Kathleen H. Fitzgerald

Katheen H. Fitzgerald is The Pew Charitable Trusts’ project director for Enduring Earth, an ambitious collaboration to accelerate conservation and sustainability. In this role, she leads the design of project finance for permanence (PFP) initiatives around the world. Fitzgerald has worked in 24 countries and brings decades of practical experience leading large landscape conservation initiatives, sustainable finance initiatives, and community and climate programs. She was also Pew’s principal on the SINAA PFP, one of the largest Indigenous-led marine conservation initiatives in the world.

Before joining Pew, Fitzgerald was a partner at Conservation Capital, vice president of the African Wildlife Foundation, and co-founder of the Northeast Wilderness Trust. Fitzgerald lived and worked in Africa for 15 years. She has created conservation areas, improved management of protected areas, and established public-private partnerships. Fitzgerald also has completed dozens of conservation land transactions and developed conservation finance initiatives, including nature-based tourism, carbon, biodiversity offset, and wildlife bond transactions.

Fitzgerald holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and government from St. Lawrence University and a master’s degree in botany from the University of Vermont and received an honorary doctoral degree from St. Lawrence University.