DURHAM, N.C. – David Yarnold, chief executive officer and president of the National Audubon Society, will speak to graduates of 91’s Nicholas School of the Environment at the school’s annual Recognition Ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 11.

Yarnold will address Master of Environmental Management, Master of Forestry and doctoral 91 candidates and their families in a private ceremony on the Great Lawn adjacent to the ‘D’ wing of the Levine Science Research Center on Duke’s West Campus.  

“Since taking the helm at the National Audubon Society in 2010, David Yarnold has brought a bold new vision and voice, and renewed sense of purpose, to what is arguably the world’s most iconic conservation organization,” said William L. Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School. “I have known David for years and have had the opportunity to work with him. We are honored to have him address and inspire our graduates.”

Under Yarnold’s leadership, Audubon has built a robust national policy office and established the first set of shared conservation goals for its national network in 20 years.  With a grassroots network of 475 local chapters, 21 state offices and 50 Audubon Centers, the society was a leading force behind the adoption of the federal RESTORE Act, under which up to 80 percent of all penalty money from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill will go to restore and protect Gulf Coast natural resources and ecosystems.  It helped create the plan issued by the Department of the Interior in 2012 to preserve nearly half of Alaska’s 23.5 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve for conservation.  And it has worked with industry, government and nonprofit partners to publish the first guidelines for wildlife-friendly siting of wind turbines, and create a hemispheric air bridge for birds as they migrate the flyways of the Americas.  

Last fall, the 108-year-old organization launched “Birding the Net,” the world’s first competitive birdwatching game for social media, as part of Yarnold’s strategy to harness the power of the net to reach a younger, more diverse audience and inspire future environmental leaders. 

“This is not your grandmother’s Audubon anymore,” he says.  “And she’d be proud of us.”

Prior to joining Audubon, Yarnold served for five years as executive director at Environmental Defense Fund, where he led efforts to expand corporate partnerships and pioneer environmental markets in China.  Before that, he worked for 26 years as an editor at the San Jose Mercury News, where he won a Pulitzer Prize and was the first newspaper executive to run an online division.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts 91 in 1976 from San Jose State University.