Dr Nicole Silk

Nicole Silk is the Global Director for Freshwater Outcomes at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Prior to rejoining TNC in 2022, Nicole was president and CEO of River Network where she guided the organization through a period of remarkable and exciting organizational change to add greater value to water protection across the United States, seeking to improve access to healthy rivers and clean water for all. Before that, Nicole worked at TNC for nearly two decades. She was part of the leadership of the original Freshwater Initiative and many subsequent global freshwater programs. Nicole has written and contributed to several scholarly scientific and legal papers and books (including A Practitioner’s Guide to Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation) and numerous toolkits and web-based resources designed to facilitate knowledge transfer related to water. She has a J.D. from the University of California, Davis, a B.A. in economics and ecology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and advanced training related to nonprofit leadership and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Nicole is based in Boulder, Colorado. When she is not working, she spends as much time as possible outdoors, including longer adventures on rivers with family and friends.