Activists, advocates, biologists and builders... the people of Tompkins Conservation—founded by Kristine and the late Douglas Tompkins (1943–2015), business leaders from Patagonia, The North Face, and Esprit—are working to confront the twin crises facing life on Earth: climate chaos and collapsing ecosystems.
More than a quarter century ago, we committed ourselves to working on the ground in the Southern Cone of South America.
From northern Argentina to southern Chile, you’ll find us creating landscape-scale conservation projects that focus on restoring an area’s full complement of native species.
| Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and Douglas Tompkins |
American conservationists Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and the late Douglas Tompkins (1943–2015) have achieved unprecedented success as national park-focused philanthropists. In more than a quarter-century of work to save wildlife and wild habitat, they and their Tompkins Conservation team—in partnership with governments and other philanthropists—have helped protect more than 14 million acres in Chile and Argentina. The Tompkinses’ record of accomplishment in landscape-scale conservation comes after successful careers in business, she as the former CEO of the Patagonia clothing company and he as the founder of The North Face and cofounder of Esprit clothing companies. After turning their entrepreneurial talents to saving nature, the couple developed numerous conservation and restoration projects, including a program that has reintroduced several regionally extinct species including giant anteaters and pampas deer to their native habitat. Under Kris Tompkins’s sole leadership since 2015, Tompkins Conservation has accelerated its pace of national park creation and expanded its organizational focus to include advocacy for marine protected areas. Widely lauded for their conservation philanthropy, Kris and Doug Tompkins are the recipients of many awards, and Kris was the first conservationist to be awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. In 2018 she was named the United Nations’ Global Patron for Protected Areas.
| Douglas Tompkins |
Douglas R. Tompkins (1943–2015) was a wilderness advocate, mountaineer, organic farmer, philanthropist, and conservationist. As the founder of The North Face and cofounder of the Esprit clothing company, he devoted his formidable energies to business. As a mountain climber and whitewater kayaker he completed first ascents and first river descents on multiple continents. After leaving business and endowing a group of family foundations, he became one of the foremost conservation philanthropists in history, using his wealth to acquire, aggregate, and then donate private land to the national park systems of Chile and Argentina. For decades he worked alongside his wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, to restore degraded farms and to establish large-scale protected areas. Deeply devoted to biocentric activism, Doug was a key funder and thinker behind numerous groups and campaigns, and his private farmlands helped to advance the frontiers of agroecological thinking and practice. He died in 2015 after a kayaking accident in Patagonia.
| Kristine McDivitt Tompkins |
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, former CEO of the Patagonia clothing company, is the cofounder and president of Tompkins Conservation. She was a key figure behind the establishment of Monte León National Park in Argentina and Patagonia National Park in Chile, as well as other conservation projects. For decades she also worked with her husband, Doug Tompkins, to model a new agroecological paradigm by operating organic farms and ranches in Chile and Argentina. She serves in various positions of global leadership in conservation, including as Chair of National Geographic Society’s Last Wild Places campaign. She received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2017 and was named the UN Environment Patron of Protected Areas in 2018.
Cofounder and President of Tompkins Conservation
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins is the cofounder and president of Tompkins Conservation and the UN Patron of Protected Areas. The former CEO of Patagonia, Inc, she has spent the last 27 years protecting and restoring Chile and Argentina’s wild beauty and biodiversity through creating national parks, restoring wildlife, inspiring activism, and fostering economic vitality as a result of conservation. A key figure behind the establishment of 11 national parks and two marine parks in Argentina and Chile, she has helped to protect approximately 14.2 million acres through Tompkins Conservation and its partners. Along with her late husband Douglas Tompkins, the visionary behind these conservation projects who passed away in 2015, she is considered one of the most successful national park–oriented philanthropists in history. In 2017, she received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. A global leader in conservation, she currently serves as Chair of National Geographic Society’s Last Wild Places campaign.
Global Communications Coordinator
Carolyn joined Tompkins Conservation following a freelance career as a journalist based in the Southern Cone. She has contributed to over 50 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, including Trekking in the Patagonian Andes, and her work has appeared in magazines, anthologies, and online publications. As a Fulbright fellow, she documented cultural changes in Patagonia.
Chief of Staff
Nicole joined Tompkins Conservation in 2017. She previously worked at the National Geographic Society and cofounded a political organizing group dedicated to creating opportunities for volunteers to participate in grassroots democracy. Nicole graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Syracuse University with degrees in geography, policy studies, and Spanish, which she studied in Chile, Ecuador, and Spain.
