sustainability
• Training
• Volunteer Management
• Newsletters
• Grants
• Organizational Development
• Strategic Planning