President’s Profile

Hilary Harp Falk is President and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), leading the largest nonprofit dedicated solely to restoring the Chesapeake Bay. She is committed to largescale, forward-looking ecosystem recovery built on strong, authentic partnerships that support both people and nature.

Before joining CBF, Falk held several senior roles at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), including Chief Program Officer. Throughout a national career spanning wildlife conservation, coastal resiliency, environmental education, and more, she has championed equity and inclusion and pursued leadership that is empowering and collaborative.

At NWF, she united more than 200 advocacy groups to form the Choose Clean Water Coalition, co-chaired the Women in Conservation Leadership Advisory Council, and was a 2016–2017 International Women’s Forum fellow. At both NWF and CBF, she has guided organizational change through foundational strategic plans centered on people and partnerships.

Falk’s passion for conservation began in childhood, exploring the Chesapeake Bay with her father, a photographer. The pull of “being there” always brought her back to the Bay. She started her career with a high school internship at CBF. Later, between her undergraduate and graduate studies, she returned as an educator at CBF’s Port Isobel Island Environmental Education Center. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and two children.

60 Minutes: Maryland Island Struggles to Survive Impact of Rising Sea Level, Erosion

Hilary Harp Falk, CBF president and long-time Smith Island visitor, is interviewed alongside local residents.