Director of Philanthropy
Kelsey is a seasoned fundraising operations professional with more than 10 years of experience. She previously worked at The Nature Conservancy for their North America Region. She has a degree in psychology from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Public Service Administration from DePaul University.
Vice President of Finance and Operations
Tim was born and raised in California, but has made his home in Oregon for the last 25 years. Tim has a degree in accounting and several related certifications, as well as over 30 years of experience in finance, accounting and operations. He spent 20 years working at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, one of the foremost cultural institutions in the Pacific Northwest.
Executive Office Administrative Associate
Sawyer graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida where she studied sustainability, ecology, art, ecophilosophy, and climatology. A former research assistant at the UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station, her introduction to administration for a non-profit came from interning at Blue Mountain Center, a justice-focused artist and conference center in Adirondack Park.
Finance Director, USA
Debbie sits on the board of directors of Tompkins Conservation and is the finance director for all of the Tompkins family office, private, and philanthropic efforts. She began her career in public accounting as a C.P.A. specializing in taxation and was the chief financial officer of Esprit de Corp (founded by Doug Tompkins) for six years.
Controller, USA
Born and raised in San Francisco, Esther is a certified public accountant with a Master’s degree in Taxation. She worked with Doug at Esprit for many years and has worked on the Tompkins Conservation team for over 20 years.
Peter Buckley
Yvon Chouinard
Rick Ridgeway
Tom Butler
Jib Ellison
Debbie Ryker
Malinda Chouinard
Quincey Tompkins Imhoff
Kristine Tompkins
Forrest Berkley
Tony Hansen
Nadine Lehner
Nancy Schaub
Christina Desser
Nicolás Ibañez, Jr.
Scott Malkin
John van der Stricht
Chris Evans
Gardner Imhoff
Jim Sano
Heather Loomis-Tighe
AWARDS AND HONORS RECEIVED BY KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Kyoto Earth Hall of Fame
Rachel Carson Award, National Audubon Society
AWARDS AND HONORS RECEIVED BY KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Selected for WOMEN: The National Geographic Image Collection
AFAR Vanguard Award for travel visionaries
Foundation Credicorp Capital 2019 Award (Chile)
AWARDS AND HONORS RECEIVED BY KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Designated UN Environment Patron of Protected Areas
Recognition for Lifetime Contribution to the Chilean wilderness, Chilean-North American Business Bureau
Luis Oyarzún Award granted by the Universidad Austral de Chile
AWARDS AND HONORS RECEIVED BY KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, Woodrow Wilson Center
Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Legacy Award
Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
Cynthia Pratt Laughlin Medal, Garden Club of America
Outdoor Inspiration Award, Presented by Adidas Outdoor at Outdoor Retailer
National Geographic Adventurer of the Year (Nominee)
AWARDS RECEIVED BY DOUGLAS AND KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Outdoor Inspiration Awards at Outdoor Retailer - Lifetime Achievement Award
AWARDS AND HONORS RECEIVED BY KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Lowell Thomas Award, The Explorers Club
World Tourism Award, World Travel Market
BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America
David R. Brower Award, American Alpine Club
Sustainability Leader, “Uniting Global Philanthropy Inspiring Action For The Planet,” East-West Sustainability Summit, IUCN World Conservation Congress
Recyclápolis Award, Fundación Recyclápolis (Chile)
AWARDS RECEIVED BY DOUGLAS AND KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Long View Conservation Award, Mohonk Preserve, NY
Global Economy Prize, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
AWARDS RECEIVED BY DOUGLAS AND KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Conservation Achievement Award, Bird Life International
AWARDS RECEIVED BY DOUGLAS AND KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
New Species Award, African Rainforest Conservancy
AWARDS RECEIVED BY DOUGLAS AND KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
International Visionary Award, Scenic Hudson
International BAUM Special Award, B.A.U.M (German Association for Environmental Management)
AWARDS AND HONORS RECEIVED BY KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Honorary Degree, College of Idaho
AWARDS RECEIVED BY DOUGLAS AND KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
World Rainforest Award, Rainforest Action Network
Environmental Award, Bruno H. Schubert Foundation
AWARDS RECEIVED BY DOUGLAS AND KRISTINE TOMPKINS:
Gold Steward Award, International Conservation Caucus Foundation
Tompkins Conservation is a strategic collaborator of its offspring nonprofits Rewilding Chile and Rewilding Argentina.
In ways large and small, as individuals and groups, we have the power to reorient the trajectory of life on Earth toward beauty, diversity, wildness, and health.